SMITHSONIAN EXPLORATIONS, I93O 93 



a 60 H. P. engine. Leaving Miami June 9, we reached Key West after 

 a two-day interval in which engine trouble developed, which, combined 

 with fueling, delayed our sailing for the Bahamas until June 16. Here 

 should be mentioned the kind assistance rendered our expedition by the 

 United States Navy Department. Not only were we permitted to 

 draw fuel and other supplies needed, but the engine shop made the 

 necessary repairs to our engine and rendered every possible assistance 

 to have us adequately equipped for the cruise. 



Leaving Key West June 16, we headed for the Cay Sal Bank, an 

 irregular, pear-shaped submarine flat, a little more than 60 miles in 

 length in a southeasterly and northwesterly direction. This bank is 

 covered by a shallow sea, ranging from 3^ to 15 fathoms, and fringed 

 by a chain of cays on all but the southern side. The bank, while only 

 some 20 miles from the central portion of the north coast of Cuba, is, 

 nevertheless, separated from that island by very deep water — the 

 Nicholas Channel — ranging from 212 to 534 fathoms. This great 

 depth does not bespeak land connections with Cuba. From Florida it 

 is separated by some 50 miles of equally deep water, and since the 

 whole bank slopes abruptly on all sides to great depth, the land mol- 

 luscan fauna was looked for with considerable interest. 



Each of the cays, beginning with Cay Sal on the southwestern edge 

 of the bank and ending with Anguilla Cay, was explored, and the many 

 interesting things thus obtained are now resting in the Museum, await- 

 ing analysis. How little visited some of these cays are may be in- 

 ferred from the fact that on one of the Damas Cays we found an ele- 

 vated stake and curled about its base the white bleached bones of a 

 man who had evidently been shipwrecked here and perished. 



On June 24 we left the Cay Sal Bank and crossed the deep Santaren 

 Channel to the Great Bahama Bank. The 25th and half of the 26th 

 were spent sailing some 180 miles over an almost calm shallow sea, 

 out of sight of land but with the glaringly white calcareous sand of 

 the bottom constantly in view. Like the northern Bahama Bank, this 

 reach appears almost devoid of life — at least visible life. We came 

 to anchor at about 1 1 a. m. in the snug little harbor formed by islets, 

 collectively known as Jamaica Cays. 



From this date until the evening of July 3 we explored the cays 

 which stretch in an open looped chain southeastward to Great Ragged 

 Island. These islands, which mark the western limit of another deep, 

 are all composed of elevated reef rock less than 100 feet in height, 

 and vary in size from mere rock points to miles in extent. They are 



