"Fénix" was stationed in Cádiz in January 1762 and spent the next two years serving in the Mediterranean Sea, the Straits of Gibraltar, and the Atlantic Ocean. "Fénix" underwent several large repairs at the Arsenal de la Carraca between 1764 and 1765, where she remained stripped of her armament until 1769, under the command of Francisco Cotiella. In 1778 "Fénix" was recommissioned under Captain Félix Ignacio deTejada, who was superseded by Captain Francisco Javier deMelgarejo y Rojas when Spain entered the American Revolutionary War in June 1779. "Fénix" immediately set sail for the English Channel, part of the fleet under Lieutenant General Luis de Córdova y Córdova, which was supposed to meet a French fleet at the Sisgaras Islands, off the northern coast of Spain. This Franco-Spanish Armada of 1779 of more than 60 ships of the line was to escort an invasion force of 40,000 troops across the Channel in a bid to capture the British naval base at Portsmouth. Córdova's ships were delayed by contrary winds, which forced them to keep close to the coast of Portugal. In consequence they did not arrive at the rendezvous until 22July, by which time the French, short of supplies, had left. Although the two fleets would eventually unite, "Fénix" left for the Azores on 23July with a squadron under Lieutenant General Antonio de Ulloa, to protect the Spanish anchorage and to face a British force of which the Spanish had received news.