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Monday 20 November 1564

In the year of our Savior Jesus Christ 1564, Monday 20 November at almost midnight. From the port of Navidad coast of Nueva España on the sea they call South Sea, two heavy ships and two pataxes the General of which is the Illustrious Señor Miguel López de Legazpi departed in the hope of success for the Islands of the West called Filipinas named thus because they were discovered during the time of our King of Spain, Don Philipe de Austria, second of that name.

The port of Navidad is at a latitude of 19 1/2 degrees and is separated from the equinoctial line at the septentrional line. The said armada sailed from the port southwest and went down from the latitude of the port to that of 15 degrees.

The compass for sailing follows the position of needles by the old system from north south by half northeast-southwest. And in the port of Navidad, Jaime Martinez Fortun and Diego Martin, fellow pilots, on the almiranta, named San Pablo, being in the said port, set the pointers in the southwest direction. We set our compass in the manner followed by seamen to be able to determine the variation and separation of the flor de lis of our compass from the true pole.