The fleet left Harwich on the 31st of May, 1578. A landing was made in the south of Greenland, which Frobisher named West England and took possession of, his point of departure from there being called by him, "from a certain similitude," Charing Cross! Soon he was among the ice floes. One of the ships was driven on to a floe and sank with some of the materials for the wooden house. Then followed a storm in which most of the ships had a terrible experience. "Some," says Captain Best of the _Ann Frances_, the chronicler of the voyage, "were so fast shut up and compassed in amongst an infinite number of great countreys and ilands of ise, that they were fayne to submit themselves and their ships to the mercie of the unmercifull ise, and strengthened the sides of their ships with junckes of cables, beds, masts, planckes, and such like, which being hanged overboord, on the sides of their shippes, mighte the better defend them from the outrageous sway and strokes of the said ise. But as in greatest distresse, men of best value are best to be discerned, so it is greatly worthy commendation and noting with what invincible mind every captayne encouraged his company, and with what incredible labour the paynefull mariners and poore miners (unacquainted with such extremities) to the everlasting renoune of our nation, dyd overcome the brunt of these so great and extreame daungers; for some, even without boorde uppon the ise, and some within boorde, uppon the sides of their shippes, having poles, pikes, peeces of timber and ores in their hands, stood almost day and night, without any reste, bearing off the force, and breaking the sway of the ise, with suche incredible payne and perill that it was wonderfull to behold, which otherwise no doubt had striken quite through and through the sides of their shippes, notwithstanding our former provision; for planckes of timber, of more than three ynches thick, and other things of greater force and bignesse, by the surging of the sea and billow, with the ise were shevered and cutte in sunder at the sides of oure ships, that it will seeme more than credible to be reported of. And yet (that which is more) it is faythfully and playnely to be proved, and that by many substantiall witnesses, that our shippes, even those of greatest burdens, with the meeting of contrary waves of the sea, were heaved up betweene islandes of ise a foote welneere out of the sea above their watermarke, having their knees and timbers within boorde both bowed and broken therewith."