Singeing the beard of the King of Spain

by chuckofish

In a pre-emptive strike on this day in 1585, Francis Drake “singed the beard of the King of Spain” by sailing a fleet into Cadiz and also Corunna, two of Spain’s main ports, and occupying the harbors. He destroyed 37 naval and merchant ships. The attack delayed the Spanish invasion by a year. Over the next month, Drake patrolled the Iberian coasts between Lisbon and Cape St. Vincent, intercepting and destroying ships on the Spanish supply lines.

They sure don’t make ’em like Sir Francis Drake anymore. Or TV shows like “Sir Francis Drake”. Remember that one back in 1962? I do, although I probably saw it in syndication a few years later.

“Disturb us, Lord, when we are too well pleased with ourselves, 

when our dreams have come true because we have dreamed too little, 

when we arrive safely because we sailed too close to the shore. 


Disturb us, Lord, when with the abundance of things we possess,
we have lost our thirst for the waters of life, 
having fallen in love with life, we have ceased to dream of eternity, 
and in our efforts to build a new earth, we have allowed our vision of the new heaven to dim. 


Disturb us, Lord, to dare more boldly, to venture on wider seas, 
where storms will show your mastery, 
where losing sight of land, we shall find the stars. 
We ask you to push back the horizon of our hopes, 
and to push us into the future in strength, courage, hope, and love. 
This we ask in the name of our Captain, who is Jesus Christ. ”
― Francis Drake