''Squirrel'' was an exploration vessel launched in the 1570s and lost with all hands in 1583. In the 1570s ''Squirrel'' made a return voyage from England to

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, piloted by

Simon Fernandes Simon Fernandes (; c. 1538 – c. 1590) was a 16th-century Portuguese-born navigator and sometimes pirate who piloted the 1585 and 1587 English expeditions to found colonies on Roanoke Island, Roanoke island, part of modern-day North Carolina bu ...

. The voyage was considered remarkable given her small size and the dangers of sailing in largely uncharted waters. She was one of a small fleet of vessels under the command of Sir

Humphrey Gilbert Sir Humphrey Gilbert (c. 1539 – 9 September 1583) was an English adventurer, explorer, member of parliament and soldier who served during the reign of Queen Elizabeth I and was a pioneer of the English colonial empire in North Ameri ...

, commissioned in 1579 by the lord deputy of Ireland, William Drury, to attack James FitzMaurice FitzGerald by sea and to intercept a fleet expected to arrive from Spain. The expedition was a failure with the fleet dispersed by heavy seas and forced to seek shelter at

Land's End Land's End ( or ''Pedn an Wlas'') is a headland and tourist and holiday complex in western Cornwall, England, United Kingdom, on the Penwith peninsula about west-south-west of Penzance at the western end of the A30 road. To the east of it is ...

. ''Squirrel'' was again under Gilbert's command in 1583 for a voyage to

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and the eastern coast of North America. Departing England in June in company with four other vessels, she made an uneventful crossing of the Atlantic and reached the Newfoundland coast on 5 August. Gilbert went ashore at St John's to claim the area as England's first overseas colony under

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. Plans for a further expedition south along the American coastline were abandoned following a critical shortage of supplies, and Gilbert elected instead to return to England. ''Squirrel'' was selected as the flagship for this return voyage and was armed with some small cannon, in Gilbert's words "more to give a show f forcethan with judgement to foresee unto the safety of her and the men." On 9 September ''Squirrel'' had reached the

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off the European coast when she ran into a storm and was lost with all hands. News of her fate was carried to England by the crew of ''Golden Hind'', another vessel in Gilbert's fleet and the only one to survive the return voyage.

References

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Squirrel 16th-century ships Exploration ships of England Individual sailing vessels Ships of the Royal Navy Ships of the English navy