Voyage of Curcumnavigation: Extracts from A Derrotero or Log-Book Francisco Albo

The Nao Victoria Replica in the Nao Victoria Museum, Punta Arenas, Chile

 Among many records of the first circumnavigation of the globe preserved in Spain is the log-book kept by the pilot who brought the Victoria home—under the command of Sebastian de Elcano. This pilot's name was Francisco Albo. He signed on in the first instance as master's mate of the Trinidad, Magellan's own ship, which did not return. Although a native of the island of Rhodes, he was thoroughly grounded in the Portuguese method of navigation—by observation of the noon Sun. It involved the use of a four-year table of declinations, and an English version of this very table and instructions was presented to Henry VIII about 1540 by Roger Barlow, who was urging an English participation in the new discoveries.

The ship's crew saw lands, seas, animals, plants, fruits and peoples never seen by Europeans before, including a "camel without humps" (possibly a llama, guanaco, vicuña, or alpaca), and a penguin, that they described as a "black goose" that had to be skinned instead of plucked. They were astonished by the appearance of a Patagonian Giant - a man of gigantic stature on the beach, who sang and danced, pouring sand upon his head in token of amity. They were the first Europeans to sail around the south of South America, and to sail across the Pacific Ocean, which was named by them. They were also the first to sail from Europe westwards to Asia, and the first men to sail around the world. Their epic voyage continued despite mutiny, starvation (which caused them to eat rats, hides and sawdust), scurvy, warfare, and treachery, that resulted in the considerable loss of lives and ships.



Extracts from
A Derrotero or Log-Book
Francisco Albo

The pilot of the Victoria is referred to as Alvo or Alvaro in the Hakluyt edition's Table of Contents, and as Albo on the first page of his account in that edition. The latter spelling is used here, and this page provides Albo's account of the voyage from the time the ships arrived at Rio de la Plata until they reached the entrance to the Pacific Ocean. The Hakluyt edition alternately uses brackets and parentheses in several locations whereas the original Spanish uses only the latter. In addition, the Hakluyt editor has placed a few parenthetical insertions in the text (“bay” for example) which do not appear in the original. In this online edition, all original parentheses have been restored, and only the editor's insertions are now in brackets.

Tuesday, 10th January [1520], I took the sun in 75°; it has a declination of 20°, and our latitude come to 35°. We were to the right of the Cape of Sta  Maria. Thence forward the coast runs East and West, and the land is sandy; we gave it the name of Montevidi (now they call it correctly Santovidio)§, and between it and the Cape Sta Maria there is a river which is called (de los Patos) Duck River. From thence we went on forward through fresh water, and the coast runs E.S.E. and W.N.W. for ten leagues distance; after that it trends N.E. and S.W. as far as 34½°, with a depth of 5, 4 and 3 fathoms; there we anchored, and sent the ship Santiago along the coast to see if there was a roadstead, and the river is in 33½°.

§ The original text (en español) is “… corrutamente llaman ahora Santo Vidio (ahora Montevid_o) …” (Italics in original, with missing letter indicated by underscore.) It appears that the Hakluyt editor misinterpreted the misspelled “corruptamente” (corruptly) as “correctamente” (correctly).

To the N.E. we found some islets, and the mouth of a very large river (it was the river of Solis)§ and it went to the N. Here they turned back to the ships, and the said ship was away from us a matter of 25 leagues, and they were 15 days in coming; and during this time two other of our ships went in a southerly direction to see if there was a roadstead for staying at; and those went in the space of two days, and the Captain-General went thither, and they found land to the S.S.W., 20 leagues distance from us, and they were four days in coming; and on returning we took in water and wood, and we went away from there, tacking from one tack to the other with contrary winds, until we came in sight of Montevidi; and this was on the 2nd day of the month of February, the day of our Lady of the Candlemas; and at night we anchored at 5 leagues from the mountain, and it lay to the S.E. and a quarter S. of us. Afterwards, on the morning of the 3rd, we set sail for the South, and we sounded, and found 4, 5, 6, and 7 fathoms, always increasing in depth; and this day we took the sun in 68° 30'; it had 13° 35' declination, and our latitude came to 35°.

§ Rio de la Plata.

Saturday, 4th February, we anchored in a depth of seven fathoms, the ship San Antonio having got leaky, and we were there till the 5th, and afterwards we weighed on the 6th, and stood on a south course, and at night we anchored in eight fathoms, and remained there till the next day.

The 7th we set sail to reconnoitre better the coast, and we saw that it tended S.E. ¼ S.; after that we took another tack and anchored in 8 fathoms, and there we took the sun in 66° 30', and it had 12° 15' declination, with which our distance from the equinoctial line to the south came to be 35¾°; after that we sailed the same day, and at night we anchored in 9 fathoms, and stood for Cape Santanton (Cabo Blanco) it was to the south in 36°, and this was Tuesday, the 7th.

On the 8th we set sail from the said point, and it is north and south with Montevidi, and 27 leagues distant from it; this coast runs N. and S. (the width of the Rio de la Plata is 27 leagues); from that place forward we went along the coast round the cape of St. Polonia; after that the coast trends from N.E. to S.W. The said cape is in 37°, and the land sandy and very low, it has sea of shallow depth for a distance of two leagues from land, or 8, 9, and 10 fathoms; so we ran all this day to the S.W., and the night and day.

Thursday, 9th of February, I took the sun in 63¼° it has 11½° declination, and the altitude came to 38° 30'; the coast can be sounded, and not very high nor mountainous, and we made out many smokes along the coast; this coast runs E.W. ¼ N.W. S.E., and the point is called Punta de las Arenas.§

§ Not to be confused with the modern Punta Arenas, Chile, within the strait.

On the 10th I took the sun in 62° ⅓, and it had 11° 8' declination, our distance from the equinoctial came to be 38° 48', and the coast runs E. W., and it is a very pretty coast for running in one or other direction.

On the 11th of the said month, I took the sun in 62°, it wad 10° 47' declination, and the altitude comae to be 38° 47', and the course was W. ¼ N.W., and the coast ran east and west from the Point de las Arenas; to this place there is a very good coast, with soundings, with many little green hills and low land.

Sunday the 12th, we did not take the sun, but from the day before till midday we began to run to S.W. and to S.W. and a quarter W., and to W.S.W., and W. and a quarter S.W., but I calculate that the whole course was W.S.W., and this run was from midday of the 11th, till nightfall of the 12th, and at that hour we anchored in 9 fathoms, and further on in 13 fathoms, and after that we had anchored we saw land, and we set sail to the N., and this was on the 13th, and in the morning we were alongside of some shoals, where the Victoria bumped several times.

Item, the same day we were at anchor, and we did not take the sun's altitude, and we were in soundings of 7 fathoms, and we remained there till the 14th, and the said day I took the sun in 60½°, and it had 9° 41' declination, and our altitude came to 39° 11'.

On the 15th of the said month I took the sun in 60°, and it had 9° 13' declination, and our distance came to be 39° 19', and we sailed a south course.

Thursday the 16th, we could not take the sun until the 18th, and on that day we were in 39¼°; and the next day, the 19th, we were in 39⅓°, and this day we went to S.W., and we went by this course, and could not take the sun until the 20th of the month.

On the 20th I took the sun in 57°, it had 7° 27' declination, and our distance to the south came to 40° 17'.

On the 21st, I took the sun in 55°, it had 7° 4' declination, our altitude came to 42° 4', the course was S. W. ¼ W., and we sounded and found bottom at 55 fathoms.

Wednesday the 22nd, I took the sun in 53°, it had 6° 41' declination, and our distance came to 43° 26', the course was S. W. ¼ W.; at night we sounded and found bottom at 55 fathoms.

On the 23rd I took the sun in 53¼°, it had 6° 54' declination, our altitude from the pole came to 42° 54', and our course was W.N.W.

On the 24th I took the sun in 53°, it had 5° 54' declination, our altitude from the pole came to 42° 54', and our course was W.N.W., and we were to the right of a very large bay§, to which we gave the name of St. Matthew, because we found it on his day; we entered well in, and could not find bottom until we were entirely inside, and we found 80 fathoms, and it has a circuit of 50 leagues, and the mouth is to the N.W., and it is in the altitude of 42½°.

§ The original has “… á la cual pusimos nombre de la bahía de San Matia, … .” That is, San Matías (in English, Saint Matthias—not Matthew). The modern Golfo San Matías is at about 41° 30' S.

On the 25th I did not take the sun, but I took it on the 26th, in 51⅔°, and it had 5° 7' declination, by which we found ourselves in 43° 27' to the south of the line, and the coast runs N.W. S.E. ¼ N.S.

On the 27th I took the sun in 50¼°, and it had 4¾° declination, and so our altitude came to be 44°; and here to the right hand we found a bay§, and three leagues before it there are two rocks, and they lie East and West with the said bay, and further on we found another [bay], and there were in it many sea wolves, of which we caught eight, and on this land there are no people, but it is very good land, with pretty plains without trees, and very flat country.

§ Possibly, the small bay to the north of Golfo San Jorge, perhaps now considered as part of that gulf. Albo's “another [bay]” may be the main part of Golfo San Jorge.

Tuesday, 28th, I took the sun in 48½°, and it had 4° 21' declination, and so we found ourselves in 44° 21', and the course was to the south, and at night we saw land to W.N.W.

On the 29th I took the sun in 48½°, and this day it had 4° declination, by which we found ourselves in 45½°, and the course was to S.S.W. and to W.S.W. until I took the sun, and afterwards we were two days that we could not take it.

On Friday, 2nd of March, I took the sun in 43° 50', it had 3° 10' declination, with which our distance came to be 47°; and after that we did not take the sun again until we entered a port called St. Julian, and we entered there on the last day of March, and remained there till the day of St. Bartholomew, which is the 24th of August, and the said port is in 49⅔°, and there we caulked the ships, and many Indians came there, who go covered with skins of antas§, which are like camels without humps, and they carry some bows of canes very small like the Turkish, and the arrows are like theirs, and at the point they have a flint tip for iron, and they are very swift runners, and well made men, and well fashioned. We sailed thence on the 24th of the said month of August, and went along the coast to S.W. ¼ W., a matter of 30 leagues, and found a river called Santa Cruz, and we entered there on the 26th of August, and remained till the day of S. Lucas, which is the 18th of the month of October, and there we caught much fish, and we took in water and wood, and this coast is well defined and with good marks.

§ The word “anta” is now associated with the South American tapir found in Brazil and surrounding areas. But according to Falkner (note 88:23, p. 154), it had been used to describe both the tapic and the guanaco. The Indians were probably wearing skins of the guanaco, which agrees with his “like camels without humps” description.

Thursday, the 18th of October, we sailed from the said river of Santa Cruz, with contrary winds, we went for two days tacking about, and then we had a fair wind, and went to the S.S.W. for two days, and in that time we took the sun in 50⅔°, and it was on the 20th.

On the 21st of the said month, I took the sun in exactly 52°, at five leagues from the land, and there we saw an opening like a bay, and it has at the entrance, on the right hand a very long spit of sand, and the cape which we discovered before this spit, is called the Cape of the Virgins, and the spit of sand is in 52° latitude, and 52½° longitude, and from the spit of sand to the other part, there may be a matter of 5 leagues, and within this bay we found a strait which may be a league in width, and from this mouth to the spit you look East and West, and on the left hand side of the bay there is a great elbow, within which are many shoals, but when you enter the strait, keep to the North side, and when you are in the strait to the S.W., in the middle of the channel, and when you are in the strait, take care of some shallows less than three leagues from the entrance of the straits, and after them you will find two islets of sand, and then you will find the channel open, proceed in it at your pleasure without hesitation; and passing this strait we found another small bay, and then we found another strait of the same kind as the first, and from one mouth to the other runs East and West, and the narrow part runs N.E. and S.W., and after we had come out of the two straits or narrows, we found a very large bay, and we found some islands, and we anchored at one of them; and took the sun, and found ourselves in 52⅓°, and thence we came in S.S.E. direction, and found a spit on the left hand, and from thence to the first mouth there will be a matter of 30 leagues; after that we went to S.W. a matter of 20 leagues, and there we took the sun, and we were in 53° latitude. In this strait there are a great many elbows, and the chains of mountains are very high and covered with snow, with much forest. After that we went to N.W. and a quarter W., and in this course there are many islets; and issuing from this strait the coast turns to the north, and on the left hand we saw a cape with an island, and we gave them the name of Cape Fermoso and Cape Deseado, and it is in the same latitude as the Cape of the Virgins, which is at the beginning of the straits, and from the said Cape Fermoso we afterwards went to N.W. and to N., and to N.N.E., and we went in this course two days and three nights, and in the morning we saw land of pointed hills, and it runs North and South (thus runs the coast of the South sea) and from this land to Cape Fermoso there is a matter of 20 leagues, and we saw this land the 1st December.