We Kept Under Sail All
Night, And In The Morning Of The 17th, Being To Leeward Of Them In
Consequence Of The Land Breeze, They Weighed And Made Toward Us, When We
Waited Their Approach, Although They Preserved The Advantage Of The
Weather-Gage.
The fight began about nine in the morning, and continued
without intermission for nine hours.
In the afternoon, a fine gentle
sea-breeze sprung up from the westwards, which gave us the weather-gage;
and the Portuguese admiral anchored, either of necessity to repair some
defect about his rudder, or of policy to gain some expected advantage.
His vice-admiral and the large Dutch ship anchored to the eastwards, and
the lesser Dutch ship to leeward of them all, stopping his leaks. We
were now in great hopes of putting our fire-ship to a good purpose; but
being too soon fired and forsaken by those who had her in charge, she
drove clear of them all, to their joy and our disgrace. Seeing them
remain at anchor, and keeping to windward of them, we turned to and
again close a-head of them as they rode at anchor, raking them as we
passed, through and through, fore and aft, especially the admiral,
receiving only in return their prow and bow-chases. By these, as I
passed to the north, two unfortunate shots cut asunder the weather leech
ropes of the Roebuck's foresail and fore-topsail, in the middle depth of
both sails; owing to which we could not bring her into stays, and were
forced, for repairing these sails, to bear down to leeward, between the
enemy and the shore; in which course, the three great ships plied their
whole broadsides against us, but with less hurt than I could have
imagined, God be praised. Having compassed the three large ships, I
luffed up to rejoin our squadron, which still held the advantage of the
wind, and plied their great guns on the Portuguese like so many muskets.
When I had got to windward of the smaller Dutch ship, which stood off as
I did till he had our fire-ship directly between him and me, he turned
tail, and steered right before the wind along shore to the eastwards,
with all the sail he could carry. The other three now set sail to his
rescue, and were now so tame, that as the Hart passed along their
broadsides, she received only a few shots great and small from any of
them, and from some none at all. The night now coming on, and our people
being all wearied by the long continuance of the fight, we all desisted
from any farther chase, and came to anchor in our usual road.
In this fight, the London and Hart had very little harm in their hulls
and tackling, and less, or rather none, in their men. The main-mast of
the Eagle was hurt in five places, four of which were quite through, and
one of her men lost his right arm.
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