At dawn on October 19, Columbus left Island III in search of an island called Samoet. He had heard of this island from his native guides, and they had told him that it was very large, and was the home of a king who had gold. But the exact direction to the island was apparently not well understood by Columbus, because he split his fleet: Niña sailed south-southeast, Santa Maria sailed southeast, and Pinta sailed east at first, then turned southeast.
The fleet weighed anchor at dawn, and after three hours sighted land to the east. All three ships arrived at the northern end of this new island at noon. Columbus named this island (Island IV) "Isabela" after the Spanish queen.
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