Holding On Their Course Steadily With A Fair Wind, They Made Such Way,
That On The 9th Of February, The
Pilots believed they had got to the south
of the Azores; but in the opinion of the admiral, they were
Still 150
leagues to the west of these islands, and his reckoning turned out to be
true. They still found abundance of weeds, which, when they formerly
sailed to the West Indies, had not been seen until they were 263 leagues
west from the island of Ferro. As they sailed thus onwards with fair
weather and favourable winds, the wind began to rise, and increased from
day to day with a high sea, till at length they could hardly live upon it.
The storm had so increased on Thursday the 14th of February, that they
could no longer carry sail, and had to drive whichever way the wind blew;
but the Pinta, unable to lie athwart the sea, bore away due north before
the wind, which now came from the south; and though the admiral always
carried a light, she was entirely out of sight next morning. Considering
their consort to be certainly lost, and believing themselves in imminent
hazard, the whole company betook themselves to prayers, and cast lots
which of them should go on pilgrimage for the whole crew to the shrine of
our Lady of Guadaloupe, which fell upon the admiral. They afterwards drew
for another to go to Loretto, and the lot fell upon Peter de Villa, a
seaman of Port St Mary; and they cast lots for a third to watch all night
at the shrine of St Olave of Moguer.
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