text: Narváez put Cabeza de Vaca and a captain named Pantoja in charge of two ships sent to Trinidad, while he took the other four ships to the Gulf of Guacanayabo. On about October 30, the two ships arrived in Trinidad to collect requisitioned supplies and seek additional crew. A hurricane arrived shortly after they did. During the storm, both ships sank, 60 men were killed, a fifth of the horses drowned, and all the new supplies acquired in Trinidad were destroyed.
  Recognizing the need to regroup, Narváez sent the four remaining ships to Cienfuegos under the command of Cabeza de Vaca. Narváez stayed ashore in order to recruit men and purchase more ships. After nearly four months, on February 20, 1528, he arrived in Cienfuegos with one of two new ships and a few more recruits. The other ship he sent on to Havana. At this point, the expedition had about 400 men and 80 horses. The winter layover caused a depletion of supplies, and they planned to restock in Havana on the way to the Florida coast.
  Among those hired by Narváez was a master pilot named Diego Miruelo, who claimed extensive knowledge of the Gulf Coast. Historians have debated for centuries his full identity and the extent of his knowledge. In any case, two days after leaving Cienfuegos, every ship in the fleet ran aground on the Canarreos shoals just off the coast of Cuba. They were stuck for two to three weeks, while the men depleted the already meager supplies. Not until the second week of March, when a storm created large seas, were they able to escape the shoals.