Early Exploration
The ancient home of the Coast Miwok people, the Point Reyes peninsula,was a lovely landscape, it's wave battered cliffs first sighted by European explorers as early as 1579. The fog shrouded headlands evaded European exploration for many years. It's rocky headlands were mostly likely first sighted and mapped by Sir Francis Drake who is thought to have camped along the beach which today bears his name. Drakes quest for new lands and riches had taken him around South America to the Spanish trade routes of the Pacific Ocean. His ship, Golden Hind, was full of gold and luxuries such as porcelain, taken from Spanish galleons traveling from the Philippines.
He came ashore in California to repair his leaky ship and camped during the foggy summer months - "the stinking fogs" noted by his chaplain are typical summer weather at Point Reyes. He claimed the land for Queen Elizabeth and then set sail south to complete his circumnavigation of the globe returning in 1580 to England.
In this age of empire building, the Spanish followed closely behind English sailors such as Drake. In 1595, Sebastian Cermeno, anchored in the calm waters of what is now Drakes Bay. As his crew was ashore seeking fresh water, their Manila galleon stuffed with silks and spices, was wrecked in a sudden storm. The crew managed to row their long boat to Mexico. It is likely that Point Reyes was seen by many Spanish ships as they sailed north from Manila to catch the prevailing north winds that would then push them down the coast to Mexican ports where Asian luxury goods such as porcelains and spices were then shipped to Europe.
The Spanish had been sending ships along the Pacific Coast and overland explorations throughout North America for many years. Point Reyes officially entered their maps on January 6, 1602 when navigators sighted the headlands on the Roman Catholic feast day of the three wise men. Following Spanish tradition, the headlands were named after these religious figures "Punta de los Reyes" or the Point of the Kings. Their north coast expeditions continued, later sailors entered Tomales Bay and saw Miwok village at Segogolue or Toms Point, noting the kotcas (sleeping shelters) and trading for finely made baskets.