












88 THE CRUISE OF THE ABROLHOS. 
have already given a description in my last article, I set out 
on the evening of the 12th of September to visit the north 
ernmost reef of the Parédes, called the Recife do Lixo. My — 
plan was to cross the reef that night at high tide, and anchor i 
in a sac or little bay on the western-side, so as to profit i 
the low tide of the full moon of the morrow. Eastward 
the islands a few miles, with a length of about nine to 
miles, and a breadth in some places of four miles, is an 
over which Chapeirões grow very abundantly, forming 0 
structions on which many a vessel has been wrecked. Th 
unite nowhere to form a large reef, and are rarely anywhere 
uncovered at low tide. 
Ordinarily, vessels and steamships go outside of th 
reefs to the eastward, in sight of the islands. It is not i 
however, to calculate one’s distance from a point at sea, and 
especially from a light by night, and many vessels, notwith- 
standing the light-house, have been wrecked upon the 
West of the islands there is deep water, there are no Che 
rões, and between the islands and the Parédes there is & 
channel about eight miles in width, with plenty of water anl 
no obstructions. The safest way is to pass to the westw 
of the islands, when one may run close in shore, so long 
the course is north or south. There is then no danger W 
ever, and there is a smoother sea. On the return voy 
from Rio, the American steamship “South America” was, 
the suggestion of the writer, taken through this channel. 
Varying winds drove the launch “Abrolhos” into the 
gion of the Chapeirées to the north-easfward of the islands. 
Jaco and I took turns in heaving the lead. Among 
Chapeirées we found a depth of sixteen to twenty me 
_ and once, while becalmed, we found twenty metres along 
one Chapeirio, and three metres on top. Waiting for 
wind, the hooks were used, and we soon had, flound 
about below among my boxes of corals, some fine Gua 
pas. By and by the wind freshened and we set out to ¢ 
the channel, sounding all the way, finding a depth of se 
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