 The bank has been proposed as a possible location for Elizabeth Island, a phantom island reported by Sir Francis Drake in October 1578.However, subsequent surveys have been unable to locate the bank, which may itself be a phantom.Burnham reported to the US Hydrographic Office that 'while running before a gale off Cape Horn in command of the American ship "Pactolus" at 4 o'clock in the morning of 6 November 1885, the wind lulled and the sea fell, and noticing very highly discoloured water, he hove the ship to and sounded three times, obtaining each time from 67 to 70 fms.