On 27 June 1542, Juan Rodríguez Cabrillo set out from the port of Navidad (on the west coast of what is now Mexico) with three ships: the 200-ton galleon and flagship San Salvador, the ship La Victoria, and the "fragata" San Miguel. Before the end of the month they had passed Baja Point and entered uncharted waters. On 28 September, he landed in what is now San Diego Bay and named it "San Miguel". (In 1602, Sebastián Vizcaíno would survey the harbor and name it after San Diego de Alcalá. It is the latter name that stuck.) A little over a week later Cabrillo reached Santa Catalina Island, which he named "San Salvador", after his flagship. Nearby San Clemente Island was named "Victoria", in honor of the third ship of the fleet. The next morning, October 8, Cabrillo came to San Pedro Bay, which was named "Baya de los Fumos" after the burning chapperal that raised thick clouds of smoke. On 18 October the expedition saw Point Conception, which they named "Cabo de Galera". On 13 November, having missed the entrance of San Francisco Bay, they sighted and named "Cabo de Pinos" (Point Reyes). The expedition ventured as far north as the Russian River before autumn storms forced them to turn back. Coming back down the coast, Cabrillo entered Monterey Bay and named it "Bahia de los Pinos".
On 23 November 1542, the little fleet limped back to Santa Catalina Island to overwinter and make repairs. There, around Christmas Eve, Cabrillo stepped out of his boat and splintered his shin when he stumbled on a jagged rock while trying to rescue some of his men from Chumash attack. Gangrene ensued Cabrillo died on 3 January 1543. His second-in-command brought the remainder of the expedition back to Navidad, arriving on 14 April 1543.
A replica of the San Salvador is being constructed at Spanish Landing near the monument to Cabrillo. The keel was laid on April 15th, 2011 and it is hoped that the vessel will be completed in 2014.
The public is welcome to visit the San Salvador build site and this cache is placed nearby at a location from which there is a good vantage point to view the vessel.
Most Tuesdays, the cache owner, LLOT, will be serving as a volunteer blacksmith at the site smithy. Cache seekers are encouraged to stop by and say hello.
Update: 22Jul2015 Today, San Salvador was loaded onto a barge and has moved away from the build site at Spanish Landing. Soon, it will be launched and the build site will return to its former life of being a parking lot.
