_Report of a Cruizing Voyage to the Azores in 1591, by a feet of London
ships sent with supplies to the Lord Thomas Howard.
Written by Captain
Robert Flicke_[377].
PRELIMINARY REMARKS[378].
The following voyage is extracted from a letter, dated at Plymouth the
24th of October 1591, and sent thence by Captain Flicke to Messrs Thomas
Bromley, Richard Staper, and - - Cordall, three of the contractors, as
we apprehend, for the ships, and is titled, "Concerning the success of a
part of the London supplies sent to the isles of the Azores to my Lord
Thomas Howard." In this letter no mention is made of the number of ships
employed, nor of the names of more than two captains besides Flicke,
namely, _Brothus_ and _Furtho_, the latter of whom was bearer of the
letter. We also find the name of four of the ships; the Costly,
Centurion, Cherubim, and the Margaret and John, but not the names of
their commanders, neither the name of the ship in which Flicke sailed,
and which, for distinctions sake, we call the admiral. These omissions
may be excuseable in a private letter, written only to acquaint the
merchants of particulars they had not before learnt, and not designed as
a formal narrative of the voyage to be laid before the public. As these,
however, are essential to narratives of this kind, it might have been
expected of Mr Hakluyt to have supplied such defects. We may judge,
however, that the number of ships was seven, as in the preceding account
of the fleet of the Indies, six London ships are mentioned as having
fallen in with it, which were probably those separated from the admiral
or commodore, which ship will make the seventh. - _Astley._
[Footnote 377: Hakluyt, II. 671. Astley, I. 221.]
[Footnote 378: Astley, I. 221.]
NARRATIVE[379].
Worshipful, my hearty commendations to you premised. - By my last letter,
dated 12th August from this place, I advertised you particularly of the
accidents which had befallen our fleet till then. It now remains to
relate our exertions for accomplishing our orders for endeavouring to
join my Lord Thomas Howard, and the success we have had. We departed
from hence on the 17th August, the wind not serving before. Next day I
summoned a council by signal, on which the captains and masters of all
the ships came on board, when I acquainted them with my commission,
confirmed by the lords of her majestys council, and with the
advertisement of Sir Edward Denny, that my lord had determined to remain
60 leagues west of Fayal, spreading his squadron north and south between
37 deg. 30' and 38 deg. 30' north. But, if we did not there find him, we were to
repair to the islands of Flores and Corvo, where a pinnace would
purposely wait our coming till the last day of August; with the intent,
after that day, to repair to the coast of Spain, about the heighth of
the rock [_of Lisbon?_], some twenty or thirty leagues off shore.
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