May 24, 1494
Christopher Columbus decided to leave Jamaica only a few weeks after arriving because of the hostility from the Indians living there. Columbus also believes that he has not yet found what is the mainland. He has decided to head back to Cuba. However, the conditions were dismal and the southern coast of Cuba is scattered with shoals and small Islands, so he decided to sail westward. Over the period of time, I have grown accustomed to sea life and have gained much knowledge of the ship. I am excellent with the compass and have a sufficient amount of knowledge on the traverse board, which is a way to record the course of a ship over a period of four hours. It contained a piece of wood, in which a compass rose was marked out and eight holes at the end of each point. At the half of every hour, a wooden peg was placed into a hole marking the compass point on which the ship had run. The course was determined by the position of the eight pegs. It is truly a marvelous thing.