| Title | Roe Bucke |
| Source | http://www.ccentre.wa.gov.au/index.cfm?event=discoveryOfTheWesternCoast |
| Origin | Internet |
Roebuck (fl. 1585); The Roebuck was a flyboat of 140 tons which was one of the vessels used in the Raleigh’s 1585 Roanoke Voyage. She was owned by Sir Walter Raleigh (bearing as her name the image emblazoned on Raleigh’s coat of arms) and was quite possibly a Dutch fly- boat that Raleigh is known to have acquired shortly before the voyage. On the expedition she was commanded by John Clarke, who was probably the Vice Admiral of the officer-heavy expedition. Quinn writes that: “One at least of Raleigh’s ships, commanded by John Clarke, probably the Roebuck, was at sea in the early months of the year, searching for prizes with which to enlarge his fleet. It is not unlikely that the Waterhound of Brill was seized for this purpose and renamed as a member of the expedition, while her master and pilot, who may have been French, were taken, apparently unwillingly, on the voyage. Another French ship was also taken about this time.” These captures, which included a valuable cargo of linen, proved extremely profitable for Clarke and Raleigh, but also resulted in political and legal complications and tensions between the French, Raleigh, and Clarke. After this pre-voyage privateering, the Roebuck departed Plymouth on 9 April 1585 with the rest of the fleet, only to be separated within a few days by a storm in the Bay of Portugal. She was reunited with the rest of the fleet in early July, likely reaching the Carolina coast along with the Lion and the Dorothy before the Tiger and the Elizabeth sailed in. The fleet sailed for Hatarask Harbor on 21 July, reaching their destination on the 27th. After a great deal of time primarily at anchor while the colonists explored and established diplomatic relations of sorts with the Algonquians, the Tiger left for England on 31 August, leaving behind the majority of the colonists and fleet, including the Roebuck. After the Tiger’s departure, correspondence from Ralph Lane to Francis Walsingham places the Roebuck (or at least her captain and, we may assume by extension, the Roebuck) still in Port Ferdinando on 9 September. Though the timeline of the movements of the vessels at Roanoke is quite hazy after the departure of the Tiger, Quinn argues that it is likely that the Roebuck left the Roanoke settlement for England on or shortly after this 9 September date. Regardless, it is agreed that the Roebuck, the Elizabeth and the rest of the little fleet set back for England sometime in early September, 1585, the Roebuck carrying a number of letters from Lane to Walsingham back to England at this time. ; It is thought that the Roebuck was also involved in Raleigh’s 1586 Roanoke ventures. The squadron, under Grenville, attempted to sail on the 16th of April, 1586, but the Roebuck and his frigate proved unable to cross the bar at Bideford, in Southwest England, possibly being damaged in the attempt, and thus they were not able to leave until late April or early May. The Roebuck was also prepared as part of a second venture (following John White’s) prepared, but abandoned in its early stages, in 1587.;
Works Cited: ; The Roanoke Voyages, 1584-1590: Volumes I-II, ed. David Beers Quinn (London: Hakluyt Society, 1955), 25, 29, 121, 152-4, 158-9, 166, 176, 179-180, 190, 210, 213-14, 222, 466, 475, 486, 499, 621, 728, 835, 847.;