After detailed research in manuscripts and documents of the period, the origins and exact details of the original ship are unknown.

Quite possibly it may have been a foreign prize taken in an earlier pirating expedition, however it seems she was a classic example of a mid 16th century warship during the transition from the carrack to the galleon weighing approx 120 tons

 

After the world voyage 1577-1580 the ship was taken to Deptford for public exhibition in honour of Drakes remarkable achievement.

In 1581 Drake was knighted onboard by the French ambassador in the presence of Queen Elizabeth I (a piece of political shrewdness, Elizabeth could not be seen to condone a man who, to the Spanish at least was seen as a pirate).

The vessel remained there for nearly 100 years where she eventually rotted away and was broken up. Nothing remains of the ship except a chair reputed to be carved from its timbers, which can be seen in the Great Hall, Buckland Abbey, Devon.