Wee continued our course so farre to the Southwest, that wee brought ourselues into the latitude of fourtie foure degrees and an half, hauing sayled fiftie or sixtie leagues to the Southwest of Cape Briton. We found the current betweene this Cape Briton and Cape Rey to set out toward the Eastsoutheast.
Great store of Seales, Porposes, Whales and Cods.
In our course to the West of Cape Briton we saw exceeding great store of seales, and abundance of Porposes, whereof we killed eleuen. We sawe Whales also of all sortes aswel small as great: and here our men tooke many [pg 058] Iberded Coddes with one teate vnderneath, which are like to the Northeast Cods, and better then those of Newfoundland.
They continue on the coast from Cape Briton Westwards full eleuen weekes.
From our arriuall at the hauen of Saint Francis in Newfoundland, (which was as is aforesayde the eleuenth of Iuly) we continued beating vp and downe on the coast of Arambec to the West and Southwest of Cape Briton vntil the twentie eight of September, fully by the space of eleuen weekes: and then by the perswasion of our Master and certaine others wee shaped our course homeward by the Isles of the Açores, and came first to Coruo and Flores, where beating vp and downe, and missing of expected pray, we sayled by Tercera, and from thence to Saint Michael, where we sought to boorde a Portugall shippe, which we found too well appointed for vs to bring along with vs, and so being forced to leaue them behinde and hauing wasted all our victuals, wee were constrained against our willes to hasten home vnto our narrowe Seas: but it was the two and twentieth of December before wee could get into the Downes: where for lacke of winde wee kept our Christmas with dry breade onely for dropping of our clothes.
An huge Whale pursued their ship by the space of many dayes till one of their men fell ouerboord.
One thing very strange hapened in this voyage: to witte, that a mightie great Whale followed our shippe by the space of many dayes as we passed by Cape Razo, which by no meanes wee coulde chase from our ship, untill one of our men fell ouerboord and was drowned, after which time shee immediatly forsooke vs, and neuer afterward appeared vnto vs.[12]
XI. A briefe note concerning the voyage of M. George Drake of Apsham to Isle of Ramea in the aforesayd yere 1593.
In the beginning of the former relation written by Richard Fisher seruant to the worshipfull Master Hill of Redriffe is, as you reade, a briefe reporte of their loosing of their consort the shippe of Master George Drake of Apsham: which though shee came directly to the Isle of Ramea, yet because shee was not ready so soone by two moneths as she ought to haue bene, she was not onely the hinderance of her consort the Marigolde, and lost the season of the yere for the making of her voyage of [pg 059] killing the Morses or Sea Oxen, which are to be taken in Aprill, May, and Iune: but also suffered the fit places and harboroughs in the Isle which are but two, as farre as I can learne, to be forestalled and taken vp by the Britons of Saint Malo and the Baskes of Saint Iohn de Luz, by comming a day after the Fayre, as wee say. Which lingering improuidence of our men hath bene the ouerthrowe of many a worthy enterprize and of the vndertakers of the same.