I sailed in a light wind yesterday from La Mar de Santo Tomas to Punta Santa, and at the passing of the first watch, 11 o’clock at night, I was 3 miles east of the point. I decided to lie down to sleep because I had not slept for two days* and one night. Since it was calm, the sailor who was steering the ship also decided to catch a few winks and left the steering to a young ship’s boy, a thing which I have always expressly prohibited throughout the voyage. It made no difference whether there was a wind or clam; the ships were not to be steered by young boys.
I felt secure from shoals and rocks because on Sunday, when I had sent the boats to that King, they had gone a good 10 miles to the east of Punta Santa, and the sailors had seen this entire coast and the shoals that extend from Punta Santa a good 9 miles to the ESE, and they saw where we could pass. This is something I had not done before on this voyage.
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