A Fight at Sea, Famously fought by the Dolphin of London against five of the Turks Men of War, and a Satty the 12. of january last 1616. being all Vessels of great Burden, and strongly manned.  
Wherein is showed the noble Worth and brave Resolution of our English Nation.  
Written and set forth by one of the same Voyage, that was then present and an eye witness to all the proceed.   depiction of ship 
Printed at London for Henry Gosson, dwelling upon London Bridge. 1617.   

 two warships engaged in battle   

A Fight at Sea.  
Famously fought by the Dolphin of London, against five of the Turks men of War.  
THE Magnanimity and worthy resolution of this our English nation, from time to time endureth the true touch and trials of the Sea in deep extremity: whereby other Countries (not only admires thereat, but ties to the same a deserved commendation:) Amongst many other such like Adventures, I am emboldened to commit to your censure the Accidents of this our late voyage and return from Zant into England, which happened as here followeth.  
Having at Zant, at the end of this last year finished our business, and laden our Ship for England, being named the Dolphin of London, of the burden of fourteen score Tun or there about, having in the same some 19 pieces of Ordinance, and 9 Murderers, Manned with 36. Men, and two Boys, the Master thereof one Mr. Nichols, a man of much skill, and proved experience; who making for England, we came from Zant the first of january 1616. the wind being North and by East, when with a prosperous gale, by the eight day in the morning we had sight of the Hand of Sardaine, the wind being then come westerly, the ninth, in the morning, we stood in for Callery, and at noon the wind being Southerly we came close by the Towers, where some two Leagues off we made the fight, which day at night the wind growing calm, we sailed towards the Cape, the tenth day we had very little wind or none at all, till it was two of the clock in the afternoon, which drove us some 3. League's eastward from the Cape Pola: where we espied a Fleet of Ships upon the main of Serdine, near unto a Road called Callery, belonging to the King of Spain, being the 12. of january, on which day in the morning's watch, about four of the clock, we had sight of a Sail making from the Shore towards us, which drove into our minds some doubt and fear, and coming near unto us we espied it to be a Sattie, which is a Ship much like unto an Argosy, of a very great burden and bigness, which perceiving, we imagined some more Ships not to be far off, whereupon our Master sent one of our company up into the main top, where he discovered five Sail of Ships one after another, coming up before the wind, being then at West, South west, who in a prospect glass perceived them to be the Turks Men of War: The first of them booning by himself before the wind, with his Fag in the main top, and all is sails gallantly spread abroad, after him came the Admiral and the Vice-admiral, and after them two more, the Rear-admiral and his fellow, being five in number, all well prepared for any desperate assault, whereupon, we immediately made ready our Ordinance and small shot, and with no little resolution prepared ourselves to withstand them, which being done, we went to prayer, and so to dinner, where our Master gave us such noble encouragement, that our hearts ever thirsted to prove the success, and being in readiness for the fight, our Master went upon the Poop, and waved his sword three times, shaking it with such dauntless courage as if he had already won the victory, this being done we seconded him with like forwardness, whereupon he caused his Trumpets to sound, which gave unto us much more encouragement than before, and being within shot of them, our Master commanded his Gunner to make his level, and to shoot, which he did, but miss them all, at which the foremost of them bore up apace, for he had the wind of us, and returned as good as we sent, so betwixt us for a great time were a most fierce encounter, and having advantage of us by reason of the wind, about eleven or twelve of the clock they laid us aboard with one of their Ships, which was of three hundred Tun or thereabouts, and had in her 35. pieces of Ordinance, and about two hundred and fifty men, the Captain thereof was one Walsingam, which seemed by his name to be an Englishman, and Admiral of the Fleet, for so it signified by the Flag in his main top, having (as I said) boarded our Ship, he entered on the Larbord quarter, where his men, some with sabells which we call Falchions, some with hatchets, and some with half Pikes, where they stayed some half hour or thereabout, tearing up our nail boards upon the poop, and the trap hatch, but we having a murderer in the round house, kept the Larbord side clear, whilst our men with the other Ordinance and muskets played upon their Ships: yet for all this they paid our Gallery with small shot, in such sort that we stood in great danger to yield, but at last we shot them quite through and through, and they us likewise, but they being afraid they should have been sunk by us, bore a head of our Ship, and as he passed along we gave them a broad side, that they were forced to lay by the ley, and to mend his leaks: This fight continued two hours by our glass and better, and so near the shore, that the dwellers thereupon saw all the beginning and ending, and what danger we stood in, for upon the shore stood a little house, wherein was likewise turned a glass all the time during the fight which measured the hours as they passed, and this was Walfinghams' part.  
Now for Captain Kelleyes Ship, that came likewise up with his Flag in the main top, and another Ship with his Flag in the fore top, which Ships were at least three hundred tun apiece, and had in each of them 25. pieces of Ordinance, and about two hundred and fifty men, so they laid us aboard on the Starbord quarter, and the other on the Larbord, where entering our ship thick and threefold, with their semiters, hatchets, half pikes and other weapons put us in great danger both of the lost of our Ship and our lives, for they performed much manhood and many dangerous hazards, amongst which there was one of their company, that desperately went up into our main top to fetch down our Flag, which being spied by the Steward of our Ship, presently shot him with his Musket that he fell headlong into the Sea, leaving the Flag behind him, so these two ships fought with us with great resolution, playing upon us with their Ordinance and small shot, for the space of an hour and a half, of whom we received some hurt, and likewise they of us, but when they saw they could not prevail, nor any way make us to yield, they bore up and passed from us to lay their ships by the lee to stop their leaks, for we had grievously torn and battered them with our great Ordinance, and this was the second attempt they made upon us.  
Now for the third, there came two more of Captain Kelleyes ships of two hundred and fifty tun apiece, that in each of them had 22. pieces of Ordinance, and at the least two hundred men all well provided as might be, which was as we thought too great a number for us, being so few in our ship, but God that was our friend, gave us such strength and success that they little prevailed against us, for at their first coming up, notwithstanding all their multitude of men, we shot the one of them quite through and through, and laid him likewise by the lee, as we had done the others before, but the other ship remaining, laid us aboard on the starboard side, and in that quarter they entered our ship with their Semiters, Falchions, half Pikes and other weapons, running toe and fro upon the deck, crying still in the Turkish tongue yield yourselves, yield yourselves, promising we should be well used, and have part of our goods delivered back, with such like fair promises, but we giving no ear unto them, stood stiffly in our defence, choosing rather to die, then to yield, as it is still the nature and condition of all Englishmen, and being thus resolved, some of our men plied our Ordinance against them, some played with the small shot, some with other weapons as swords, and half Pikes and such like, in midst of which skirmish, it so happened by ill chance that our Ship was fired, and in great danger to be lost and cast away, had not the Lord in his mercy preserved us, and sent us means happily to quench it, but now mark the accident, the fire being perceived by our enemies to burn outrageously, and thinking that our Ship would have therewith been suddenly burned to the water, they left us to our fortunes, falling a stern of from us, and so we put to the shore under the little house, for some succour, where we let an Anchor fall thinking to ride there all that night, which we had no sooner done, but we saw another Ship bear upon us, whereupon we were sore frighted and so forced to let our Anchor slip and so set sail to get better succour, putting into the road between the two little houses where we lay five days, mending the bruises and leaks of our ship: the losses we received in the aforesaid fight, were six Men and one Boy, which were killed outright, and there were hurt eight men and one boy more: but the Lord doth know what damage we put them to, & what number we slew in their ships.  
The Master of our Ship being at the Helm, was shot twice betwixt the legs: And the Chirurgeon dressing the wounds of one of our men, a Ball of Wildfire fell into his Basin which he suddenly cast into the Sea, otherwise it had greatly endangered us. The Turks were aboard and sounded their Trumpets, yet notwithstanding, our men assaulted them so fiercely, that they forced them off, and the Boson (seeing them fly) most undauntedly with a whistle blourd them to the skirmish, if so they durst. The Captains of three of their Ships were English men, who took part with the Turks thus to rob and spoil upon the Ocean, their names were Walsingham, Kelley, and Samson.  
Upon the 13 of january there came aboard certain Spaniards in the morning betimes, to witness what hurts we had received, who seeing our men dead, went a shore with us, and showed us where we might bury them, but as we were busy in making their graves and covering the bodies with earth, there came sailing by a Flemish Ship of twelvescore tun, which had in it some five or six thousand pounds, which had been chased with those men of war that had fought with us before, all which money they brought in a long Boat to the shore, and left in the Ship only the men, which were 16. Sailors and 2. Boys, that afterwards within two days brought the said ship into the Road, not any thing at all endangered, God be praised.  
Upon the 15 of the same Month, when we came from the burying of our men, and had rested ourselves in our ship some two or three hours, as God would have it, the wind began to blow a strong gale, and by little and little, grew to a tirible tempest, through which from Sunday night till Friday in the evening, we lay in such extremity of weather, as rain, wind, lightning, and thunder that we thought we should never have got clear from the Road where we lay: during which storm and tempest there died one of our men, that had been hurt in the fight, whose body we cast overboard, into the sea, without any other burial, and so when the wind and sea a little calmed, we set up sail and came forward: but within three, days after we buried three men more in the Sea, and the same afternoon we arrived in the Road of Callery, and lay at anchor, where again searching our Ship, we found it rend and torn in four several places, one in the gun-roome, another between the decks, the third in the skereridge, and the fourth in the masters round-house, so in Callery we mended our Ship, and hired certain men there to help us to stop her leaks, and having all things most fitting for our Voyage homewards, upon the 30. day of january we committed our fortunes again unto the Sea, and so leaving Callery we came forward with a Frenchman, who was bound to a place called Orestone, some thirty Leagues from Callery, where after two days we left his company, being the first day of February, and after that putting forwards still towards England, we are now by the will of God, most safely arrived, and our Ship after so many overpassed dangers, received into the Thames, near London to the great joy and comfort of the Owners thereof.  
God be praised.  
 ornate fleur-de-lis   

 depiction of ship  
 sinking ship