From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Strait
The
San Bernardino Strait
(
Filipino
:
Kipot ng San Bernardino
) is a
strait
in the
Philippines
, connecting the
Samar Sea
with the
Philippine Sea
. It separates the
Bicol Peninsula
of
Luzon
island from the island of
Samar
in the south.
[1]
History
[
edit
]
During this ill-fated expedition, one ship alone, the little
San Juan de Letran
with a skeleton crew of only 20 men, logged more than 5,000 kilometres in Philippine waters, including those of the San Bernardino Strait, and the
San Juanico Strait
between Samar and
Leyte
.
[2]
The
San Juan
also completely circumnavigated the island of
Mindanao
, then tried to reach
Mexico
but was blown back to the
Marianas
by a storm in the
North Pacific
. It made its way back to the
Filipinas
(as Samar and Leyte had been named by Villalobos), and on January 3, 1544 ran aground in the treacherous currents of the San Bernardino Strait "just as dozens of Spanish vessels were to do for the next three centuries".
[2]
In order to guide ships traversing along the strait, the
Capul Island Lighthouse
was built from 1863 to 1896 under Francisco Perez Munoz, following the designs of Guillermo Brockman in 1892. It was given a
historical marker
by the
National Historical Commission
on October 24, 2018.
[3]
Second World War
[
edit
]
During the
Battle of Leyte Gulf
, Imperial Japanese
Admiral Kurita
took his main battleship force through the strait to reach the American transports anchored in
Leyte Gulf
, but withdrew after the
Battle off Samar
.
References
[
edit
]