Complex sentence: The Batavian expeditionary force did not speak to another vessel during this time and thus had no information regarding British dispositions when they eventually reached the Cape on 6 August 1796, anchoring in Saldanha Bay to the north of Table Bay.
Split into simpler sentences: The Batavian expeditionary force did not speak to another vessel during this time and thus had no information regarding British dispositions when they eventually reached the Cape on 6 August 1796. There they anchored in Saldanha Bay to the north of Table Bay.