"Essex" then sailed to the Pacific where she decimated the British whaling fleet there. Although her crew suffered greatly from a shortage of provisions and heavy gales while rounding Cape Horn, she anchored safely at Valparaíso, Chile, on 14 March, having seized the whaling schooner "Elizabeth", and the Peruvian man-of-war "Nereyda" along the way. "Nereyda" had captured two American whalers, "Walker" and "Barclay", only to have the British whaler and privateer "Nimrod" take "Walker". "Nereyda" had sent "Barclay" to Callao, where Porter was able to capture her before she could enter port. He sent a disarmed "Nereyda" back to the Peruvian authorities as a gesture of good will. He searched for "Nimrod" and "Walker", but was unable to find them. At Valparaiso "Essex" landed the crew members that she had taken off "Nocton".