January 18, 1942
After departing from Samana Bay on January 16, both Alonso Pinzon and me were sailing smoothly until a fierce storm separated our ships on February 14. The clouds were like giant sheets of darkness hovering over the sea and the waves were the size of giant buildings that spilled out their belongings onto the surface of the deck. I was almost certain that the mainmast was going to topple over and kill us all. Fortunately all that happened to me was that I was sent through the air from the port side of the ship to the starboard side. After many hours of terror that the ship was not going to make it, the wind and waves began to die down. In the morning there was no sight of the Pinta. Lucky enough to survive such a horrific storm, I fear that Pinzon has been killed and the Pinta sent into the darkness of the ocean. On February 15, I sighted the island of Santa Maria in the Azores.