the gulf was wide and impassible although many small boats attempted the useless journey. one, a small cutter painted an implausable aquamarine had tried five times in the last week. each foray ended in the craft being tossed on its beam ends and eviscerated; passengers, luggage and provisions all vanishing in the surf.once, a
n aged corpulant dowager was seized by a shark before she could reach the beach and vanished in a bloody froth.