navigation. For Ceffy, like most Bahamian fishermen, had 

 been brought up to find his way about the banks without 

 benefit of compass or other navigational aids. He knew 

 the approximate locations of the surrounding islands, even 

 though tliey were out of sight. He probably had a slight 

 knowledge of how to use the moon and a few of the stars, 

 gleaned from long nights at anchor on the native sloops. 



But his chief means of finding his way was an un- 

 carmy familiarity with bottom contours. He knew where 

 the sandy bottom had settled in wide windrows, where it 

 was shallow and where it was deep. He knew which sec- 

 tions of the banks had a grassy bottom, and where these 

 ended and tlie white sand began. When dark patches be- 

 neath the surface showed up ahead, he recognized them 

 for what they were, either coral heads or bottom vegeta- 

 tion. He could find his way from the barest indications 

 beneath the surface. This is possible only in certain areas 

 of the world like the Bahamas, where the banks are rela- 

 tively shallow and the water constantly clear. 



It took us three hours to reach Mangrove cay, and 

 then Ceffy indicated that we were to alter our course to 

 slightly west of north. From here in, the course which 

 Captain Budd traced on our chart, as he followed Ceffy's 

 directions, looked like a corkscrew. Twenty miles farther 

 on we changed course to east-northeast, while Ceffy, on 

 the bow, glued his eyes to the bottom, searching for the 

 edge of a certain bank. When he found it, we followed it 

 west-northwest for several miles, then veered off to the 

 southwest. 



By this time the afternoon was well along, and the 

 calm water was breaking into ripples which constantly 

 became larger. No longer was it possible to see the marine 

 life below. 



Ceffy explained that we must stay on this last course 

 until we reached the other side of the bank. We would 



44 Sea Diver 



