The expedition found new winter quarters in the estuary of t-
he River Santa Cruz. However, the Santiago, smallest of the sh-
ips, was stranded on a sand bank , where all but one of her cr-
ew just managed to jump to safety before she was smashed to pi-
eces.
In October 1520, the expedition put to sea again. It was spr-
ingtime, but they were now closer to the South Pole than any m-
en or ships before them, in seas where storms can blow up at a-
ny time of the year.
They found this out when winds of hurricane force struck sud-
denly. Magellean・s flagship, the Trinidad, and the Victoria,
managed to ride out the storm, though the wind ripped sails to
shreds and snapped off masts, and mountainous waves swept men
overboard. The other two vessels, the San Antonio and Concep-
cion, were driven helplessly towards a line of jagged rocks o-
n one side of a horseshoe-shaped bay. There seemed no hope for
them.
When the storm abated , Magellan moved the Trinidad in c-
lose to land , vainly scanning rocks and shore for any sign o-
f wreckage or survivors . Suddenly his look-out cried ．A sail!
I see a sail!・ Coming round the bay were the San Antonio and
Concepcion , sails billowing, pennants proudly flying . Wind a-
nd wanes had carried them past the rocks and into a deep-water
channel that ran almost due west towards distant cliffs and m-
ountains. Their crews knew it was not the entrance to another
river, by observing the tides and by testing the saltiness of
the water. It was a sea water strait . Magellan realized they
had found ．El Paso・ at last .