When he came back to England queen Elisabeth I issued a stay of shipping that prevented any ship from leaving English shores. The reason was that Spain joined with the Pope to invade England. Since the Spanish fleet was called the invincible fleet at the time every ship was needed for the war. In 1588 White was able to get a pair of small ships incapable of fighting in a war but when they sailed for the colony they were intercepted by French pirates and had to go back to England.
