Departing England in June in company with four other vessels, she made an uneventful crossing of the Atlantic and reached the Newfoundland coast on 5 August.
Gilbert went ashore at St John's to claim the area as England's first overseas colony under Royal Charter of Queen Elizabeth I.
[4] Plans for a further expedition south along the American coastline were abandoned following a critical shortage of supplies, and Gilbert elected instead to return to England.
[5] Squirrel was selected as the flagship for this return voyage and was armed with some small cannon, in Gilbert's words "more to give a show [of force] than with judgement to foresee unto the safety of her and the men.
"[5] The frigate [Squirrel] was near cast away, oppressed by waves, yet at that time recovered: and giving forth signs of joy the General, sitting abaft with a book in his hand, cried out unto us in the Hind, so oft as we did approach within hearing, "We are as near to Heaven by sea as by land."