The Santa Maria was a brave little ship, but the important word to remember here is the word ‘little’. The Santa Maria was only half as big as the biggest ship in the convoy and carried a crew of 50 which didn’t leave a lot of room for the treasure, plundered from the Indians in South America. The ship’s company, either taken by press gang from Galician ports or taken from the provinces overflowing jails, didn’t mind too much about sharing their sleeping space with the treasure, and each had his own plan on how to carry some of it off the ship, unnoticed by either the ship’s officers or the rest of the crew.

The ship’s officers had done this work before, and they knew full well what the sailors had in mind. They also had their own schemes and plans to increase their share of the gold and they kept their plans secret from the other officers and, especially, the captain.

The captain, a seasoned mariner, knew precisely what was going on and didn’t need to look into the minds of the officers and crew to find out their plans for smuggling the gold and precious jewels off the ship when they reached Vigo. He smiled inwardly, remembering the last conversation he had with the Port Commander and their agreed system of signals and the company of heavily armed soldiers who would be meeting the ship when it docked.  The captain was determined to deliver the prize intact to the Royal Court.  The men would be paid and the officers would receive a bonus as befits their rank but he, he swelled with pride at the thought, would be handsomely rewarded by the King himself, no doubt ennobled and given valuable lands.

His only worry was what would happen if they arrived at the port at the same time as the other ships.  In the confusion of six ships appearing together, the protection of the detachment of soldiers might be lost and the crew could make off with significant amounts of precious metals and jewels. The best solution would be to arrive first.

Being a small ship had its disadvantages, and the amount of treasure it could carry was one of them, although the captain had made sure that the treasure it did carry was the most valuable of all the treasure they could find.  However, it also had advantages, the chief of which were its speed and agility. The captain’s plan, then was to stay with the convoy until they were about five days out from the coast, and then  to make a dash for port, arriving, he hoped, a full day ahead of the slower, bigger ships. That would give him plenty of time to signal his cousin, the Port Commander with the agreed flags, and be greeted by their very own welcoming committee – with muskets and sharpened swords.

And so the Santa Maria sailed on until the captain, after consulting his maps, sextant and compass, ordered full sail and the little ship sprang into life, and rapidly the lumbering convoy disappeared from sight and was soon below the horizon.  The officers on board looked at each other and realised what was going on

‘Cunning old dog’ muttered the First Officer.

The crew were kept too busy to be able to think as the ship raced over the waves. The captain stood, his hands clasped behind his back, thinking to himself what a very clever man he was, and he knew that he justly deserved the reward the King would give him.

Just then, the sails of another ship appeared ahead and it wasn’t very long before they could make out what kind of ship it was. It was a larger ship than the Santa Maria, and it seemed to be as fast. More importantly, it was flying the skull and crossbones, a pirate’s flag.