had been to the Haitian consulate to talk over the possibili- 

 ties with them. They had assured him that arrangements 

 could be made for us to explore the waters off Cap Haitien, 

 and that their goverrmient would be most interested in en- 

 couraging the search. 



We considered the situation, for we knew nothing 

 of sea and weather conditions in that area. We recalled 

 from talks in the past with some of our sailing friends that 

 big seas were usual along that coast. We knew that this 

 was an area where there was a rainy and a dry season. We 

 must be sure to plan our trip at a time when the water 

 would be clear, and there would be the least number of 

 storms to disturb our work. We seriously considered the 

 possibility of leaving that very spring, but when we added 

 up the requirements that must be met, we finally decided 

 that the expedition must wait until the following year. 



In the meantime another possibility presented itself 

 and grew with fascinating urgency and appeal. Ever since 

 we had perused William Phips's charts and realized the 

 exciting possibihty of locating the remains of the Spanish 

 treasure ship on the Silver shoals, we had toyed with the 

 thought of someday visiting these remote waters and at- 

 tempting to secure the riches which Phips had indicated 

 still remained beneath the coral. For although the New 

 England sea captain had been fortunate enough to remove 

 more than a million and a half pounds' worth of gold and 

 silver from the wreck, he had noted in his log that his 

 divers had been unable to penetrate a large section of the 

 hull which had become heavily encased with coral in the 

 years it had lain on the bottom. He had intimated that it 

 still contained a substantial portion of the bullion which 

 he was forced to abandon. 



To me, an expedition to the Silver shoals seemed only 

 a dream — a dangerous adventure in far-off waters, which, 

 while it tantalized my imagination, I had no real desire 



The Bahama Islands 145 



