But at last it was time to hoist our sails and set out on the expedition proper. At my insistence, we had salted away plenty of fish from the bay to supplement our galley supplies. We had no way of knowing how long it would be ‘til we made landfall again, after all.

It seemed like a good day on which to start the voyage. The sun rose in the east without a trace of red to the sky. The wind filled the sails from exactly the right direction. We moved out, following a path parallel to, but not too close to, the sentinels. I was curious whether they continued past the horizon, and if so, how far.

We soon found out.