Drimys winteri stamens. The fruit is a bluish berry. When Sir Francis Drake sailed round the world in 1577-80, of the four ships accompanying the "Golden Hind" at the outset, the only ship that successfully rounded Cape Horn with him was the "Elizabeth", captained by John Wynter; the two ships separated in a storm and Winter turned back. Presumably he had sickness on board, for he sent a boat ashore to search out medicinal herbs. He returned in 1579 with a supply of "Drimys" bark, and for centuries before vitamin C was isolated, "Winter's Bark" was esteemed as a preventive and remedy
Thomas Doughty (explorer) established the idea that a ship's captain was its absolute ruler, regardless of the rank or social class of its passengers. Doughty befriended Drake during Drake's military actions in Ireland. Drake, Doughty and John Wynter left Plymouth, England in 1577, purportedly on a simple trip to Alexandria. Drake's real mission was to interfere with Spanish treasure fleets in the New World; whether he proceeded with the full knowledge and sanction of Queen Elizabeth I, and whether his original intent was the circumnavigation of the globe are still topics of scholarly debate (see Kelsey, "Sir Francis Drake: the Queen's Pirate.") The