By reason of my mother's cross matching, my means of maintenance being wholly taken from me, and having no hopes of exhibition from any friend, I was forced after four years continuance in Cambridge, my graces for Bachelor of Art being passed both in house and town, to abandon the University presently after Christmas in anno 1590.
At Candlemas after, I, by the instant persuasion of my mother, was contented to put myself to be an apprentice to become a shipwright (my father's profession) and was bound a covenant servant[183] to one Mr. Richard Chapman of Deptford Strond in Kent, one of her Majesty's Master Shipwrights, and one whom my father had bred of a child to that profession, my allowance from him to find myself tools and apparel being bare but 46 shillings and 8 pence per annum. This man I served almost two years altogether at Chatham in the Queen's Majesty's Works, and then he died; where I spent all that time, God he knoweth, to very little purpose.
After my foresaid master his death, I laboured to have served Mr. Mathew Baker, one of her Majesty's Master Shipwrights also; but by the working of one Mr. Peter Buck,[184] then Clerk of the Check at Chatham, and some other back friends, I was crossed in my service and so put to my shifts, and left to the wide world without either comfort or friend, but only God.
At this time my eldest brother by my father's side, Mr. Joseph Pett, succeeded in my father's place, one of her Majesty's Master Shipwrights, which preferment no doubt God brought him to the better to enable him to have given his help to us; but we found it clean contrary, for he was not only careless of us all and left us to our fortunes, but became also so unkind a brother to two of us, my own brother Noah and myself, that he was forced to leave his native country and seek comfort in Ireland with an uncle of ours, own brother to my mother, called George Thornton, an ancient and well experienced sea captain; where he shortly after was drowned in the river of Cork; and myself was constrained to ship myself to sea upon a desperate voyage in a man of war,[185] not greatly caring what became of me.
I was shipped on this voyage a little before Christmas in anno 1592, in a ship called the Gallion Constance of London, of burden of 200 tons or thereabouts, belonging to a gentleman of Suffolk, one Captain Edward Glenham,[186] for the carpenter's mate, the master carpenter being one Edward Goodale, born in Deptford. To my setting out to sea, I found not any of my kindred so kind as to help me, either with money or clothes, or any other comfort; only another brother I had by my father's side, Peter Pett, dwelling then at Wapping, that vouchsafed me lodging and meat and drink till the ship was ready to set sail; one William King, a yeoman in Essex and a stranger to me, lent me 3l. in ready money to help to furnish my necessaries, which afterward I repaid him again.
In this voyage I endured much misery for want of victuals and apparel; and after twenty months spent in the Levant Seas, coasts of Barbary and Spain, with many hazards both of loss of life and time, without taking any purchase[187] of any value, we, extreme poorly, returned for Ireland into the river of Cork; and there taking leave both of ship and voyage, I travelled to Dublin[188] to visit my uncle Captain Thornton and my brother Noah, being then master with him in the Popinjay of the Queen's Majesty's; and presently after bent my course for England, taking passage at the town of Waterford.
With some difficulty I got to London, some three days before Christmas in anno 1594, having neither money nor apparel, and took up my lodging at my brother Peter's house in Wapping, before spoken of, who, although I was returned very poor, yet vouchsafed me kind entertainment. The next day I presented myself to my brother Joseph, who very coyly receiving me, out of his bounty lent me 40s. to apparel myself, which I bestowed as frugally as I could in Birchin Lane in London, contenting myself as well as I could with mean attire, till such time as it should please God to provide better for me.
At that time it so fell out that there were certain of her Majesty's ships appointed to be made ready for the voyage of Sir Francis Drake and Sir John Hawkyns, amongst which the Defiance[189] was to be brought into Woolwich Dock to be sheathed; which work being commended to my brother Joseph's charge, he was contented to admit me amongst many others to be one, where I was contented to take any pains to get something to apparel myself, which by God's blessing I performed before Easter next after, and that in very good fashion, always endeavouring to keep company with men of good rank far better than myself.
In the latter end of this year 1594 about the beginning of Lent, I lost my dear brother Noah, who was drowned in Cork river with eight more of his company, and lieth buried in Cork church in Ireland.
About Bartholomew tide in anno 1595, the Triumph of her Majesty's was had into Woolwich Dock to be new builded by Mr. Mathew Baker, under whom I was entertained there as an ordinary workman and had allowed me a boy, which was John Wood, being the first servant that I ever kept; but presently after Mr. Baker was appointed to leave that business, and had order to go in hand with the building of a great new ship at Deptford, called afterward the Repulse,[190] and was admiral of my Lord's of Essex squadron in the Cadiz journey. The Triumph[191] was then appointed to my brother Joseph's charge, with whom I a while continued, but, finding him altogether unwilling to prefer[192] me in his work as next under him, with some passage of discontent betwixt us, I left him, and had ready entertainment by Mr. Baker in his new business at Deptford, yet no otherwise than an ordinary workman; with whom I continued from the beginning of the foresaid ship, till she was wholly finished, launched, and set sail of her voyage from Woolwich, which was about the latter end of April 1596.