# When Francis Drake's fleet set out to sail around America, did they expect the cold climate of the South? **URL:** \ **Category:** Factual Questions\ **Created:** [April 17, 2023, 1:01am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/when-francis-drakes-fleet-set-out-to-sail-around-america-did-they-expect-the-cold-climate-of-the-south/982763 "2023-04-17T01:01:48Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 4\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![EinsteinsHund](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/einsteinshund/32/8400_2.png) [@EinsteinsHund](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/EinsteinsHund)\ **Post date:** [April 17, 2023, 1:01am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/when-francis-drakes-fleet-set-out-to-sail-around-america-did-they-expect-the-cold-climate-of-the-south/982763/1 "2023-04-17T01:01:49Z")
And were the crewmen equipped with clothing for withstanding rough and cold weather? This question comes up as I watch a program about Drake’s journey where it was mentioned that they sailed farther South than anybody had before. Was the connection between the weather and both polar regions known or at least theorized back then? ---
**Author:** ![dtilque](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/d6d6ee/32.png) [@dtilque](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/dtilque)\ **Post date:** [April 17, 2023, 8:48am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/when-francis-drakes-fleet-set-out-to-sail-around-america-did-they-expect-the-cold-climate-of-the-south/982763/2 "2023-04-17T08:48:07Z")
Reading the Wikipedia account of the voyage: > **[Francis Drake's circumnavigation](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Francis_Drake%27s_circumnavigation)** > > Francis Drake's circumnavigation, also known as Drake's Raiding Expedition, was an important historical maritime event that took place between 15 December 1577 and 26 September 1580. The expedition was authorised by Queen Elizabeth I and consisted of five ships led by Francis Drake. Termed a 'voyage of discovery', it was in effect an ambitious covert raiding voyage and the start of England's challenge to the global domination of Spain and Portugal. > Drake set off on 15 December 1577 after a delay... it says he went through the Straits of Magellan and not Drake Passage, so he didn’t go any further south than Magellan. As far as the clothing, seamen would expect to have to dress warmly no matter where they were sailing, so they’d bring along winter clothing. It’s not always nice and pleasant on the high seas. I’ll note that Drake chose the worst time to launch his expedition. He first sailed in November and encountered a storm in the English Channel. That required them to fix a couple of the ships, so they didn’t start again until December. But that timing put them in the Patagonian area in June, where they kept encountering storms. If he’d started in summer, the whole enterprise would have gone much smoother. ---
**Author:** ![FrenchDunadan](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/frenchdunadan/32/5449_2.png) [@FrenchDunadan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/FrenchDunadan)\ **Post date:** [April 17, 2023, 8:52am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/when-francis-drakes-fleet-set-out-to-sail-around-america-did-they-expect-the-cold-climate-of-the-south/982763/3 "2023-04-17T08:52:06Z")
Magellan sailed in his famous strait in October-November 1520 (so summer in south hemisphere). The Spanish transit between Philippines and Spain was by Mexico or Panama, not by the south of America. Others passed by the Cap of storms of south Africa, with a warmer climate. Drake was the first to sail in winter, so dubious that he was prepared to it. ---
**Author:** ![Stanislaus](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/stanislaus/32/3391_2.png) [@Stanislaus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Stanislaus)\ **Post date:** [April 17, 2023, 9:13am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/when-francis-drakes-fleet-set-out-to-sail-around-america-did-they-expect-the-cold-climate-of-the-south/982763/4 "2023-04-17T09:13:03Z")
> [@EinsteinsHund](#): > > Was the connection between the weather and both polar regions known or at least theorized back then? Can’t find a cite online but the Venerable Bede in the 8th century wrote that the world was a globe, with a hot middle region, temparate middle regions north and south of that, and cold regions at the extremes. Just because something was known at one point doesn’t mean it would still be known hundreds of years later of course, but European sailors would definitely know that heading into the high latitudes meant cold weather and even frozen harbours - e.g. Sir Hugh Willougby and his Muscovy Company crew had frozen to death on the Kola Peninsula in 1553/4 or thereabouts. So two decades later Drake could be expected to know or at least suspect that heading a long way south would mean extreme cold.