busily salvaging it from his boat. Treasure Princess, when- 

 ever he could find free time and the weather was co- 

 operative. He had invited us to spend some time diving 

 on the wreck with him when we returned in 1953. From 

 his description of its location, it appeared to be in the 

 most promising section of our chart. We felt almost cer- 

 tain it would prove to be one of the ships from the 1733 

 plate wreck. 



Now we learned that Art had purchased a lease from 

 the state of Florida for exclusive search, diving and sal- 

 vage rights in an area reaching from Key Largo well south 

 of Hen and Chickens and extending seaward to the reefs. 

 The law had been passed the previous year, and he was 

 the first diver in the area to acquire such a permit. This 

 would effectively end what hopes we had of finding and 

 exploring any of the wrecks in this area. Art, however, re- 

 peated his invitation hospitably when he learned that we 

 were back in Miami. 



Thus we found ourselves, one unexpectedly quiet 

 day in March, between trips to the Bahamas, rendezvous- 

 ing with Art and his Treasure Princess at Hen and Chick- 

 ens light. After an exchange of greetings from the decks 

 of the two boats, he indicated that we were to follow him 

 and headed seaward in the general direction of Crocker 

 reief . We fell in behind his boat, brimming with curiosity. 

 Sure enough, his course led us directly to the area which 

 we had searched so diligently from time to time for that 

 heap of ballast or cannon balls which had been described 

 by our various informants who had seen them there. 



It was evident that Art was a frequent visitor to the 

 spot, for, although there were no visible signs to mark its 

 location, he headed confidently seaward. While his as- 

 sistant operated the boat, he took bearings on the shore 

 and distant Alligator light, finally directed the course 

 changed slightly to the left, brought Treasure Princess 



The Florida Keys 87 



