Phillip spent the summer of 1754 hunting whales near Svalbard in the Barents Sea.
As an apprentice, his responsibilities included stripping blubber from whale carcasses and helping to pack it into barrels.
Food was scarce and Fortune's thirty crew members supplemented their diet with bird's eggs, scurvy grass and where possible, reindeer.
The ship returned to England on 20 July 1754.
The whaling crew were paid off and replaced with twelve sailors for a winter voyage to the Mediterranean.
As an apprentice, Phillip remained aboard as Fortune undertook an outward trading voyage to Barcelona and Livorno carrying salt and raisins, returning via Rotterdam with a cargo of grains and citrus.
The ship returned to England in April 1755 and sailed immediately for Svalbard for that year's whale hunt.
Phillip was still a member of the crew, but abandoned his apprenticeship when the ship returned to England on 27 July.
On 16 October he enlisted in the Royal Navy and was assigned the rank of ordinary seaman aboard the 68-gun HMS Buckingham.

As a member of Buckingham's crew, Phillip saw action in the Seven Years' War, including the Battle of Minorca in 1756.
By 1762 he had transferred to HMS Stirling Castle, and was promoted to Lieutenant in recognition of active service in the Battle of Havana.
The War ended in 1763 and Phillip returned to England on half pay.
In July 1763 he married Margaret Denison, a widow 16 years his senior, and moved to Glasshayes in Lyndhurst, Hampshire, establishing a farm there.
The marriage was unhappy, and the couple separated in 1769 when Phillip returned to the Navy.
The following year he was posted as second lieutenant aboard HMS Egmont, a newly built 74-gun ship of the line.


In 1774 Phillip joined the Portuguese Navy as a captain, serving in the War against Spain.
While with the Portuguese Navy, Phillip commanded a frigate, the Nossa Senhora do Pilar.
On this ship he took a detachment of troops from Rio de Janeiro to Colonia do Sacramento on the Río de la Plata (opposite Buenos Aires) to relieve the garrison there.
This voyage also conveyed a consignment of convicts assigned to carry out work at Colonia.
During a storm encountered in the course of the voyage, the convicts assisted in working the ship and, on arrival at Colonia, Phillip recommended that they be rewarded for saving the ship by remission of their sentences.
A garbled version of this eventually found its way into the English press when Phillip was appointed in 1786 to lead the expedition to Sydney.
Phillip played a leading part in the capture of the Spanish ship San Agustín, on 19 April 1777, off Santa Catarina.
The San Agustin was commissioned into the Portuguese Navy as the Santo Agostinho, and command of her was given to Phillip.
The action was reported in the English press: 

Madrid, Aug. 28.
Letters from Lisbon bring the following Account from Rio Janeiro: That the St. Augustine, of 70 Guns, having been separated from the Squadron of M. Casa Tilly, was attacked by two Portugueze Ships, against which they defended themselves for a Day and a Night, but being next Day surrounded by the Portugueze Fleet, was obliged to surrender.

In 1778 Britain was again at war, and Phillip was recalled to active service, and in 1779 obtained his first command, HMS Basilisk.
He was promoted to post-captain on 30 November 1781 and given command of HMS Europa.

In July 1782, in a change of government, Thomas Townshend became Secretary of State for Home and American Affairs, and assumed responsibility for organising an expedition against Spanish America.
Like his predecessor, Lord Germain, he turned for advice to Arthur Phillip.
A letter from Phillip to Sandwich of 17 January 1781 records Phillip's loan to Sandwich of his charts of the Plata and Brazilian coasts for use in organising the expedition.
Phillip's plan was for a squadron of three ships of the line and a frigate to mount a raid on Buenos Aires and Monte Video, then to proceed to the coasts of Chile, Peru and Mexico to maraud, and ultimately to cross the Pacific to join the British Navy's East India
Phillip spent the summer of 1754 hunting whales near Svalbard in the Barents Sea. As an apprentice, his responsibilities included stripping blubber from whale carcasses and helping to pack it into barrels. Food was scarce and Fortune's thirty crew members supplemented their diet with bird's eggs, scurvy grass and where possible, reindeer. The ship returned to England on 20 July 1754. The whaling crew were paid off and replaced with twelve sailors for a winter voyage to the Mediterranean. As an apprentice, Phillip remained aboard as Fortune undertook an outward trading voyage to Barcelona and Livorno carrying salt and raisins, returning via Rotterdam with a cargo of grains and citrus. The ship returned to England in April 1755 and sailed immediately for Svalbard for that year's whale hunt. Phillip was still a member of the crew, but abandoned his apprenticeship when the ship returned to England on 27 July. On 16 October he enlisted in the Royal Navy and was assigned the rank of ordinary seaman aboard the 68-gun HMS Buckingham.
As a member of Buckingham's crew, Phillip saw action in the Seven Years' War, including the Battle of Minorca in 1756. By 1762 he had transferred to HMS Stirling Castle, and was promoted to Lieutenant in recognition of active service in the Battle of Havana. The War ended in 1763 and Phillip returned to England on half pay. In July 1763 he married Margaret Denison, a widow 16 years his senior, and moved to Glasshayes in Lyndhurst, Hampshire, establishing a farm there. The marriage was unhappy, and the couple separated in 1769 when Phillip returned to the Navy. The following year he was posted as second lieutenant aboard HMS Egmont, a newly built 74-gun ship of the line.

In 1774 Phillip joined the Portuguese Navy as a captain, serving in the War against Spain. While with the Portuguese Navy, Phillip commanded a frigate, the Nossa Senhora do Pilar. On this ship he took a detachment of troops from Rio de Janeiro to Colonia do Sacramento on the Río de la Plata (opposite Buenos Aires) to relieve the garrison there. This voyage also conveyed a consignment of convicts assigned to carry out work at Colonia. During a storm encountered in the course of the voyage, the convicts assisted in working the ship and, on arrival at Colonia, Phillip recommended that they be rewarded for saving the ship by remission of their sentences. A garbled version of this eventually found its way into the English press when Phillip was appointed in 1786 to lead the expedition to Sydney. Phillip played a leading part in the capture of the Spanish ship San Agustín, on 19 April 1777, off Santa Catarina. The San Agustin was commissioned into the Portuguese Navy as the Santo Agostinho, and command of her was given to Phillip. The action was reported in the English press: 

Madrid, Aug. 28. Letters from Lisbon bring the following Account from Rio Janeiro: That the St. Augustine, of 70 Guns, having been separated from the Squadron of M. Casa Tilly, was attacked by two Portugueze Ships, against which they defended themselves for a Day and a Night, but being next Day surrounded by the Portugueze Fleet, was obliged to surrender.
In 1778 Britain was again at war, and Phillip was recalled to active service, and in 1779 obtained his first command, HMS Basilisk. He was promoted to post-captain on 30 November 1781 and given command of HMS Europa.
In July 1782, in a change of government, Thomas Townshend became Secretary of State for Home and American Affairs, and assumed responsibility for organising an expedition against Spanish America. Like his predecessor, Lord Germain, he turned for advice to Arthur Phillip. A letter from Phillip to Sandwich of 17 January 1781 records Phillip's loan to Sandwich of his charts of the Plata and Brazilian coasts for use in organising the expedition. Phillip's plan was for a squadron of three ships of the line and a frigate to mount a raid on Buenos Aires and Monte Video, then to proceed to the coasts of Chile, Peru and Mexico to maraud, and ultimately to cross the Pacific to join the British Navy's East India
Arthur Phillip