Some say that he knew full well that his numbers were wrong, but used them anyways to justify the voyage because explaining how and why he suspected there was a

Some say that he knew full well that his numbers were wrong, but used them anyways to justify the voyage because explaining how and why he suspected there was a continent west of the Atlantic would be too complicated. (Supposedly sailors suspected about the Americas for a long time due to things flowing in with currents, but had no concrete proof.)