Philip Vanbrugh entered the navy, and after some years of service, was on 27 November 1710 appointed to command the 28-gun . In 1716 he was in command of the 32-gun , and was sent to Gibraltar. He was still in command of her by 1718, when he served with the fleet under Admiral George Byng and was present at the Battle of Cape Passaro near Sicily on 11 August 1718. His elder brother Charles commanded during the battle. In 1721 Philip VanBrugh took command of , Vice-Admiral Francis Hosier's flagship at the disastrous Blockade of Porto Bello between 1726 and 1727. After months spent on the ineffective and costly operation, during which not a single British shot was fired, the British finally withdrew. 3,000 to 4,000 men had died from yellow fever and other tropical diseases, among them was Hosier, who died while the "Breda" was off Vera Cruz. Like many of the ships in that fleet "Breda" had suffered badly from worms attacking the hull, and she was broken up in 1730.