Vauquelin first arrived in the Caribbean from Normandy, France around 1650. He was part of a buccaneering fleet being organized by l'Ollonais at the pirate haven of Tortuga and which would loot and plunder Spanish settlements throughout the Spanish Main during the next two years. Vauquelin was one of several officers serving in this expedition and was present at the raids against Maracaibo and Gibraltar in 1666 and Puerto de Cavallo and San Pedro in 1667.