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extensive lands fit for pasturage, and many
kinds of animals and birds.Vizcaíno’s party was already low on sup-
plies and beset with illness. One ship was
sent back to Mexico, carrying the sick and
news that the mission to find a possible port
had been successful. The expedition pushed
north from Monterey, encountering increas-
ingly rough seas. Like Cabrillo, Vizcaíno
sailed past the Golden Gate, failing to dis-
cover San Francisco Bay, which may have
been obscured by fog. His two remaining
ships were barely seaworthy enough to con-
tinue and became separated in the turbulent
ocean. Vizcaíno’s sailors were also in bad
shape, suffering from scurvy and the effects
of eating rotten food. “The mouths of all were
sore, and their gums were swollen larger than
their teeth, so that they could hardly drink
water,” wrote Vizcaíno in his diary. “The ship
seemed more like a hospital than a ship of an
armada.” Disease and cold took the lives of
many of the sailors.
Vizcaíno’s two ships never joined each
other again during the rest of the expedition.
Individually, however, each struggled
through the same overwhelming seas that
Ferrer had reached, and appear to have
reached about 43° north, near Cape Blanco,
just north of the California-Oregon border.
By the time orders were given to turn back,
horrible conditions aboard the vessels had
killed most of the crew members. Vizcaíno
and the other survivors managed to reach
Acapulco, Mexico, in March 1603, 10 months
after they had embarked. He had discovered
little morethan Cabrillo or Ferrer, but his
report ensured both his personal reputation
and the lasting value of his observations. He
had fought—and noted—the contrary cur-
rents and winds, accurately charted the
coastline, sounded the depths of bays, and
explored the countryside whenever he
landed. His main mission of finding a suit-
able harbor for the Manila galleons had been
completed, even if his portrayal of Monterey
Bay bore only a passing resemblance to real-
ity. Vizcaíno’s idyllic description was so
unlike the actual bay that future explorers
searched for the allegedly perfect harbor
without success.(^130) B Discovery of the Americas, 1492–1800
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