George Somers Tempest". During their time on the islands, the crew and passengers built a church and houses, the start of the Bermuda colony. Somers and Sir Thomas Gates oversaw the construction of two small ships, the "Deliverance" and the "Patience." They were built from local timber (Bermuda Cedar) and the salvaged spars and rigging of the wrecked "Sea Venture." In May 1610 the ships set sail for Jamestown, with the surviving 142 castaways on board taking food from the island. When they reached the settlement, they found it nearly destroyed by the famine and disease of what has been called the
Preston Somers Expedition and two other vessels out of Southampton which they met at sea. As a test for training the soldiers they disembarked and attacked the Portuguese settlement at Porto Santo on Madeira and successfully plundered small villages. By 18 May Preston and Somers had reached Dominica and after refreshing for six days on the island they sailed south to Los Testigos Islands. Here they celebrated a muster ashore on 28 May and continued south west against Margarita Island which they soon sighted and came ashore on the following day. They explored nearby Coche Island the next day and captured a Spanish