{"product_id":"tracks-in-search-of-the-phantom-st-esprit-reef-by-hm-ships-barbados-1834-map-p-6-111204","title":"Tracks in Search of the [phantom] St. Esprit Reef by HM Ships—Barbados 1834 map","description":"\u003cp align=\"left\"\u003e'Tracks in Search of the St. Esprit Reef by H.M. Ships'\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp align=\"left\"\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp align=\"left\"\u003e\u003cem\u003eThis chart records the Royal Navy’s systematic efforts to verify the reported existence of the “St. Esprit Reef,” a supposed shoal said to lie north-east of Barbados. The hazard was first reported in 1817, when the French ship St. Esprit, sailing from Marseilles to Martinique, claimed to have encountered a reef with only eight feet of water above it. Given the potential danger to Atlantic shipping, British warships—including Ariadne, Sapphire, Vestal, Forte, Victor, and earlier Galatea—conducted extensive zig-zag searches between 1826 and 1834, taking soundings and plotting tracks. Their investigations appear to have concluded that the reef was a phantom hazard, likely arising from navigational error or the misidentification of a submerged object.\u003c\/em\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e","brand":"Antiquemapsandprints.com","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":52504272601435,"sku":"P-6-111204","price":140.0,"currency_code":"GBP","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0923\/9583\/1643\/files\/P-6-111204a.jpg?v=1772563574","url":"https:\/\/www.antiquemapsandprints.com\/products\/tracks-in-search-of-the-phantom-st-esprit-reef-by-hm-ships-barbados-1834-map-p-6-111204","provider":"Antiquemapsandprints.com","version":"1.0","type":"link"}