Christopher Columbus

Admiral of the fleet on the 1492 voyage west, and author of the journal behind two of the archive's oldest sea mysteries. The night of October 11, 1492. From the sterncastle of the Santa María, he saw a light on the horizon before land was sighted. His original log is lost, and the account survives in an abstract by Bartolomé de las Casas. Then 8 January 1493, near the Río del Oro off Hispaniola. Columbus saw three sirens rise well out of the sea. Manatees and dugongs are usually blamed, a comparison later drawn to the mermaid reported by Henry Hudson's crew.

Stories3

Pro early

The Columbus Light: A Wax Candle on the Horizon Before Landfall (1492)

October 11, 1492 · Atlantic Ocean, aboard the Santa María, east of Guanahani (traditionally San Salvador, Bahamas)

Bahamas

UAP · Orb / light · 23 sources

18Thinly documented

Admiral of the fleet; saw the light from the sterncastle of the Santa María

Pro early

Christopher Columbus's three mermaids off Hispaniola

January 8, 1493 · Approach to the Río del Oro (Yaque del Norte), near Monte Cristi, north coast of Hispaniola

Dominican Republic

Cryptid · Creature · 20 sources

19Thinly documented

Expedition commander and author of the journal; the only named witness

Pro early

Henry Hudson's crew and the mermaid of the Barents Sea

June 15, 1608 · Barents Sea, at noon latitude 75° 7′ N, on the way from North Cape towards Novaya Zemlya

International waters

Cryptid · Creature · 23 sources

20Thinly documented