Retrospective journal of John Hunter, mainly of his Royal Navy career

The memoir is very detailed about life on board the ships. He details accidents which happened both to him (for example a smashed finger) and to the other crew (eg one member hurt his foot and the ankle bone was protruding). He also describes the arrangement of the lower deck in terms of the physical layout and the routine, for example the food received. While in Japan he lists "some Japanese words that I have noted and as near the sound as I could make them" and also a list of numbers. While in South America a local missionary gave a lecture on the manners and customs of the natives, which Hunter details thoroughly, and on another occasion the captain gave a lecture about the straits of Magellan, including a story about Sir Francis Drake going through the straits. The memoir also contains a number of photographs and sketches of sights Hunter has seen or ships he has been on, a list of the ships on which he served, and an index. The cover of the memoir is part of a chart of Funchal Bay.