Thomas Cavendish. Engraving of English sailor and explorer Thomas Cavendish (1555-1592), the third man to circumnavigate the globe (after Ferdinand Magellan and Francis Drake). Cavendish left England in July 1586, sailing first to Brazil. His route then took him south along the coast of Patagonia, through the Strait of Magellan (named after Ferdinand Magellan), across the Pacific to the Philippines, and round the Cape of Good Hope in South Africa. He reached Plymouth two years and 50 days after his departure.