The third voyage Northwestward, made by John Davis, Gentleman, as chiefe Captaine and Pilot generall, for the discoverie of a passage to the Isles of the Molucca, or the coast of China, in the yeere 1587.

The 19 of this present moneth, about midnight, we weighed our ankers, set saile, and departed from Dartmouth with two barkes and a Clincher, ¹ the one named the Elizabeth of Dartmouth, the other the Sunneshine of London, and the Clincher, called the Ellin of London : thus, in Gods name, we set forwards with the wind at Northeast, a good fresh gale. About 3 howers after our departure, the night being somewhat thicke with darknesse, we had lost the pinnace, the captaine imagining that the men had runne away with her, willed the master of the Sunneshine to stand to Seawards, and see if we could descrie them, we bearing in with the shore for Plimmouth. At length we descried her, bare with her, and demanded what the cause was : They answered, that the tiller of their helme was burst. So, shaping our course West southwest, we went forward, hoping that a hard beginning would make a good ending, yet some of us were doubtfull of it, falling in reckoning that she was a Clincher ; neverthelesse, we put our trust in God.