Complex sentence: In a brief exchange of cannon fire the Spanish vessel was holed below the waterline and sank; the majority of her crew were rescued and brought aboard "Levant" to be transported to prison in Gibraltar.
Split into simpler sentences: In a brief exchange of cannon fire the Spanish vessel was holed below the waterline and sank. The majority of her crew were rescued from the water and brought aboard "Levant" to be transported to prison in Gibraltar.