Chapter 9

As we continued on our weary way south, the weather grew exceedingly cold and there were many mornings when we had to break ice from the water barrels in order to drink. The crew who had to sleep on the deck suffered greatly and were scarcely able to handle the sails with hands that were numb with cold. We had not planned to meet with such cold weather, so there were no warm clothes to distribute to the crew. I was fortunate to have my wolf skin to keep me warm at night, but even so I spent many days wishing that Magellan would take note of the suffering of the crews of the naos and that he would decide to turn back with the assurance that he had gone further south than any man before. But, Magellan seemed to disregard the harsh conditions that the sailors had to endure in his singular quest for a passage that many began to openly doubt existed.

The crew of the San Antonio suffered even more than most. Just one day after leaving the Mar Dulce, some of the timbers below the water gave way and the sea began to gush in. The carpenters and caulkers from the other four ships joined in the fight to replace the rotten timbers while sailors pumped unceasingly to prevent the water from sinking the ship. Finally, after two days of hard exertions, the leak had been repaired and the fleet could resume its journey south. However, the San Antonio was now under the control of a captain who had no experience of sailing, and of a pilot who was still angry at what he saw as a demotion. The result was that because of mismanagement the ship ran aground on a sand bank. Luckily, as the tide rose, the ship managed to free itself from its sandy prison and joined the rest of the fleet. The only officer on the San Antonio who was competent and had extensive experience was the maestre, Juan de Elorriaga.

Finally, after 8 weeks, even Magellan could not ignore the plight of the sailors and on 31st March 1520 he led the fleet to the shelter of a bay that he named Puerto San Julián. It became clear that this bay would yield a supply of fish, shellfish and meat from animals ashore, as well as fresh water. Therefore, Magellan made a speech from the poop deck of the Trinidad that could be heard by the crews of the other four naos which had anchored close to the Trinidad. This speech was intended to motivate the men to continue with the plan of finding a westerly route to the Spice Islands. This is what he said:

“When I was appointed commander of this expedition, I was comforted by the knowledge that the sailors who explore the world in the service of Spain are the bravest and most skilful of all who sail to unknown lands, and since we left Sanlúcar just over six months ago this has proved to be true. We are now farther south than European men have ever explored in these seas. When we return to Europe, we will be honoured for our endeavours. But we have not yet found a westerly route to the Spice Islands, which is the task we undertook to accomplish. Therefore, we cannot return to Spain and tell the world that we were defeated by a little cold weather. To do so, would bring dishonour on us and we would not be able to hold our heads high in public. We must continue until we reach our destination. But we cannot continue until the winter has passed, so we will stay here until better weather returns. This sheltered bay with plentiful stocks of fish and fowl will be our home for the months to come, until we can sail onward. We will no longer give daily rations of hard tack which we must preserve for when we will complete our journey and fulfil the oath we swore to His Majesty Carlos, King of Spain. All hail His Majesty, His Holiness the Pope, and the One and only God, Son, and Holy Ghost whom they and we all serve!”