Ka cika wannan magana: Ya saba da jiragen ruwa da kuma teku tun yana yaro, kuma a shekara ta 1582 ya bi kawunsa, William Hawkins, zuwa West Indies. A shekara ta 1585 ya kasance kyaftin din jirgin ruwa a cikin balaguron Drake zuwa babban yankin Spain, a shekara ta 1588 ya umurci jirgin ruwan sarauniya a kan Armada, kuma a shekara ta 1590
tafiyar mahaifinsa a gabar tekun Portugal.