Chudleigh, another Devon man, was fired by these exploits to do likewise, and sailed in 1589 with three ships through the Magellan Straits, where he died. Prince says: "He did not live long enough to accomplish his generous designs, dying young; although he lived long enough to exhaust a vast estate."
All these voyages Davis must have carefully studied with his friends, Sir Walter Raleigh and Adrian Gilbert; the latter of whom joined with him in the ownership of a ship, the Dainty, and the former helped by ideas, plans, and subscriptions.
John Davis did not go on this quest to get riches, but solely to get knowledge; many men thought him a fool, and jeered when he came back disappointed, but the best men knew his high ambition to be the worthiest. Perhaps his wife grudged the large stake which he was risking in this adventure; she and her boys seemed to come only second in his thoughts.
Cavendish went as general on board the Leicester, and owned the Desire, the ship in which he had sailed round the world; but Cavendish cared mostly for rich prizes.
John Jones, an old and beloved shipmate, accompanied Davis in the Desire, 120 tons, and proved a friend in need. The Dainty was commanded by Captain Cotton, a friend of the Devon group.
The few weeks that Davis spent at home in the summer of 1591 were his last happy days at Sandridge; but he cheered up his wife with thoughts of great discoveries and fame and royal favour.
In February a severe storm separated the fleet off the river Plate and Buenos Ayres, and as Cavendish had not appointed any spot for meeting, they were some time before they discovered one another in Port Desire. When they did meet, Davis found the Roebuck seriously damaged, and heard that the Dainty, his own ship, had deserted and gone home. This was the first bitter disappointment, for it was in the Dainty that Davis had intended to go on with his explorations northward.
There were some who suggested that Cavendish wished to knock on the head Davis's nonsense about Arctic exploring, and they asserted that Cavendish had told the crew of the Dainty that he wanted them to go into the river Plate, but that afterwards they might return home with all his heart.
Cavendish abandoned his ship, the Leicester, because he complained that "he was matched with the most abject-minded and mutinous company that ever was carried out of England by man living, for they never ceased to mutiny against him." So he remained on board the Desire as the guest of Captain Davis.
Port Desire, a good many miles north of the Straits of Magellan, was a very dreary spot to rest in; steep white cliffs stained by running water stretched for two miles across the bay; the soil inland was poor, and water was scarce. The only thing the sailors could find was a sweet-smelling herb which protected them from scurvy. Nine miles to the south was Penguin Island, the home of many seals.