 In 1537, Carew was given his first sea commission, serving in the English Channel under Sir John Dudley during operations against pirates.In the following year 1538 he inherited his father's estates and returned to Devon to serve as Justice of the Peace.In 1539 Carew's wife Thomasine Pollard died and he again entered the King's service, taking over the strategically vital fort of Rysbank in the Calais Pale.