After Columbus reached the New World on October 12, 1492, he explored four islands in the Bahamas--San Salvador, Santa Maria de la Concepcion, Fernandina, and Isabela--before sailing on to Cuba. Although the identity of these four islands has long been in dispute, the Bahamian government now accepts Samuel Elliot Morison's theory that Watling Island was the first landfall. They have officially renamed that island San Salvador, although that honor had always belonged to Eleuthera prior to 1800. In 1986 the National Geographic Society (NGS) reopened the controversy by espousing a landfall at Samana Cay. Advocates of the Northern Route—based on the premise that Columbus used latitude sailing to maintain a due west Atlantic crossing—have long been held that Columbus left his first footprints on the beaches of Egg Island at the northwest corner of Eleuthera.

You can easily trace the northern route through the Bahamas and decide for yourself if the Columbus descriptions of courses and islands ring true.

To fully relive the excitement of that momentous night of discovery, you should sail east-northeast from Harbour Island about six nights after a full moon. When you reach a location six miles east of Man Island at 2 a.m., the moon should be high enough to reflect off Eleuthera's surf, just as it did for Columbus' lookout 500 years off.

After shouting "tierra!" to mark your landfall, coast cautiously along northern Eleuthera's reef into the Northeast Providence Channel. On your way you'll note three important landfall features unique to Eleuthera are Harbour Island's entrance, the shallows behind it, and the equally spaced triple cusps on the north coast of Royal Island.

At first light you should keep an eye out for the same benthic (bottom-growing) seaweed Columbus  “found in the gulf when he arrived at his discovery". There is no gulf at either Watlings or Samana Cay. When you reach the end of Eleuthera's reef shortly after dawn you will see Columbus's first lee anchorage opportunity southwest of Egg Island.

Now you can begin following 30 features uniquely matching descriptions Columbus himself recorded in his Journal of Discovery.

The Landfall at San Salvador

1.  Anchor near the south end of Egg, "... an islet of the Bahamas." Egg's 250 acres puts it comfortably within Columbus' definition of islet as opposed to a full-sized island, such as Watlings, which sprawls over more than 40,000 acres.

2.  Columbus wrote, "in the island's center there is a very large lagoon." From Columbus' Egg Island anchorage you too can look eastward across the 20,000-acre roadstead centered between you and the main island of Eleuthera.

3.  Columbus "rowed along the island in a north-northeast  direction to see the other part, that other part which it has to the east." Eleuthera's roadstead is now accurately charted, so a small yacht can safely follow the Admiral's rowboats north-northeast the full length of Egg's coastline to Royal Island, the "other part ... to the east."

4.  Some Royal Island natives hailed his boat but Columbus wrote: "I was afraid (to come ashore) seeing the great ledge of rocks that encircled the whole of that island." You won't meet any Indians beckoning you ashore, but Royal Island's south coast is still lined with the jagged aeolian limestone ledge that kept Columbus away.

5.  According to his log, the Admiral saw "a harbor large enough for all the ships in Christendom ..." Eleuthera's lagoon (roadstead) is big enough--much larger than the Cuban lagoon Columbus later described as a harbor "large enough for all the ships in Spain."

6.  "... and halfway there was a narrow entrance . . . the sea no more disturbed than the water in a well." Precisely centered on Royal's south coast is a narrow opening from the roadstead into one of the Bahamas' best-protected harbors. You'll find its surface like a mirror under almost all wind conditions, so unlike the exposed "harbors" at Watlings and Samana.

7.   In returning to your Egg anchorage, Rat Cay at Royal's / West End will also seem at first glance the ideal location he sought for a fort. To him it was "formed like an island although it is not one, on which there are six houses; it could be converted into an island in two days." Your closer inspection will also show that it's bridged to Royal by marl-covered shallows not deep enough to keep Indians at bay. Columbus quickly realized that this marl could easily be scooped out deep enough to make it into a useful island. By contrast, thousands of tons of limestone would need to be dynamited to convert the Watlings peninsula into an island. (Resist the temptation to search for brass hawks bells and other trading truck Columbus might have left at these six houses. It is against the law to conduct unauthorized archeology.)

8.   "Near the said islet, moreover, there are the loveliest group of trees." Although that nearby grove of coconut palms wasn't there in 1492, its wind-sheltered and well-watered location remains one of the most favored arboreal sites in the eastern Bahamas. At corresponding Watlings and Samana locations you'll search in vain for "lovely" trees.

9.   Columbus says "I stood off that night." If you trust your  engine and the trade winds, there's no need for you to stand off from Egg island's morning tide that Columbus observed flowing against him nine days after the full moon.

Southwest to the Second Island, Santa Maria de la Concepcion

10.  On the advice of Indian guides, "I resolved to go to the southwest ... about 21 miles ... to the (second island)." From your Egg anchorage take a 235-degree course about 22 miles to the l 00-fathom line off the end of Rose Island.

11.  Columbus noted that "the tide was against me, so it was midday when I arrived at the island." Time your Rose Island arrival for noon--a few hours before high tide--to observe the same battle he saw there between the tides and the secular ocean current. There's no tidal current along any other proposed route to the second island.

12.  From there, "I saw another and larger one to the west. I set sail to go all day until night since otherwise I would not have been able to reach the western cape." As you sail westward toward New Providence's protected West Bay, you'll see the same Blue Hills behind Nassau revealing this as a larger island. Note the north coast's lack of anchorage and consider the impracticality of an anchorage in the swiftly flowing tides at Nassau. Compare Morison's proposed route along the south coast of Rum Cay and ask why Columbus would have passed up a relatively comfortable mid-afternoon anchorage at Port Nelson to barely reach an exposed one at dusk.

13.  Of the island he saw to the southwest, Columbus wrote "the side which lies toward the islet of San Salvador runs north/south for a distance of 15 miles, and the other side, which I followed, runs east/west for more than 30 miles." As you sail 30 miles past the string of islets to New Providence's West Bay, consider how early Spanish maps often grouped all islets with the shoal's main island.

14.  The next morning "a small canoe came from the other cape." From your secure anchorage near Lyford Cay you can easily imagine that Indian canoe being launched from Clifton Point, the "other cape" only a mile away. No other second-island candidate has the requisite double cape.

Across the Tongue of the Ocean to Fernandina, the Third Island

15.  “This (third) island is distant about 24 miles, almost from east to west,” Set your course almost due west 23 miles across the Tongue of the Ocean toward Andros Island.

16.  Columbus estimated that “the coast may extend for some 84 miles or more.”  Verify on your charts that Andros island is rougly 90 miles in length, compared with only 60 for Long Island, advocated as the third island by both Morison and the NGS.

17.  “This cape where I came, and all this coast runs north-northwest and south-sourtheast.” If conditions are quiet, anchor along the reef in front of Mastic Point and verify Columbus’ description of this truly unique geographic configuration.

18.  Columbus marveled that “3,000 yards from land, the water off all these islands is so deep it cannot be sounded.” From your anchorage, identify the continuous reef defined by the breakers parallel to Andros’ coastline at 3,000 yards.

19.  Columbus noted “fish of the finest colors in the world.”  As you row over to Mastic Point, note the myriad of brilliant reef fish clearly visible from the boat. How could Columbus have possibly seen such fish in the pounding surf at Long Island?

20.  “The coast is all beach…and the island flat and fertile.” Enjoy the verdant scenery of low-lying Andros Island. The comparable location at Long Island is dominated by “dramatic” high cliffs.

21.  Columbus marveled at “mastic trees with many branches of different kinds.” The mastic trees which gave Mastic Point its name are still garlanded by epiphytic plants and laced with tall grasses.

22.  The admiral surmised that “the island could be rounded more quickly to the north-northwest.” Check your charts for the shallows south of the Tongue of the Ocean that frightened Columbus’ Indian guides out of a direct route to Cuba. Apply these instructions to Long Island’s East Coast and realize how silly they would have been.

23.  Sailing northwest “six miles from the head of the island I found a wonderful harbor for 100 ships…but it proved shallow.  I though it was the mouth of a river.” If you sail northwest along the reef to within six miles of Morgan’s Bluff, you’ll see that the entrance to Conch Sound is large, shallow, and actually looks like the mouth of a river.  None of Long Island’s east Coast harbors meet any of these criteria.

24.  “The (north) coast runs east and west.”  Continue past Morgan’s Bluff to where the north coast of Andros truly runs east and west, a feature lacking at Long Island’s narrow North Cape.

Reversing Course to Isabela, the Fourth Island

25.  With uncharacteristic brevity Columbus wrote that he “…sailed all that night.” A strong Norther arrived that afternoon and drove him at eight knots the length of the Tongue of the Ocean soon after sunrise. His arrival shortly after dawn positioned him for a daylight run across the shallows, so you may need a head start from north Andros.

26.  In his briefest entry he wrote that he “anchored when it was not well to navigate, but I did not land.” After a difficult crossing of the bank through Thunder Channel, neither will you have the time or inclination to explore barren No Bush Cay.

27.  to the east he “saw an island… and another between it and the main island.” Sailing ESE from No Bush Cay the next morning, you should spot Dollars and Conch Cays off the northwest corner of Long Island within a few hours. No such dual islets exists at Morison’s Crooked-Acklins candidate.

28.  Coasting offshore he notes “in the middle of the island a large cove curves to the northeast.” Squarely in the middle of Long Island you’ll see a large cove curving to the northeast.

29.  Columbus spotted “one elevation… which serves to beautify the rest of the island.” Behind the large cove you may enjoy the beauty of a gracefully sloping miniature version of Mount Fuji.

30.  Continuing to the southeast he sailed “36 miles to a beautiful cape.” Time your 36-mile sail along Long Island’s west coast to arrive at its southern cape by late afternoon. You’ll see for yourself why Columbus gave its glistening limestone cliffs the name Cabo Hermosos as they reflected the bright sunlight.

You’ve done it! Using the words of Christopher Columbus as your only guide, you’ve now retraced the very first exploration of the New World.

Arne Molander is a retired engineer who has spent the past 30 years researching the voyages of Christopher Columbus. He has cruised the Bahamas in search of those island features that best match the detailed descriptions recorded by Columbus 500 years ago.  This article, one of dozens published by him, presents his conclusion that there’s strong evidence that the Columbus landfall was off Northern Eleuthera, and that the Columbus tracks accepted in the past are incorrect.