Storms were often demoralizing to the ship’s crew. Severe weather also meant slower progress and if the conditions grew harsh enough, they could easily prove fatal to both the ship and her crew. November storms forced the San Salvadorback out to sea and she became separated from her companion vessel. Nevertheless, Cabrillo decided to continue his voyage north.
After exploring as far as the Russian River in Northern California, the expedition turned back to the south as Cabrillo had decided not to voyage any further unaccompanied. On his way back he would again miss sighting the inlet to the San Francisco Bay, probably due to fog or the masking illusion of Alcatraz. Cabrillo found his companion ship anchored near Santa Cruz, located just north of Monterey. While his crew repaired damages from the storm, Cabrillo briefly explored the Monterey Bay territories. After the necessary repairs had been completed, both ships set southward along the coast.
Cabrillo’s return voyage led the explorers to San Miguel Island in the Santa Barbara Channel. The expedition was further complicated when Cabrillo met a tragic and untimely death from a severe leg injury. One of Cabrillo’s men, Francisco de Vargas, described how several crewmen were ambushed by natives while filling drinking urns with fresh water. Cabrillo led a rescue party and severely injured his leg when jumping from the small shore boat. Vargas wrote: “one foot struck a rocky ledge, and he splintered a shinbone.” Weeks later the open fracture became severely infected as gangrene set in. Cabrillo would die shortly thereafter on January 3, 1543. He had given final orders to Senior Navigator Bargolomé Ferrelo to resume the expedition, taking a northern course.
After burying Cabrillo on the Channel Islands, Ferrelo took charge of the expedition and continued the exploratory voyage north. He decided to push further than was originally planned, charting the coastline up through the northwest regions of Oregon. The ships rounded Cape Mendocino, finally reaching what is now known as the Rogue River in Oregon. With rations running low and huge winter storms inhibiting the visibility necessary to plot their course, they turned south and made the journey back to Navidad. Only ten months after their original departure they arrived back at their homeport on April 14, 1543, and their expedition was judged a monumental failure by Mendoza. The surviving crewmen were weakened by starvation and many were seriously ill with scurvy. They had found no riches and more importantly, no mystical passage joining the great oceans.
Mendoza had the ships refitted and sent them to Peru on a trading voyage. Neither the San Salvadornor the Victoriawould ever return, both falling victim to the shipworms that fed on the wooden hulls, eroding their structures. There is little documentation detailing Pacific coastal expeditions over the next two centuries. The crude charts from Cabrillo’s voyages were published and they served as the primary means of navigating the California coast for explorers of this period.
The earliest authenticated instance of the name Californiabeing used by explorers was in the summation ship logs of Cabrillo’s expedition in 1542. But the first ever recorded use of the name was discovered in a romantic novel entitled The Exploits of Esplandiánwritten around 1500 by Garci Ordóńez de Montalvo. This work referred to an “Amazon Island” called California, and it is believed that explorers of this period were familiar with the book – which further romanticized the early exploration of these waters.
In late 1577, England’s famed sea voyager Sir Francis Drake embarked on a courageous expedition, once more in hope of locating the elusive Northern Passage. He would journey to the Pacific Ocean via the Strait of Magellan with five ships and he announced to his crew: “Whoever first describes her, shall have my chain of gold for his good news .”As they ran down the Atlantic Coast of South America, storms, separations, dissension and a near fatal encounter with natives marred their passage. Drake was forced to scrap two of his severely damaged vessels and it would be several months before he could recommence his journey. His flagship the Pelicanwould be christened under a glorious new designation and would henceforth be known as the Golden Hind.
Renowned English sea voyager Sir Francis Drake.
Sir Francis Drake’s flagship, the Golden Hind.
In September of 1578, now traveling with only three ships, Drake sailed through the deadly Strait of Magellan, emerging dangerously into terrific Pacific thunderstorms. For two months the ships endured horrendous weather, unable either to sail out of the storms or to stay clear of the treacherous coastline. The ships were scattered and the smallest, the Marigold, went down with her entire crew. The Elizabethfound herself in the Strait once again and turned back for England. The Golden Hindhad drifted far to the south, ultimately sailing around the end of the South American continent and then plotting a northward course.
After stopping to make repairs off the coast of Southern Mexico, the Golden Hindsailed out of Spanish waters in April of 1579 and continued north along the California coastline. After nearly one and a half years of this journey, Drake was forced to bring the Golden Hindclose to shore for key repairs. The Hindwas a small, one-hundred-tonvessel carrying over thirty tons of Spanish treasure, which had been acquired through pirating raids and consisted mostly of gold and silver. The repairs required were so extensive that on June 17, 1579, Drake set up camp in an area south of Point Reyes California, now officially named Drake’s Bay. While waiting for the work to be completed, Drake spent five weeks exploring the interior region of the Marin coastline – yet he too failed to notice the inlet leading into the Bay of San Francisco, perhaps due to their inherit fog and inclement weather. Centuries later, historians are still passionately debating over Drake’s western voyage. The discoveries made on his North American expedition are poorly documented and only fragmentary records remain.
Much of Drake’s five-week respite on shore was spent interacting with native people. Francis Fletcher, the chaplain of the Hind, maintained a detailed journal of events throughout their expedition. He described the Indians at Drake’s Bay and their brave shore landings in their canoes. They approached Drake’s crew with peaceful gestures and welcoming gifts. Although there are no official records of Indians occupying the island of Alcatraz previous to its official discovery, there are some references indicating that the native Ohlone and Miwok Indians may have used the island as a fishing platform and it is almost certain that they were the first to explore Alcatraz by canoe.
In 1595 Sebastián Rodriguez Cermeño, another explorer searching for harbors along the California Coast sailed only twenty miles from the shores of the Golden Gate – but nevertheless he too failed to detect the clandestine bay. Although the details of his voyages are often disputed, numerous descriptions illustrate how he was forced to set anchor in Drake’s Bay during a heavy storm and subsequently lost his vessel the San Agustinwhich sank just offshore. The San Agustinwas carrying a cargo of porcelain ware, silks, wax and other trade goods, some of which were salvaged by the shipwrecked Spanish and were left onshore when they departed in a small launch that had been used to explore the coastal regions. Cermeño would make the first recorded use of the name San Francisco, misidentifying Drake’s Bay. He named the land the Bay of San Franciscofor the founder of his order, Saint Francis. The Cermeño expedition was termed a disgrace by his government and even his navigational charts would be considered suspect. In recent years, there have been several maritime artifacts discovered in this area that date from the same period, giving credence to modern theories of Cermeño’s landing and the wreck of the San Agustin.