Sailing Strait

A passage through the hostile South Atlantic waters was, for the Spanish, a Holy Grail of sailing, just like a Northwest Passage through the Arctic was for the British. Any way to avoid the hostile seas of the extreme southern latitudes was highly desired by the Spanish Crown, as the passage around the Cape of Good Hope, the Southern tip of Africa, was, by decree of the Pope, monopolized by the Portuguese, who guarded it with greedy passion, keeping the Spanish from using the prevailing west winds to get to their possessions in the Far East.

Ferdinand Magellan, Portuguese by birth, but sailing under the Spanish flag, convinced the King of Spain to outfit an expedition seeking a passage through South America en route to the Spice Islands, located in the South Pacific, there to load a cargo of spices and silks, and to return to Spain.

On September 20th, 1519, five ships under Magellan's command set sail from Seville, passed through the Strait of Gibraltar a few days later. The typical route across the Atlantic to South America in the early 16th Century headed south to the Cape Verde Islands, then west along the Equator, and then southwest along the coast to Brazil. The track risked the doldrums that sometimes accompanied an Equatorial passage in the Age of Sail, but avoided any late season hurricanes that might have lain in the North Atlantic. This was the course that Magellan's group set, indeed lying to in the doldrums with slack sails for a number of weeks, but still arriving in Rio de Janeiro on December 13th, 1519.

From there, Magellan sailed south, losing one ship, the Santiago, which ran aground in Rio Santa Cruz while it was scouting for an anchorage in which to pass the harsh winter. Continuing south once spring came in October of 1520, the little fleet sighted Cabo Virgenes (the Cape of 11,000 Virgins) on October 21st, 1520, and turned west into the bay, which turned out to be the long-sought southern passage to the Pacific.

Magellan now faced two problems. One, he didn't know where he was going or where this passage may lead (the number one danger of exploration is a lack of direction). Two, the winds blowing across the strait are almost always out of the west, and sailing ships don't travel well into the wind. By turns tacking against the wind when he could, and anchoring when he couldn't, Magellan led his group constantly westward, finally entering the Pacific Ocean on November 27th, 1520, taking 38 days to travel the 334 mile waterway.

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