Parker 's fleet had an extremely difficult crossing . Battered by storms and high seas , the first ships of the fleet did not arrive at Cape Fear until April 18 , and Cornwallis did not arrive until May 3 . After several weeks there , in which the British troops raided Patriot properties , Clinton , Cornwallis and Parker concluded that Cape Fear was not a suitable base for further operations . Parker had sent out some ships on scouting expeditions up and down the coast , and reports on the partially finished condition of the Charleston defenses were sufficiently promising that the decision was made to go there .