The turmoil had been unleashed with violence. The darkness became pervasive. The days were very short and the nights very long, increasing the terror, and it rained so cold that men lost the use of their limbs. They all appealed to God's mercy on their souls, for they had no hope for their bodies...

The ships were leaking everywhere, and the men were forced to pump water night and day. There was no rest for souls or bodies, and the crew was soon decimated by disease and death.

The pilots, the deckhands and all the men wailed, hurled accusations at the captains and begged them to land to seek relief from the death they saw as certain, and which they would blame on them if they stubbornly refused to let go.

To excuse themselves, the captains relied on the example of Capital Mor. Vasco da Gama, whom, hearing these cries and vociferations, repeated to them that, even if he saw a hundred dead before his eyes, and even if his ships were already laden with gold, he would not turn back a single palm until he had seen the land of India, that he had thus promised God and that he intended to remain faithful to his oath.