ABSTRACT
John Ridlesden in his deposition concerning this voyage refers to the Bark Bond as a ship and to the Scorpion and the Violet as his pinnaces, the Bark Bond and the Violet were of more or less equal burden—about 60 tons. The Bark Bond was a Weymouth privateer, owned by the Weymouth merchant John Bond, who had sent her on various expeditions before 1595 with the financial assistance of other Weymouth men. John Ridlesden, perhaps a Barnstaple seaman before he became 'of London gent.', had ten years of experience as a commander of privateers and this was not his last voyage to the West Indies. Ridlesden took three prizes—the St Francis of Seville, the Azores prize and the cargo of hides taken in the Indies. The Bark Bond then made her way home and the others stayed on until July, returning via the Azores in August and reaching Southampton in September.
