Scholars have long assumed that Cape François was either present
day Cape Canaveral They have also assumed that the May River was
the St. Johns River. However, the distances between these points
and Beaufort, SC (Port Royal Sound) donít seem to correlate with
the time that French fleet spent to travel. De Laudonniéreís
memoirs state that the fleet sailed directly from Cape François
to the outlet of the May River in two weeks. They spent two
weeks more exploring a series of islands and rivers between the
May River and Port Royal. They stopped to explore inlets and
rivers. Late 16th century and 17th century French maps generally
show Cape François to be north of the mouth of the St. Johns
River. The numbers just donít add up. Jacksonville is 138 miles
from Cape Canaveral (9.8 miles per day) and 27 miles from St.
Augustine (1.9 miles per day.) Jacksonville is 163 miles from
Beaufort, SC (11.6 miles per day.) If the May River was the St.
Johns River at Jacksonville, the time required to reach Port
Royal Sound (Be