Tuesday 6 of said month, the Sun’s meridian height was 85o and its declination 23o 25’, this being the South Pole’s height [not the South Pole, but from the equator and in its direction. While sailing in the Northern Hemisphere, it was more habitual to take night-time measurements of the latitude or height of a point on land, referring to the position and angle from whence the Polar Star was observed (further North, or nearer the earth’s axis). This is where the “pole elevation” comes from, although the daytime measurement in the Southern hemisphere was done with the position of our king star, and not the Ursa Minor star] 18o 25’ [from the equator], and the course was Southwest and a quarter league to the South.
Francisco Albo
Botswain and navigator from the island of Rhodes. Originally botswain of the Trinidad in Ferdinand Magellan's expedition, he then became pilot of the Victoria under the command of Sebastian de Elcano.
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