ESPERANZA TO CAYO LEVIS A 251 



time, however, was not lost by delay in getting 

 under way, for a few hours of just such quiet con- 

 ditions were much needed to prepare and pack 

 the catch of the last three days, and a dredging 

 party in the launch improved the opportunity to 

 survey the bottom and select likely looking spots 

 for several excellent hauls. When the first morn- 

 ing puffs of the trade came along we stood out of 

 the bay, rounded Punta Lavanderas, and headed 

 to the east, gathering headway as the trade finally 

 settled down to a steady breeze. The greater 

 number of islands encountered and the closeness 

 of the reef forced the schooner into ever-narrowing 

 passages where the decreasing depth scarcely 

 permitted us to pass. The soft bottom of the 

 narrow fairway is streaked by grooves cut by the 

 keels of fishing craft. Several times we stuck, 

 but skilftd jockeying freed us, and we crept on. 

 For a mile or more the legs of our tacks were 

 shortened to fifty feet and the bowsprit grazed 

 the trees as we came about. 



A 3 o'clock in the afternoon, having reached a 

 point under the Levisa Keys and opposite a pass 

 through the reef of same name, the Patron an- 

 nounced that the schooner could proceed inside 



