The morning sunlight shone upon the boundless sea. The vast ocean was as clear as the sky, with no islands in sight, only three ships sailing day and night. The sky was as blue as the ocean, with no traces of storms, only occasional sea birds appearing. This was a vast unknown deep sea, full of mysterious imaginations, never known to the civilized world.
In this endless sea, everyone was filled with fear and anticipation, yet unaware of where they truly were. Only through the nautical records could people find so comfort, knowing the distance already sailed, which was also the dreadful retreat route on the return journey...
"September 6, Thursday. The expedition fleet set sail from Gora Island, the day was calm, the fleet navigated the archipelago waters without traveling far... and we received news from passing ships that three Portuguese ships were patrolling near the Canary Islands... Hmm, likely to intercept us! ... Yes, with the Almighty as witness! These ships must have been sent by the Portuguese King, who must be envious of the brilliant Expedition Commander, loyal to the great Queen Isabella!..."
"September 7, Friday. The day was calm, with no suitable wind for sailing, continuing to circle around the island..."
"September 8, Saturday. At three in the night, we finally awaited the northeasterly wind, and the fleet turned to sail west! ... The waves were great, and it's impossible to raise the full sails, only sailing nine leagues at midnight..."
The flagship Santa Maria had three tall masts, filled with sails. The foremast and mainmast hang a pair of horizontal sails, with the top of the mast flying the royal flag of the Kingdom of Castile. The flag is divided into four quarters, overall in shield shape, with a red background yellow City-State in the upper left and lower right, and a white background red lion in the lower left and upper right.
In the hearts of the Castilian nobles, this flag symbolized the noble spirit of the kingdom's legacy. The shield shape represented the origin of the Royal Family, a heartfelt rembrance of the Visigoth heritage. The castle symbolized the power of the monarch, grandeur and nobility, shelter and protection. And the lion symbolized the force of the army, authority and domination, dignity and courage!...
Yet in the brilliant Expedition Commander, Don Christopher Columbus's eyes, the flag's sole aning was to symbolize the great Queen Isabella, representing the queen's discerning recognition of him, this outstanding commander! Apart from that, the so-called spirit of the kingdom's nobility ant nothing but deceptive lies to him, a captain from the comrcial City-State, no, nothing at all!...
"Hmm... September 8, rely westward 9 leagues, let's record it as 7 leagues instead! ... September 9, day and night favorable winds sailing west, dayti navigation 19 leagues. Night navigation faster, speed 10 knots, one night sailing 120 nautical miles, covering 40 leagues... day and night total 59 leagues, Hmm, this day truly marked the beginning westward! Record one-fifth less, let's record 47 leagues instead!..."
In the captain's cabin of the flagship, Columbus lowered his head, holding a feather pen, writing simultaneously on two unfolded scrolls.
On the left was the "Nautical Records," for the captain to docunt daily sailing conditions and itinerary. This record was semi-open, allowing the two royal spies aboard, Royal Household Steward Pedro de Gutierrez and Scribe Rodrigo de Escobedo, to review. Oh, no, the damned second captain, original owner of the Santa Maria, Juan de la Cosa also had access to review!
The book on the right, however, was his personal "Nautical Diary," only for his own eyes. This diary contained all the great decisions, wise judgnts, fearless courage... and the "real" nautical journey during his sail.
"rda! For these fools, the 'Nautical Records' must have the sailing mileage intentionally written shorter! ... lest these idiots feel they have traveled too far and are too afraid to venture further west... Ultimately, they lack courage! Unlike the brave ..."
Columbus cursed under his breath, intentionally writing the reduced nautical miles in the records, while docunting the estimated true figures in his diary.
During this era of sailing, 1 league equated to 3 nautical miles, approximately 5.5 kiloters, which is 11 Li. A speed of 1 nautical mile was 1 knot. On the night of September 9, the fleet sailed completely with favorable winds, reaching a remarkable speed of 10 knots! Of course, this speed was Columbus's estimation, with considerable doubt over its authenticity. Based on his calculations, September 9 covered 59 leagues, which ant covering 649 Li in one day and night! It was indeed too astonishing...
Actually, from the perspective of mariti scholars centuries later, due to estimation and calculation errors, the "false account" in Columbus's "Nautical Records" was closer to the actual sailing situation than the "true account" in his "Nautical Diary."
"Vaffanculo! Damned! This Santa Maria Clark Sailing Ship is still too slow! It drags down the speed of the entire fleet... In my view, it would be better to set the flagship on the 'Pinta' and 'Nina,' and abandon this wreck... Along with these obstructive fools tossed into the sea!..."
Undoubtedly, the brilliant Expedition Commander Columbus did not favor the current flagship Santa Maria. It was not only because this dium-sized Clark Sailing Ship was slower than the other two agile Caravel ships. More importantly, as the Expedition Commander and flagship captain, his supposed supre authority could hardly be exercised on this ship!
Whether the two representatives stationed by the Castilian Royal Family, or the second captain De La Cosa, they all held significant influence on the Santa Maria, controlling parts of the sailors and power on the flagship! Columbus could truly and completely trust only his lover's cousin, whom he appointed as Captain of the Guard, Diego de Arana.
"September 10, speed 10 knots, day and night sailing 60 leagues, recorded as 48 leagues... September 11, day and night sailing 40 leagues, recorded as 32 leagues. Hmm, this day at sea, found a broken mast floating from nowhere, the fools felt so fear... Bah! Really a bunch of cowards!..."
"September 12, wind weakened, day and night sailing 33 leagues, recorded as 27 leagues... September 13, continued westward, day and night 33 leagues, recorded as 29 leagues instead! To make each day seem different... This day, waves headed east, compass needle leans northwest at night, unsure of the reason... The fools felt so fear again, bah! How could there be sea monsters? There's nothing!..."
"September 14, the wind further weakened, day and night sailing 20 leagues, recorded as 16 leagues... The sailors of the Nina claid to have seen sea birds... Praise the Almighty! With the birds, could the land be far? Hmm, let compute..."
Seeing yesterday's diary, Columbus curled a stubborn smile, calculating the sail journey of these days on the paper.
"God bless! Calculating from September 8 to 14, a total of 254 leagues covered, that's 1397 kiloters... Even by the records for those fools, it's 1133 kiloters... This ans, the Antillia Island ntioned by Aristotle should be around this region!..."
Reaching here, Columbus's smile blood, his resolute face full of expectation. Although the fleet did not see any traces of an island, soone saw sea birds, so the island should not be far away... After all, Columbus's calculations could absolutely not be wrong! What, you say migratory sea birds would not approach land? ... Nonsense, that's the fantasy of the fools!...
"Holy Mother! What, what's that?!"
"Ah! Flas! Thunderbolt! Thunderbolt's flas!..."
"God bless! We pray to You! Do not unleash dreadful heavenly fire, do not unleash judgnt day!..."
"This is a punishnt! It's the flas of the sea monster! ... We've offended the 'Serpent of Uroborus' domain! No, it's the 'Sea Giant Leviathan'!"
"God! We fear Your majesty, You are the greatest immortal Lord! We beg of You, forgive our offense!..."
"Hmm? What's happening?!"
Hearing the sailors' panic and chaotic shouts on the ship, Columbus widened his eyes and rose abruptly. He was about to push the door and exit when he hesitated slightly at his feet and quietly put away the "Nautical Diary." Then, he walked out of the captain's cabin and imdiately encountered the terrified, hastily running Captain of the Guard Arana.
"Brother-in-law! Brother-in-law! It's over! It's over!..."
"rda! Arana, why are you panicking! Call Commander!... What happened?"
"Brother-in-law... uh... Commander!... Look, on the northwest sea, suddenly descended... descended heavenly fire!..."
"Bah! What damned heaven..."
Upon hearing, Columbus "bah" a sound, turned to look towards the northwest. After a few breaths, his facial expression of nonchalance instantly hardened, knees weakened, even the fingers started trembling...
"Heaven... heavenly fire?!... Blue-white heavenly fire!!..."
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