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Dangers. A shoal with 17 feet at its end extends 1 mile southeastward from Point Cascajo. There is a dry reef about 250 yards from the point; the general depths on the shoal outside the reef are 12 to 16 feet. A detached shoal with 17 feet outside this shoal is marked by a can buoy. The line of the eastern ends of Cabras and Cabeza de Perro islands leads eastward of the shoal.

A shoal surrounds Cabra de Tierra to a distance of 350 yards, and extends the same distance off the western side of the point. A nun buoy marks the southern edge of the shoal. The bight, between Cabra de Tierra and the partly-cleared hill % mile northward of it, is shoal to a distance of 3% mile from its head; and shoals ́extend about 400 yards from the shore at and a little northward of the hill.

A shoal, with 10 to 12 feet of water on its outer part, extends 1/2 mile northeastward from Point Cascajo. There is a detached rock with 17 feet outside this shoal, and 5% mile west-northwestward from Cabra de Tierra. A can buoy marks its eastern edge.

The northwest part of the harbor is foul for a distance of 5% mile from shore, there being as little as 2 feet of water on numerous shoals. DIRECTIONS.-When off the entrance steer for Cabra de Tierra on a 333° true (NNW 1 W mag.) course until Point Puerca is in line with the east end of Cabras Island, then steer 313° true (NW 18 N mag.) so as to pass about 1/4 mile southwestward of Cabra de Tierra and avoiding the 17-foot spot on the western side of the channel marked by the can buoy.

Point Cascajo, the western point at the entrance to Ensenada Honda, is 70 feet high and cleared, but there is a fringe of trees at the water. There are rocky cliffs on the south side of the point, and a bare reef about 250 yards off its southeast side.

Point Algodones, 3 miles east-northeast from Point Lima, is high and partly wooded.

Algodones Cay, near the middle of the north side of Algodones Bay, is small and grass covered. Its southeast side is a rocky bluff, 40 feet high; its northwest end is low. There is a group of prominent hills northward of the cay, with low land east and west of them.

Algodones Bay is 211⁄2 miles wide between Point Lima and Point Algodones. It is of no importance, either commercially or as an anchorage, and should be avoided by vessels of any size. There are numerous shoals in the bay, with depths of 13 to 17 feet, which extend 2 miles off; the southernmost, with 15 feet, lies 2 miles east-southeastward from Point Lima, and shoals with 21 to 23 feet extend 11⁄2 miles farther south westward.

Point Lima is projecting and prominent. It is a rounded, wooded hill, 262 feet high, with a low neck of land behind it. Lima Reef, 1⁄2 mile eastward from the point, is 300 yards in diameter, has little water over it, and the sea often breaks on it.

Port Naguabo is at the northern end of the open bay included between Santiago Cay and Point Lima. It is easily entered, and affords good anchorage for vessels of about 18 feet or less draft except with southeasterly or southerly winds. The depths in the bay range from 30 feet in the entrance to 18 feet about 3% mile off Playa de Naguabo.

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A spot with 15 feet lies 3/4 mile east-northeastward from the northeast end of Santiago Cay, and a shoal with a depth of 162 feet lies from 114 to 112 miles eastward, from the south end of the cay. The north side of the bay, from Point Lima to a little westward of Playa de Naguabo, is high, with a number of bluff, rocky points. The northwest side is low and covered with palm trees.

To enter Port Naguabo, steer for the summit of Point Lima on any bearing between 338° true. (N by W 5% W mag.) and 22° true (NNĚ 1/4 E mag.) until about 1 mile from it, and haul westward and follow the shore at a distance of 12 to 1 mile. When the deep valley making in from Playa de Naguabo bears 341° true (N by W 14 W mag.), steer for it and anchor on this line according to draft, allowing about 6 feet under the bottom.

Playa de Naguabo is a small town on the north side of Port Naguabo, 11⁄2 miles westward of Point Lima. The buildings of the town show up well to seaward. A road leads inland to Naguabo, a post village, 112 miles northwestward, which has communication by telegraph, and is on the road between Humacao and Fajardo. It is also the terminus of the railroad from Mameyes through Fajardo.

Santiago Cay lies 211⁄2 miles southwestward from Point Lima and 5% mile southeastward of Playa de Humacao. It is 600 yards long north and south, and about 100 feet high near its southern end. The north end of the cay is low, and is joined by a low neck to a rocky knob, over 60 feet high, eastward of it. There is deep water fairly close to the cay, but surrounding it at a distance of 1 mile are a number of spots with 16 to 18 feet. A shoal extends from the cay to Playa de Humacao; it has 10 feet of water over it near the playa, and very little near the cay.

Port Humacao, on the west side of Santiago Cay, is of some commercial importance, and affords a good anchorage for vessels of 16 feet or less draft except with southeasterly or southerly winds. The port is exposed southeastward and southward, and a heavy sea sometimes makes in with southeasterly winds. The deepest draft of the vessels calling at the port is about 18 feet. The anchorage for vessels of 16 feet or less draft is westward of Santiago Cay, between Evelyn Shoal and Playa de Humacao, in 18 to 22 feet of water.

Playa de Humacao is a post village on the beach northwestward of Santiago Cay, and is the subport of entry for Naguabo, Humacao, Yabucoa, and Vieques Island. The landing is on a flat sand beach, and the surf is usually light except with southeast winds. The water supply is from cisterns, and there is none for vessels. There are highways to Humacao and Naguabo.

Humacao is an inland town about 6 statute miles westward of the playa, and is the principal town in this part of Porto Rico. It has a population of 6,183. There is communication by telegraph and telephone to all parts of the island. The town is on the highway which connects the principal towns near the coast, and another highway leads inland to the road across the island between San Juan and Ponce.

Dangers. Evelyn Shoal, with a depth of 16 feet, is small, and is marked by a can buoy on its western side, lying 3% mile westward from the southern point of Santiago Cay. Parse Shoal, with a depth

of 16 feet, lies / mile southward from Santiago Cay. It is marked off its western side by a nun buoy and its eastern side by a can buoy. A shoal, with 1612 feet of water, marked by a nun buoy off its western end, lies 11/2 miles from the same cay. There are other shoals the positions of which can be best understood by reference to the chart.

A pilot for the port can be obtained from the playa.

DIRECTIONS.-Vessels entering Port Humacao steer for the west end of Santiago Cay on a 353° true (N 14 W mag.) course until up to Parse Shoal east side buoy. Pass close eastward of the buoy and steer for the customhouse (large, yellow, flat-topped building) on a 337° true (N by W 34 mag.) course, which will lead in depths of 21 feet, and pass 100 yards eastward of Evelyn Shoal buoy. Anchor with the northwest point of Santiago Cay just touching the southern end of Point Lima. Vessels if loading to more than 18 feet draft usually drop outside of Evelyn Shoal buoy and anchor with Cabras Island lighthouse showing a little outside of the southern part of Santiago Cay. Loaded vessels leaving Port Humacao should pass westward of Parse Shoal nun buoy, on account of the deeper water in this channel.

El Morrillo, 134 miles northward of Morro de Humacao, is a prominent, small hill, about 100 feet high, which rises abruptly from the water and the lowland around it.

Morro de Humacao, 31⁄2 miles southwestward of Santiago Cay, is a prominent, bluff, rocky point, 100 feet high, with higher land a short distance westward. Batata Cay, grass-covered and about 40 feet high, lies 3 mile eastward of Morro de Humacao, with depths of 13 to 19 feet between. A bare ledge lies 300 yards eastward of the cay, and a reef, awash and steep-to, extends 350 yards southward from them.

Point Candelero, 112 miles southward of Morro de Humacao, is low and covered with brush and a few palm trees. The point is surrounded by a sunken reef and breakers, from which a shoal, with 17 feet of water at its end, extends nearly 3% mile south-southeastward, and another, with 8 to 15 feet of water, extends 5% mile northeastward from the point.

Point Fraile, 5% mile northward of Point Icacos, has a prominent, high, bare islet close-to. A reef, partly bare, extends 1/4 mile eastward from the point to two large bare rocks with a number of smaller ones close-to.

Point Icacos, 1 mile northward of Point Guayanes, has a high, grasscovered rock close-to, which shows detached from the point when seen from southward. From Point Fraile to Point Guayanes, a distant of 11⁄2 miles, the coast is high and rocky.

Point Guayanes, the north point of Port Yabucoa, is 360 feet high, covered with a scrubby growth, and has rocky bluffs at the water's edge.

Port Yabucoa is an open bay, 2 miles wide, with numerous reefs, sunken and awash. It is not a desirable anchorage and of little commercial importance. The anchorage is inside the reefs at the northern end of the bay and is a little over 1/4 mile in diameter, with depths of 23 to 25 feet. It is exposed to southeasterly winds and sea. The

entrance is close to Point Guayanes and is about 100 yards wide and 20 feet deep, but it is not recommended for a draft of over 15 feet. Playa Guayanes, lying along the north shore of Port Yabucoa, is a small town of 1,438 inhabitants. The warehouse and houses show up well to seaward. There is no water for vessels and the river water is polluted. A road leads to Yabucoa, a town and post office in the valley 31⁄2 miles westward. It has communication by telegraph, and is on the highway between Maunabo and Humacao.

Dangers. The entrance reef is about 350 yards in diameter, and its northern point, with 9 feet, is marked by a can buoy, which lies nearly 150 yards southward of Point Guayanes; there is a small patch, nearly awash and on which the sea often breaks, 200 yards southward of the buoy. A detached shoal with a depth of 16 feet lies 11⁄2 mile south-southeastward of the buoy. Another detached shoal, with 15 feet, lies 300 yards east-southeastward from the entrance can buoy, and one with 16 feet, marked by a can buoy "ILS," lies about 1/4 mile eastward from the entrance buoy. The southern extension of the reefs making off Point Guayanes is marked by a nun buoy in a depth of 30 feet. A 17-foot spot lies very close to the center of the anchorage inside.

Point Quebrada Honda, 11 miles northward of Point Yeguas, is the south point of Port Yabucoa. At 3% mile westward of the point there is a prominent hill, 479 feet high, the surface of which is strewn with large white bowlders.

Point Yeguas lies 11 miles southward from Point Quebrada Honda. It is low with a rocky bluff at the end, but rises gradually in a smooth, grassy ridge which joins the eastern end of Panduras Ridge.

Toro Point, 112 miles westward of Point Yeguas, is a spur 500 feet high from Panduras Ridge, which is 1 mile northward of the point and has elevations of 1,400 feet.

Point Tuna is 70 to 100 feet high, with cliffs at the water, and is marked near its end by a lighthouse. From the point the land rises in a distance of 1/2 mile to a prominent hill, 400 feet high and with some trees near the summit, which lies about 1 mile from the mountains north of it.

Sargent Reef is about 134 miles long in a northeast and southwest direction, and at Point Tuna is from 3% to 11⁄2 mile from shore. A small patch, nearly 34 mile eastward from the lighthouse, is awash, from which the reef gradually deepens to 15 feet near its eastern end 114 miles eastward from the lighthouse. The depths on the southwestern part of the reef range from 12 feet a little southwestward of the patch awash to 17 feet at its end lying 5% mile southwestward from the lighthouse. The reef is steep-to on its seaward side. The break on the reef does not show well except when there is considerable sea, and there are parts of it on which the sea rarely breaks. The western end of the reef is marked by a nun buoy. There is a channel, with a least width of 1/4 mile, between the reef and Point Tuna, but it is not recommended for strangers.

From Sargeant Reef a ridge with 22 feet of water over it extends east-northeastward, passes 5% mile off Toro Point, and ends 1/2 mile southward of Point Yeguas. This ridge forms the southern edge of the bank of soundings and is close to the 100-fathom curve.

DIRECTIONS, NORTH AND EAST COAST OF PORTO RICO AND VIEQUES SOUND.

GENERAL REMARKS ON APPROACHING AND STANDING ALONG THE NORTH COAST OF PORTO RICO.

Approaching Porto Rico from northward, there are few natural landmarks that can be identified by a stranger. The lighthouses at Cape San Juan, San Juan Harbor, Arecibo, and Point Borinquen are unmistakable. The higher mountains of Porto Rico are nearer the southern side of the island, and while they will be seen in the daytime with clear weather, they can not be identified so as to be used as landmarks. Luquillo Mountains, in the northeast corner of the island, will sometimes be sighted at a distance, but they are often obscured by clouds and rain squalls.

San Juan Harbor, the usual point of destination, has a few distinctive marks which may be recognized at a distance. When within 15 miles or so of the island, if west of the longitude of San Juan, there will be sighted a continuous line of sharp conical hills, which occur in remarkable numbers west of San Juan and extend to Point Borinquen, but do not extend east of San Juan. On approaching San Juan, a prominent black water tank and radio towers will be made out when well offshore and when closer in the gray and yellow walls of Morro Castle. At night the lighthouse on Morro Castle and the electric lights of San Juan will be seen as much as 18 miles in clear weather. A stranger should not attempt to enter San Juan Harbor at night. Sailing directions for San Juan Harbor are given under that heading.

While the trade wind is blowing freshly from eastward, the current so far as known has a slight westerly set with it; an allowance of 1/4 mile an hour is sometimes made for this current. (See also the remarks on currents on p. 29.)

San Juan Harbor is the only harbor on the north coast. Vessels sometimes stop at Arecibo for a few hours to discharge or load. Small local craft also touch at other points along the north coast, but no definite information can be given of these places.

Deep water extends close to the north coast of the island in places, the 100-fathom curve being sometimes less than 1 mile from the breakers, and the lead is of little use at night as a guide to indicate danger or distance from the shore. Safety will be insured in the daytime by giving the coast a berth of 3 miles; at night vessels should keep farther offshore.

From Point Borinquen to San Juan Harbor Entrance. From a position 31 miles northward of Point Borinquen lighthouse a 92° true (E 2 S mag.) course made good for 58 miles will lead to a position 4 miles northward of Port San Juan lighthouse on Morro Castle.

To Virgin Passage. From a position 4 miles northward of Port San Juan lighthouse a 100° true (ESE 34 E mag.) course made good for 50 miles will lead to a position 4 miles northward of Northeast Cay, Culebra Island, then steer 126° true (SE 12 E mag.) heading for Sail Rock, for 7 miles; when Culebrità Island lighthouse bears 265° true (W mag.) the course may be shaped as desired through the Virgin Island Passage.

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