bottom could be viewed straight down by either the pilot 

 of the boat or a second observer. 



With the clarity of those southern waters, it should 

 be possible to see objects on the bottom without any di£B- 

 culty. By plotting definite tracks back and forth within a 

 limited area, we should be able to discover any evidence 

 of the wreckage of sunken ships. We knew now from ex- 

 perience that the remains of any ship old enough to be of 

 historic interest would not be lying there with hull intact, 

 awaiting our discovery. We could only hope to find coral- 

 encrusted cannon, possibly an anchor, a disordered pile 

 of ballast stone, or even the round shapes of cannon balls, 

 almost hidden in enveloping sand or coral. 



We planned that coming season to make a further 

 search of the three wrecks we had worked on near Mara- 

 thon. We also intended to comb the waters along the reefs 

 all up and down the ocean side of the Florida keys. Al- 

 ready we had garnered many tales from local fishermen 

 who had seen cannon or piles of cannon balls on the bot- 

 tom. Bill Thompson had discovered the first three wrecks 

 seemingly without difficulty. We really anticipated little 

 trouble in locating dozens of other wrecks, for there were 

 treacherous reefs all up and down the coastline. 



What we did not realize was that we had been blessed 

 with a continuous streak of perfect diving weather the 

 whole time we had spent at Marathon that first summer — 

 a series of absolutely calm days without wind or waves, 

 making it possible to anchor at will and to dive from early 

 morning until dark. Furthermore, there had been no diffi- 

 culty in locating the wrecks, for the calm waters were so 

 clear that by standing on the bow of the boat it was pos- 

 sible to see everything on the bottom as if in a mirror. 



We discovered, soon after our arrival in Marathon in 

 1952, that while winter weather may be ideal for sail- 



30 Sea Diver 



