''San Carlos'' was a Spanish

packet boat Packet boats were medium-sized boats designed mainly for domestic mail and freight transport in European countries and in North American rivers and canals. Eventually including basic passenger accommodation, they were used extensively during t ...

built in 1767 at San Blas, Mexico. In 1775, under the command of Spanish naval officer and explorer

Lieutenant A lieutenant ( , ; abbreviated Lt., Lt, LT, Lieut and similar) is a Junior officer, junior commissioned officer rank in the armed forces of many nations, as well as fire services, emergency medical services, Security agency, security services ...

Juan Manuel de Ayala Juan Manuel de Ayala y Aranza (28 December 1745 – 30 December 1797) was a Spanish Navy officer who played a significant role in the European exploration of California, as he and the crew of his ship ''San Carlos'' were the first Europeans kno ...

, the ''San Carlos'' became the first ship to enter the

San Francisco Bay San Francisco Bay (Chochenyo language, Chochenyo: 'ommu) is a large tidal estuary in the United States, U.S. state of California, and gives its name to the San Francisco Bay Area. It is dominated by the cities of San Francisco, California, San ...

Construction and service

The ''San Carlos'' was built as a two-masted packet, and launched in 1767 at San Blas, Mexico.

San Diego expedition

During the Spanish rule of California, Spain's Inspector General

José de Gálvez José is a predominantly Spanish and Portuguese form of the given name Joseph. While spelled alike, this name is pronounced very differently in each of the two languages: Spanish ; Portuguese (or ). In French, the name ''José'', pronounced ...

, organized the

Portola Expedition Portola may refer to: * Portola (album), ''Portola'' (album), a 1998 album by Rose Melberg * Portola, California * Portola, San Francisco, California * Portola Music Festival People with the surname * Gaspar de Portolá (ca. 1717-aft.1784), Spanish ...

for a joint land-sea journey up the Pacific coast. The expedition was led by

Gaspar de Portolá Captain Gaspar de Portolá y Rovira (January 1, 1716 – October 10, 1786) was a Spanish Army officer and colonial administrator who served as the first List of governors of California before 1850, governor of the Californias from 1767 to 1770 ...

, the governor of ''

Las Californias The Californias (), occasionally known as the Three Californias or the Two Californias, are a region of North America spanning the United States and Mexico, consisting of the U.S. state of California and the Mexican states of Baja California an ...

''. The first leg of the expedition consisted on five groups, all departing from

Baja California Baja California, officially the Free and Sovereign State of Baja California, is a state in Mexico. It is the northwesternmost of the 32 federal entities of Mexico. Before becoming a state in 1952, the area was known as the North Territory of B ...

and heading north to

San Diego San Diego ( , ) is a city on the Pacific coast of Southern California, adjacent to the Mexico–United States border. With a population of over 1.4 million, it is the List of United States cities by population, eighth-most populous city in t ...

. Three groups traveled by sea, while two traveled by land in mule trains. The three ships built in San Blas, Mexico, set sail for San Diego in early 1768. The

flagship A flagship is a vessel used by the commanding officer of a group of navy, naval ships, characteristically a flag officer entitled by custom to fly a distinguishing flag. Used more loosely, it is the lead ship in a fleet of vessels, typically ...

''San Carlos'', was captained by the

lieutenant A lieutenant ( , ; abbreviated Lt., Lt, LT, Lieut and similar) is a Junior officer, junior commissioned officer rank in the armed forces of many nations, as well as fire services, emergency medical services, Security agency, security services ...

of the Spanish Navy Vicente Vila; the ''San Antonio'', captained by Juan Pérez, a native of

Palma de Majorca Palma (, ; ), also known as Palma de Mallorca (officially between 1983 and 1988, 2006–2008, and 2012–2016), is the capital and largest city of the autonomous community of the Balearic Islands in Spain. It is situated on the south coast of M ...

; and the ''San José''. The ships crossed the

Gulf of California The Gulf of California (), also known as the Sea of Cortés (''Mar de Cortés'') or Sea of Cortez, or less commonly as the Vermilion Sea (''Mar Vermejo''), is a marginal sea of the Pacific Ocean that separates the Baja California peninsula from ...

from San Blas and reached the East Coast harbor of

La Paz La Paz, officially Nuestra Señora de La Paz (Aymara language, Aymara: Chuqi Yapu ), is the seat of government of the Bolivia, Plurinational State of Bolivia. With 755,732 residents as of 2024, La Paz is the List of Bolivian cities by populati ...

on the tip of Baja California in December of 1768. However, the ''San Carlos'' had to unload its cargo for repairs. On January 9, 1769, the flagship ''San Carlos'' left the port of La Paz. Inspector General Gálvez, catholic priest

Junípero Serra Saint Junípero Serra Ferrer (; ; November 24, 1713August 28, 1784), popularly known simply as Junipero Serra, was a Spanish Roman Catholic, Catholic priest and missionary of the Franciscan Order. He is credited with establishing the Francis ...

, and the town residents blessed and sent off the ''San Carlos'', along with its chaplain,

Franciscan The Franciscans are a group of related organizations in the Catholic Church, founded or inspired by the Italian saint Francis of Assisi. They include three independent Religious institute, religious orders for men (the Order of Friars Minor bei ...

friar A friar is a member of one of the mendicant orders in the Catholic Church. There are also friars outside of the Catholic Church, such as within the Anglican Communion. The term, first used in the 12th or 13th century, distinguishes the mendi ...

Fernando Parrón. Vicente Vila remained in command, followed by lieutenant

Pedro Fages Pedro Fages (1734–1794) was a Spanish soldier, explorer, and first lieutenant governor of the province of the Californias under Gaspar de Portolá. Fages claimed the governorship after Portolá's departure, acting as governor in opposition ...

, who later became Lieutenant Governor of

the Californias The Californias (), occasionally known as the Three Californias or the Two Californias, are a region of North America spanning the United States and Mexico, consisting of the U.S. state of California and the Mexican states of Baja California a ...

under

Miguel Costansó --> Miguel is a given name and surname, the Portuguese and Spanish form of the Hebrew name Michael. It may refer to: Places * Pedro Miguel, a parish in the municipality of Horta and the island of Faial in the Azores Islands * São Miguel (disam ...

served as cartographer and engineer. Gálvez supervised the repairs and loading of the ship, which carried 25 Catalan soldiers under Fages' command. Pedro Prat, who was a member of the navy, served as crew doctor, and Hernando Patron was the ship's chaplain. The ''San Antonio'' ship arrived in

San Diego Bay San Diego Bay is a natural harbor and deepwater port in San Diego County, California, near the Mexico–United States border. The bay, which is long and wide, is the third largest of the three large, protected natural bays on California's of ...

landing Landing is the last part of a flight, where a flying animal, aircraft, or spacecraft returns to the ground. When the flying object returns to water, the process is called alighting, although it is commonly called "landing", "touchdown" or " spl ...

on April 11, 1769, and the ''San Carlos'' on April 29. Many crew members on both ships were ill, mostly from

scurvy Scurvy is a deficiency disease (state of malnutrition) resulting from a lack of vitamin C (ascorbic acid). Early symptoms of deficiency include weakness, fatigue, and sore arms and legs. Without treatment, anemia, decreased red blood cells, gum d ...

. On the ''San Carlos'' most of the crew died, and only two men survived. Prat, the expedition's doctor, struggled to heal the sick men, as he too was weakened from scurvy. Friar Parrón had become weak with scurvy as well. Despite Prat's efforts, many of the sick men died in San Diego. Due to the deaths on the ''San Carlos'', it was decided that the ship, along with Father Serra and Vila, would remain in San Diego.

San Francisco Bay expedition

Six years later, on July 26, 1775, the ''San Carlos'' took on supplies and departed Monterey, heading for San Francisco. Their mission was to locate the "Bay of San Francisco" and claim the area for Spain. The ''San Carlos'', under the command of Spanish naval officer and explorer Lieutenant

, became the first ship to enter the

. It was sent by Viceroy Antonio María de Bucareli to survey the waters of the bay. On August 5, 1775, the ''San Carlos'' reached the entrance of the San Francisco Bay, known as the

Golden Gate The Golden Gate is a strait on the west coast of North America that connects San Francisco Bay to the Pacific Ocean. It is defined by the headlands of the San Francisco Peninsula and the Marin Peninsula, and, since 1937, has been spanned by ...

. The ship dropped its anchor on an island, which was later named ''Isla de Los Ángeles'' (now known as ''Angel Island''). The ship's pilots set out on

longboat A longboat is a type of ship's boat that was in use from ''circa'' 1500 or before. Though the Royal Navy replaced longboats with launches from 1780, examples can be found in merchant ships after that date. The longboat was usually the largest bo ...

s to chart the rivers of the bay. On August 12, 1775, Ayala named another island, ''La Isla de los Alcatraces,'' now called ''

Yerba Buena Island Yerba Buena Island ( Spanish: ''Isla Yerba Buena'') sits in San Francisco Bay within the borders of the City and County of San Francisco. The Yerba Buena Tunnel runs through its center and connects the western and eastern spans of the San Fran ...

''. Before returning to San Blas, the ''San Carlos'' remained at bay until September 18, 1775. Ayala provided a detailed account of the geography of the San Francisco Bay. The

California Historical Landmark A California Historical Landmark (CHL) is a building, structure, site, or place in the U.S. state of California that has been determined to have statewide historical landmark significance. Criteria Historical significance is determined by meetin ...

marker, No. 236, commemorates the significance of the ''San Carlos'' as the first ship to enter San Francisco Bay. The marker is located in the

Aquatic Park Historic District Aquatic Park Historic District is a National Historic Landmark and building complex on the San Francisco Bay waterfront within San Francisco Maritime National Historical Park. The district includes a beach, bathhouse, municipal pier, restrooms, ...

near the corner of Beach and Larkin Streets. Below is a quote from this landmark.

Fate

The ''San Carlos'' later wrecked in the Philippines.

References

External links