One thing troubled Ed. Because of the low stern, 

 which originally had been fashioned to accommodate an 

 outboard motor, a following sea might easily swamp the 

 cockpit and sink the boat. He would have this remedied 

 as soon as we reached Nassau, he declared, by having a 

 removable cover constructed, so that the cockpit area 

 could be enclosed when we were in rough seas. 



As we drew nearer the reefs, I saw to my surprise that 

 what had appeared to be a long single chain of coral was 

 actually a staggered grouping of reefs almost a half mile 

 deep. As Kemp steered a course toward them, Ed took 

 frequent bearings on the islands behind, then scanned the 

 water ahead, looking for a passage which led seaward be- 

 tween the reefs. He told us that the cannon had been 

 seen between tliis passage and a low pinnacle of rock 

 which jutted out of the water just to the west. He thought 

 it doubtful that we would be able to discern this marker, 

 for it was probably concealed in the foaming breakers 

 which churned the whole outer area of reefs. 



It also seemed unlikely to me that in these turbulent 

 waters we would be able to distinguish the deep passage. 

 I would have turned about gladly and given up the search, 

 but neither of the men seemed to have any idea of aban- 

 doning the effort. So I stifled my fears and glued my eyes 

 to the watery chaos ahead, full of doubts as to how far this 

 untried craft might be trusted and more or less resigned 

 to whatever fate might bring. 



As we approached the reef area, Kemp did a won- 

 derful job of handling Reef Diver, twisting her this way 

 and that between half-hidden patches of brown coral an 

 acre or two in extent and the white, curling crests of waves 

 that formed and grew and broke as they encountered 

 the rocky barriers. 



It was bad enough heading out toward sea through 

 these hazards, I thought. What would happen when we 



The Bahama Islands 151 



