Blake recognized that the shoals made Sovereign an awkward platform and transferred to the more manageable Resolution without resistance from its crew. His objective was to break the Dutch formation rather than exchange fire indefinitely in parallel lines. Ships that remained mutually supporting were difficult to board or capture, but a rupture exposed isolated vessels to concentrated attack. The plan therefore linked manoeuvre directly to the age-of-sail prize system: break cohesion, close with individual ships, and turn tactical success into captures.
Notable Point · 2:34:28-2:38:19
Blake's plan: break the Dutch line and take prizes
Blake sought to split the Dutch formation because isolated ships could be boarded, captured, and denied mutual support.