_ 210 _ scaffolding and all the things he considered necessary to be collected inside the fortress. He dispatched Simão da Costa and Miguel Colasso in two light ships, with orders to take up positions off Cape Ras-el-Had till the end of August, which was the Mecca monsoon for that Strait. When they sighted the galleys, if there were more than twenty of them, Simão da Costa was to return to India to apprise the viceroy while Miguel Colasso was to return to Ormuz and inform Kuryat, Kalhat, Muscat and all the other towns so that they would be prepared. With these ships stationed where they had been ordered, at the beginning of August they caught sight of the five galleys which Piri Reis had sent in advance with his son to discover if there were any Portuguese ships at the entrance to the Strait. On seeing the sails and confirming that they were galleys, Simão da Costa put to sea to ascertain if there were more of them, and when he saw that this was not the case, he returned to port because the westerly wind was so strong that there was no other course he could take. Miguel Colasso who had also seen the galleys, returned along the coast and gave the news to all the towns.
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