Finally, as the wind, blowing ever more vigorously, 

 moved on into the north. Admiral de Torres was forced to 

 order a change of course to the west. The fleet must of 

 necessity keep under way, for there was no anchorage to 

 be found in the deep waters of the Gulf Stream. 



All that stormy night, with shortened sail, the fleet 

 pointed west, the navigators making every effort to chart 

 their unorthodox course, greatly disturbed lest they strike 

 the Florida reefs. As dawn broke, their anxiety was some- 

 what relieved. The now gale-force winds had swept to the 

 southeast, and with this change the fleet was able to point 

 more and more to the northeast. There was still time to 

 escape — by a narrow margin — the long line of reefs which 

 fringed the far edge of the Gulf Stream. 



But as the day advanced, ships' oflBcers conferred in 

 worried groups, and the passengers, confined to their 

 quarters, shrank in fear at the strength of the wind and 

 the ever-increasing waves, which were now mountains of 

 heavy green water topped with flying spray and foam. 

 Sails were reduced to the minimum. There was a constant 

 check of water depths, which unvaryingly showed no bot- 

 tom, for the fleet was still in hundreds of fathoms of water. 

 A sharp lookout was maintained for signs of land or 

 breakers. 



Those concerned with the navigation of the fleet soon 

 realized that the relentless southeast winds and the in- 

 creased velocity of the Gulf Stream were carrying them 

 in the direction of the reefs against their will. To add to 

 the admiral's troubles, it was becoming increasingly diflB- 

 cult to hold the fleet together because of the large varia- 

 tion in the sailing speeds of the many types of ships. 



Here and there a line gave. Sails blew out with stac- 

 cato reports. Some of the ships had already lost masts and 

 topsail rigging. On the galleons the gun crews worked 

 feverishly to fortify the lines which held the guns in their 



82 Sea Diver 



