It was one of the three ships (along with Susan Constant and Godspeed) on the 1606–1607 voyage to the New World for the English Virginia Company of London.

In the summer of 1608, in the months between the first and second supply missions, Captain John Smith left Jamestown on the ship to explore the Chesapeake Bay region and search for badly needed food, covering an estimated 3,000 miles (4,800 km), producing a map that was of great value to explorers for more than a century.

In 1610, Admiral Sir George Somers (of Sea Venture fame), proposed a trip to Bermuda aboard Patience accompanied by Captain Samuel Argall on Discovery with the intention of gathering more local supplies for Jamestown.

The previous replica, built in 1984 in Jamestown, was shipped to the United Kingdom for a tour of the UK as part of the celebrations of the 400th anniversary of Virginia's founding.

After its tour, which finished in September 2007, the ship was laid up in Ipswich Marina awaiting a move to a more permanent home.