David Beers Quinn concluded that the 1587 colonists sought to relocate to their original destination—Chesapeake Bay—using the pinnace and other small boats to transport themselves and their belongings. A small group would have been stationed at Croatoan to await White's return and direct him to the transplanted colony. Following White's failure to locate any of the colonists, the main body of the colonists would have quickly assimilated with the Chesepians, while the lookouts on Croatoan would have blended into the Croatan tribe.