[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 1893 to 1896 under Francisco Perez Muñoz, following the designs of Guillermo Brockman in 1892.

The Capul Island Lighthouse was declared as a national historical landmark by the province of Northern Samar on September 29, 2013.

[3] 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.