It is unknown when or how Maldonado obtained this ship, but it served as the flagship of his armada. One day, while sailing in the Caribbean, Maldonado's ship encountered a merchant vessel from England. Maldonado decided to attack a poorly armed ship, and the merchantman was quickly captured. After the battle, one of the passengers of the merchant ship, the young Englishman James Sterling, was tied to the anchor and thrown overboard by Maldonado himself.