As Some Of The Masters And Pilots Had
Been Very Negligent, Allowing Some Of The Ships To Fall Aboard Of Others,
He Removed These To Other Ships.
By this attention to discipline, the
fleet was kept afterwards in good sailing order.
In the month of June, at which time they reckoned themselves off the Cape
of Good Hope, the fleet was surprised by a heavy storm, and had to drive
for two days and nights under bare poles in imminent danger of being cast
away, the weather during all this time being wonderfully dark, so that
the ships were in great hazard of running aboard of each other. To guard
against this danger, the admiral caused guns to be fired at intervals
from all the ships, to give notice of their situations, and the better to
keep company. On the subsidence of the storm, the ship commanded by Lope
Mendez was missing, and the admiral caused the fleet to lie to for some
days in hopes of her reappearance. While in this situation, two of the
ships ran foul of each other, by which a large hole was broken in the bow
of one of the ships, through which she took in so much water as to be in
great danger of sulking. The admiral immediately bore up to her
assistance, and encouraged the crew to stop the leak, and even sent his
boats on board to give every aid. By great exertions they got the leak
effectually stopped, by nailing hides over the hole, and covering the
whole with pitch. On St Jameses day, 25th July, the fleet arrived at
Mozambique, where they were well received by the governor, who supplied
them abundantly with fresh provisions, and sent off the letter which
Pedro de Tayde had written respecting the state of affairs in India a
short time before his death, as formerly mentioned. The admiral expedited
the refitting of the ships which had been so much injured, as quickly as
possible, and departed from Mozambique on the 1st of August. The king of
Melinda sent off one of his principal Moors to visit the admiral, to whom
likewise he sent sixteen of our men who had deserted from Pedro de Tayde.
Having stopt only two days at Melinda for refreshment, the fleet sailed
across for India, and came to Anchediva, where they found two Portuguese
ships commanded by Antonio de Saldanna and Ruy Lorenzo, who were much
afraid of our fleet, suspecting it to have belonged to the Rumes[2].
Saldanna informed Suarez, that he had been sent out the year before from
Portugal along with Lorenzo, as vice-admiral, with orders to explore the
Red Sea and adjacent countries. That they were separated in a storm off
the Cape of Good Hope. That Lorenzo proceeding alone in the voyage, had
taken a ship belonging to the Moors near Sofala, out of which he had
taken a large quantity of gold, and had left the hull at Melinda. That
Saldanna prosecuted his voyage to Cape Guardafui, where he had taken many
rich prizes, without having entered the Red Sea; after which he had
sailed to India, and the winter coming on, had taken shelter in Anchediva,
where he was afterwards joined by Lorenzo.
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