In a second attempt in 1583, Gilbert landed in Newfoundland and claimed it for England, establishing a short-lived colony near present-day St. Johns. He then tried to move south, but lost the largest of his three ships and turned homeward. His ship went down in a great storm in the Atlantic, and he was drowned.
Gilbert's navigational schemes were almost as well known as his last words: "We are as near to Heaven by sea as by land."
