of Crooked and Acklin islands, I discovered that a heavy 

 chain of reefs followed the vv^hole extent of the two islands, 

 more than a mile oflFshore. As we left Acklin behind, the 

 coral could still be seen, bordering the eastern coastline 

 clear to the horizon. Although Verhoog had picked Acklin 

 as Columbus's Femandina, it did not appear to suit the 

 description too well, for Columbus had described it as 

 "all of it beach, free from rocks." 



We next flew along the north shore of Mayaguana is- 

 land, Verhoog's Santa Maria de la Concepcion. Once again 

 I noted a long, protecting reef the full length of the island, 

 making it impossible to approach from the sea. If Colum- 

 bus had sailed along this coast, it would not be surpris- 

 ing if he had chosen to go on to the next island without 

 attempting to land. 



Then at last the Caicos archipelago was ahead of us. 

 Would this prove to be the first land which Columbus saw 

 after weary months at sea? I wondered. The islands were 

 low and flat, dotted with many shallow bodies of water 

 and separated from each other by narrow channels. There 

 were sandy beaches along the north and west shores and 

 then long stretches of oflFshore reefs which fringed the 

 islands for miles. 



As we flew over the break between Grand Caicos 

 and East Caicos, I looked down upon "a harbour large 

 enough for all tlie ships of Cliristendom." Near an opening 

 at the south end of the reefs which formed the outer 

 edge of the harbor was a "piece of land which is formed 

 like an island although it is not one." This could easily 

 have been converted into an island fortress such as Colum- 

 bus had described. And although a rough sea was breaking 

 on the reefs, inside, "the sea was no more disturbed than 

 water in a well." 



We were past so quickly that I had time only to 

 think how perfectly it all answered Columbus's descrip- 



308 Sea Diver 



