Martin de Hoyarçabal

Martin de Hoyarçabal was born in Ciboure, in the French Basque Country. In 1579 he published one of the first Newfoundland Pilots. "Voyages Avantureux" was published in French and was widely used by French, Basque and Spanish mariners for centuries.

Follows in an example taken from Hoyarçabal's navigational pilot: "Gisent cap de S.Marie & Plaisece nort nordest & su surroest, ya 9. l. Ite tu fois sçavoir que quand tu iras du cap de S. Marie, en ceste routte de nort nordest, tu trouueras vne poincte longue que se nomme Amigaiz dela à Plaisence ya 4 lieuës, & du cap de S. Marie 5 lieuës, apres que tu auras passé ledict Amigaiz, tu trouueras Plaisence". In this text, Hoyarçabal is giving distances between several places in Newfoundland.

In 1677, Pierre Detcheverry translated the Navigational Pilot into Labourdian Basque: "Halaber Iaquinbeharduçu Ioatençarenean arrutahortan causitucoduçula puntabat ceñary baitaritça punta Mehea eta handican placençarat dire, 5. lecoa handy eta punta mehitican bururat, 4. l. noizere iragaten baituçu punta mehea handic lehenbicico baian içanenda placença istriborreco aldearequin."