Chapter 10

The journey back to Hondarribia was uneventful and, although it was winter, it did not rain, not even the soft drizzle called sirimiri in Euskara which was very common in this region during this season. I took this as a good omen for a successful delivery of the nao on time. The journey of about 50 kilometres took two days to complete because there were no paved roads and in the winter the tracks made by carts were muddy and full of potholes. As I did not want to overtire the horse, I stopped for the night in the large town of Donostia where I had also spent the night on my way to Zumaia. When I arrived at Hondarribia, I was glad to stretch my legs after two days of riding, so after returning the horse to the stables I had rented it from, I walked to the port. The sun was setting and as I gazed at the sea, which was calm that day, I felt excitement at the thought of once more being in command of a nao heading to an unknown land. Four days of riding on a horse had convinced me that I preferred to travel on the ocean even at the risk of having to contend with the storms and other dangers that could cause a ship to founder and sink with the loss of all those on board.

I returned to the tavern where I informed Juan of the agreement that I had made with Cristobal de Artadi. Together, we composed a letter to Gaston with the news that the nao should be completed on time and that he should send 40,000 maravedis every month which I would take to Zumaia as payment if the work was proceeding as planned. Juan had his own methods of delivering letters to France using trusted smugglers, so we were sure that the plan would be completed as agreed.

I made the trip to Zumaia four more times, making the monthly payments to Cristobal de Artadi of the 40,000 maravedis according to our agreement. Each time, I could see that the work on the construction of the nao was proceeding without delay. In June, I received more money from France and made the final trip to take possession of the nao and to see to outfitting it for the voyage across the Atlantic Ocean in search of the strange fruit that the French merchants were anxious to obtain.

The task of outfitting the nao was made easier because it was delivered to me with all rigging, sails and necessary ropes in place. I named the nao Santa Maria in honour of the fishing vessel I had served on under the command of Juan. However, although the men who had built the nao with such skill and craftsmanship had been on board when she was launched and manoeuvred her to an anchorage in the harbour, I knew that I needed an experienced crew for the hazardous voyage across the Atlantic. And the place where I could find that crew was in Getaria which is near Zumaia.

Juan’s fishing boat had a crew of 12, but for this larger nao, I calculated that I needed 25 men to manage all the tasks that were needed to cross the Atlantic and return safely. In addition to me as the Captain and Master, the crew would consist of a boatswain, 2 pilots, 1 carpenter, 1 caulker, 10 sailors, 1 storekeeper, 2 cabin boys or apprentice sailors, 1 page, and 5 men-at-arms. The boatswain would be the second in command; 2 pilots was more than normal but this was a voyage to the unknown, so I considered it best to use 2 pilots; the carpenter and caulker would keep a close watch on the timbers of the ship and work constantly to prevent any water from seeping into the bilges where the pumps would be manned if necessary to keep the nao afloat; the sailors would be responsible for setting and reefing the sails, and manning the wheel to steer in the direction indicated by the pilot; the storekeeper was in charge of the food and water, and was also responsible for preparing the meals; the cabin boys kept the cabins clean and assisted the storekeeper; the page was my personal servant; and the men-at-arms carried arquebuses, pikes, swords, and crossbows in case we met with hostile natives.

I bought one small cannon to be mounted on the prow deck with a supply of gunpowder and cannon balls and small iron shot. I also bought the arms and gunpowder and shot for the men-at-arms. Each of these soldiers would provide their own body armour. Then I made my way to Getaria to hire the crew.

I knew that Columbus had started his first voyage of discovery early in August 1492 and that he had taken 5 weeks to reach land. As it was now late June in 1511, there was very little time to recruit the crew I needed if we were to set sail in August. However, I was also aware that on his second voyage, Columbus had sailed in late September, so I felt that in the next 3 months I would be able to find the right crew, buy food and other supplies for the nao, and set sail before winter storms would prevent me from achieving my goal.

Getaria is not a large town, so my arrival was soon known by many. I had to stay at my mother’s house and tell my brothers about my plans. My younger brothers, Martín Pérez and Antón Martín, had recently returned from Lisbon where they had studied cartography and navigation at the school established by a previous Portuguese king known as Henry the Navigator. The lessons taught at this school were responsible for producing pilots with the skills and knowledge to assist Portuguese sailors to explore the coasts of Africa, to establish trading posts in India, and even to reach the far-off Spice Islands that could be found in the seas many leagues to the east of India. They immediately offered their services as the 2 pilots I needed, and I was glad to accept them as trusted members of the crew.

Among the many stories my brothers had to tell me there was one that interested me a lot. This was the tale of a man they called Fernão de Magalhães also known as Ferdinand Magellan. This man was a Portuguese explorer who had sailed to India in the fleet of Francisco de Almeida in 1505 and who had recently returned to Portugal with a cargo of spices from the Spice Islands. This news gave me confidence that our journey seeking a new spice that did not grow in the Spice Islands would be successful because if Portugal had discovered how to reach India by sailing around Africa and beyond India perhaps to the Spice Islands, we could surely reach the shores of the New World easily by sailing across the Atlantic. Many Spanish and Portuguese ships had already followed in the path of Columbus, so we should have no problems in doing the same.