21. Triton next journeyed to Tenerife, off the coast of Spain
Tenerife, in the Canary Islands, was the next destination for Triton. In Magellan’s day, the island served as a stopping point for ship’s departing Cadiz. The necessities of drinking water and firewood for this ship’s stoves were more cheaply obtainable at the port. It was the last European settlement seen by Magellan before he departed on his final voyage of exploration. In 1798, Tenerife was also the site of an action during the Napoleonic wars. A British expedition led by Rear Admiral Horatio Nelson was repulsed in a bloody assault. Nelson was severely wounded, which led to the loss of his arm.
Triton did another photographic survey of the island, largely for the benefit of the National Geographic Society. It then journeyed to a point off Cadiz to rendezvous with the destroyer USS Weeks. Triton remained submerged for the rendezvous, during which a plaque was delivered to the submarine as it again broached. Triton then turned for New London and home, 3,000 miles to the west, on May 2. Beach closed his narrative of the voyage with the comment, “Triton’s undersea voyage has accomplished something of value for our country”. He added, “The sea may yet hold the key to the salvation of man and his civilization”, and dedicated the voyage, “to the people of the United States”.