Rodney approached in line abreast until he was certain the nine Spanish ships of the line were not the advance guard of a larger fleet. With eighteen ships of the line, he then ordered a best-speed chase and engagement of Spanish ships from the rear. Attacking from the lee side obstructed their escape to harbour and, in the rough seas, prevented them from opening their lowest and heaviest gun ports. Rodney flew his flag in the 90-gun Sandwich rather than the larger Royal George because he considered Sandwich the better-handling ship. Fighting continued into the night, leaving four Spanish ships of the line in British hands and another destroyed. The admiral's share of those four prizes and their cargoes gave Rodney the concentrated financial success he had sought from fleet command.
Chapter · 1:19:57-1:27:25
Rodney engineers an unfair fight at the Moonlight Battle
On the way to relieve Gibraltar, Rodney uses numerical superiority, lee-side positioning, and a night pursuit to crush a smaller Spanish squadron.