Chapter 12

At the port, I stood and gazed back to store the image of the town I had grown up in firmly in my mind, and then turning around, I looked with pride on the newly commissioned nao that I was about to command and where my wolf skin was already nailed to the door of my cabin.

When I came aboard, I was greeted by Sean who already had the crew preparing to hoist the sails, raise the anchor, and cast off the ropes that held us attached to the quay. The afternoon tide was receding and we would be able to use its flow to start us on our way. I mounted the few stairs to the poop deck and standing beside the sailor at the wheel, I gave the order to cast off and begin our voyage.

The weather was fair and with the help of the wind blowing from the east, we soon left the port and entered the open sea. With all sails set, we made our heading due west and began to pass along the north coast of Spain. When we came near to Zumaia, I ordered the helmsman to steer us as close to the shore as possible, and as soon as we were in sight of the area where ships were built, I told Sean to fire a blank shot from the small cannon which had been situated in the prow and to follow this with a loud cheer from all the crew members. This was my way of letting Cristobal de Artadi know that the nao he had constructed was seaworthy and about to commence its first long voyage. I could see a group of men working on the shore, although I was not sure if the master shipwright was among them, but the news of our salute would surely reach him if he was not present to view it himself.

I calculated that our speed was about 4 knots per hour and that if the weather held, we would arrive at the port of A Coruña in Galicia in around 60 hours, and from there to Las Palmas in the Canary Islands where we would stop to refill our water barrels and buy fresh food. Then we would follow the route of Columbus and sail to Santo Domingo on the island of Hispaniola, taking about 35 days at sea in total after leaving Getaria if we could maintain a speed of 6 knots per hour. If we had stronger winds and no calm days or storms, we could even double our speed and shorten the journey by half, but it was always best to be cautious when calculating sailing times. Although the information that the French merchants had was that the strange fruit grew further south on the mainland of the New World, we would call at Santo Domingo because Spain had established a settlement there which meant that we could replenish our water and food easily.

After leaving Getaria, we stopped for five days at the port of A Coruña in Galicia. In addition to taking on some of the excellent shellfish that Galicia is famous for, I went ashore to visit the Farum Brigantium, which is a lighthouse built by the Romans in the first century after the birth of Christ, and which is still in use warning mariners of the dangers of the Costa da Morte (Coast of Death). This coast is called thus because of the many shipwrecks that have occurred there. At the base of the lighthouse is an inscription in Latin which reads MARTI AVG.SACR C.SEVIVS LVPVS ARCHITECTVS ÆMINIENSIS LVSITANVS.EX.VO. Although I can read Latin, I did not understand the Latin of this inscription, but a priest who was also admiring this incredible example of Roman ingenuity translated it for me. The meaning is that it was designed as an offering to the Roman god Mars by the architect Gaius Sevius Lupus, from Aeminium in Lusitania, which is now called Coimbra in Portugal.

While I had heard of the famous lighthouse from the Galego sailors who had been members of the crew when I sailed with Juan to the Grand Banks, I had also heard of the resting place of Saint James in the cathedral of Santiago de Compostela. I knew that this cathedral was a place of pilgrimage for Christians from many countries in Europe, and I wanted to make the pilgrimage as a way of ensuring that our voyage would be successful. The priest who had translated the Latin inscription for me also told me the details of why Santiago de Compostela was such a famous place of pilgrimage. In fact, after Jerusalem and Rome, Santiago de Compostela was the third most visited holy place in all of Europe.

The story that the priest told me was that after the death of Saint James who was one of the Apostles of Our Lord Jesus Christ his body was transported to Galicia in a stone boat guided by an angel. It was brought ashore and buried but the burial place was lost until eight hundred years later a shepherd was guided by a star and found the grave of the saint. He informed the local bishop who declared that the remains were those of the Apostle James and immediately notified King Alfonso II in Oviedo in Asturias. The king ordered a cathedral to be built on the site of the discovery. The saint became the patron saint of Spain and belief in the miracles attributed to him helped Christians in their struggle against the Muslim kingdoms to the south. One popular name for Saint James is Matamoros meaning killer of Moors which is the name we often give to Arabs.

So, as the distance between A Coruña and Santiago is about 65 kilometres, I made a small bundle containing some bread, local cheese and dried meat and, with a pilgrim’s staff, I set off to walk to Santiago. I left Sean and my two brothers in charge of the nao and told them to make ready to sail when I would return after about 5 days. I would have liked to take my brothers with me on this pilgrimage but I did not want to leave Sean in charge of the nao. I believed that he was trustworthy but I preferred not to risk leaving him alone in charge in case he might be tempted to hoist sails and sequester my nao. However, I gave instructions that the crew were to be allowed ashore to sample the hospitality of the local taverns and women of the night but that they must be aboard again when I returned.