He returned to do service in the Dano-Norwegian fleet in 1689 as a 24-year-old lieutenant, but in the following year he returned to do service in the Dutch navy to get more experience. He participated in the Battle of Beachy Head, where the Dutch-English navy was defeated by the French fleet under the command of admiral Tourville. An admiral he served under just two years later at the Battle of La Hogue, where the French navy was defeated by a Dutch-English fleet.