THE Magnanimity and worthy resolution of this our English nation , from time to time indureth the true touch and tryalls of the Sea in deepe extremity : whereby other Countryes ( not only admires thereat , but ties to the same a diserued commendation : ) Amongst many other such like Aduentures , I am imboldened to commit to your censure the Accidents of this our late voyage and returne from Zant into England , which happened as heere followeth .

Hauing at Zant , at the end of this last yeare finished our busines , and laden our Ship for England , being named the Dolphin of London , of the burthen of foureteene score Tun or there about , hauing in the same some 19. pieces of Ordinance , and 9. Murtherers , Manned with 36. Men , and two Boyes , the Maister thereof one Mr. Nichols , a man of much skill , and proued experience ; who making for England , wee came from Zant the first of Ianuary 1616. the winde beeing North and by East , when with a prosperous gale , by the eyght day in the morning wee had sight of the Hand of Sardaine , the wind beeing then come westerly , the ninth , in the morning , wee stood in for Callery , and at noone the winde being Southerly we came close by the Towers , where some two Leagues off wee made the fight , which day at night the wind growing calme , we sayled towards the Cape , the tenth day wee had very little winde or none at all , till it was two of the clock in the afternoone , which draue vs some 3. Leagues eastward from the Cape Pola : where we espied a Fleet of Ships vpon the maine of Serdine , neer vnto a Road called Callery , belonging to the King of Spaine , being the 12. of Ianuary , on which day in the mornings watch , about foure of the clock , we had sight of a Saile making from the Shore towards vs , which draue into our minds some doubt and feare , and comming neere vnto vs wee espied it to be a Sattie , which is a Ship much like vnto an Argosey , of a very great burthen and bignes , which perceiuing , we imagined some more Shippes not to bee far off , whervpon our Maister sent one of our company vp into the maine top , where he discouered fiue Sayle of Ships one after another , comming vp before the winde , being then at West , South west , who in a prospect glasse perceiued them to bee the Turkes Men of Warre : The first of them booning by himselfe before the winde , with his Fagge in the maine top , and all is sailes gallantly spred abroad , after him came the Admirall and the Vice-Admirall , and after them two more , the Reare-Admirall and his fellow , beeing fiue in number , all well prepared for any desperate assault , whervpon , we immediatly made ready our Ordinance and small shot , and with no little resolution prepared our selues to withstand them , which being done , wee went to prayer , and so to dinner , where our Master gaue vs such noble incouragement , that our hearts euer thirsted to proue the successe , and beeing in readines for the fight , our Master went vppon the Poope , and waued his sword three times , shaking it with such dauntles courage as if hee had already won the victory , this being done we seconded him with like forwardnes , wherevppon hee caused his Trumpets to sound , which gaue vnto vs much more encouragement then before , and being within shot of them , our Maister commanded his Gunner to make his leuell , and to shoote , which he did , but missed them all , at which the formost of them bore vp apace , for he had the winde of vs , and returned as good as wee sent , so betwixt vs for a great time were a most fierce incounter , and hauing aduantage of vs by reason of the winde , about eleuen or twelue of the clocke they laid vs aboard with one of their Shippes , which was of three hundred Tun or thereabouts , and had in her 35. pieces of Ordinance , and about two hundred and fifty men , the Captaine thereof was one Walsingam , which seemed by his name to be an English-man , and Admirall of the Fleet , for so it signified by the Flagge in his maine top , hauing ( as I said ) boarded our Ship , he entred on the Larbord quarter , where his men , some with sabells which wee call Fauchins , some with hatchets , and some with halfe Pikes , where they stayd some halfe hower or thereabout , tearing vp our naile boords vpon the poop , and the trap hatch , but wee hauing a murtherer in the round house , kept the Larbord side cleere , whilst our men with the other Ordinance and musquets plaid vppon their Shippes : yet for all this they paid our Gallery with small shot , in such sort that we stood in great danger to yeeld , but at last wee shot them quite thorough and thorough , and they vs likewise , but they being affraid they should haue beene sunke by vs , bore a head of our Ship , and as he passed along we gaue them a broad side , that they were forced to lay by the ley , and to mend his leakes : This fight continued two howers by our glasse and better , and so neare the shoare , that the dwellers therevpon saw all the beginning and ending , and what danger wee stood in , for vpon the shoare stood a little house , wherein was likewise turned a glasse all the time during the fight which measured the howers as they passed , and this was Walfinghams part .

Now for Captaine Kelleyes Shippe , that came likewise vp with his Flag in the maine top , and another Ship with his Flag in the fore top , which Shippes were at least three hundred tunne apeece , and had in each of them 25. pieces of Ordinance , and about two hundred and fifty men , so they laid vs aboard on the Starbord quarter , and the other on the Larbord , where entring our ship thicke and threefold , with their semiters , hatchets , halfe pikes and other weapons put vs in great danger both of the loste of our Ship and our liues , for they performed much manhood and many dangerous hazards , amongst which there was one of their company , that desperately went vp into our maine top to fetch downe our Flag , which being spied by the Steward of our Ship , presently shot him with his Musquet that hee fell headlong into the Sea , leauing the Flag behind him , so these two ships fought with vs with great resolution , playing vppon vs with their Ordinance and small shot , for the space of an hower and a halfe , of whom wee receiued some hurt , and likewise they of vs , but when they saw they could not preuaile , nor any way make vs to yeeld , they bore vp and passed from vs to lay their ships by the lee to stop their leaks , for we had grieuously torne and battered them with our great Ordinance , and this was the second attempt they made vppon vs .

Now for the third , there came two more of Captaine Kelleyes ships of two hundred and fifty tunne apeece , that in each of them had 22. pieces of Ordinance , and at the least two hundred men all well prouided as might bee , which was as wee thought too great a number for vs , being so fewe in our shippe , but God that was our friend , gaue vs such strength and successe that they little preuailed against vs , for at their first comming vp , notwithstanding all their multitude of men , we shot the one of them quight thorough and thorough , and laid him likewise by the lee , as wee had done the others before , but the other ship remaining , laid vs aboard on the starboard side , and in that quarter they entered our shippe with their Semiters , Fauchions , halfe Pikes and other weapons , running toe and fro vpon the deck , crying stil in the Turkish tongue yeeld your selues , yeeld your selues , promising wee should bee well vsed , and haue part of our goods deliuered backe , with such like faire promises , but wee giueing no eare vnto them , stood stiflie in our defence , chosing rather to die , then to yeeld , as it is still the nature and condition of all Englishmen , and beeing thus resolued , some of our men plied our Ordinance against them , some played with the small shot , some with other weapons as swords , and halfe Pikes and such like , in middest of which skirmish , it so happened by ill chance that our Shippe was fired , and in great danger to bee lost and cast away , had not the Lord in his mercy preserued vs , and sent vs meanes happily to quench it , but now marke the accident , the fier being perceiued by our enemies to burne outragiously , and thinking that our Shippe would haue therewith beene sodainly burned to the water , they left vs to our fortunes , falling a sterne of from vs , and so wee put to the shoare vnder the little house , for some succour , where wee let an Anchor fall thinkeing to ride there all that night , which wee had no sooner done , but wee saw another Ship beare vpon vs , wherevpon wee were sore frighted and so forced to let our Anchor slippe and so set sayle to gette better succour , putting into the road betweene the two little houses where we lay fiue dayes , mending the bruises and leakes of our ship : the losses we receiued in the aforesaid fight , were sixe Men and one Boy , which were killed outright , and there were hurt eyght men and one boy more : but the Lord doth know what damage we put them to , & what number we slew in their ships .

The Maister of our Shippe beeing at the Helme , was shot twise betwixt the legges : And the Chirurgion dressing the wounds of one of our men , a Ball of Wildfire fell into his Bason which hee sodainly cast into the Sea , otherwise it had greatly indangered vs . The Turkes were aboard and sounded their Trumpets , yet notwithstanding , our men assaulted them so fiercely , that they forced them off , and the Boson ( seeing them flye ) most vndantedly with a whistle blourd them to the skirmish , if so they durst . The Captaines of three of their Shippes were English men , who tooke part with the Turks thus to rob and spoyle vppon the Ocean , their names were Walsingham , Kelley , and Sampson .