Battle off Lizard Point The Battle off Lizard Point was a naval action which took place on 18 February 1637 off the coast of Cornwall , England , during the Eighty Years ' War . The Spanish Admiral Miguel de Horna , commander of the Armada of Flanders , intercepted an important Anglo - Dutch merchant convoy of 44 vessels escorted by 6 warships , destroying or capturing 20 of them , and returned safely to his base in Dunkirk . Background . In early 1636 , the experienced Flemish Admiral Jacob Collaert , commander of the Armada of Flanders , was defeated by five warships of the Dutch blocking fleet under Captain Johan Evertsen . His galleon and another vessel were sunk after a prolonged engagement off the French coast , near Dieppe , and he was captured along with 200 of his men . After an exchange of prisoners he was freed , but died of an illness at A Coruña shortly after . The Navarrese Miguel de Horna replaced him . Horna also proved to be a skillful commander , as he destroyed three major enemy convoys in less than two years , winning the actions of the Lizard , Mardyck and the Channel . Battle . Miguel de Horna sailed from Dunkirk on 18 February in command of a squadron of 5 ships and 2 frigate s to attack the Dutch fishing fleet and trade routes . His captains were the Basque Antonio de Anciondo , the Flemish Marcus van Oben and Cornelis Meyne , and the Castilians Antonio Díaz and Salvador Rodríguez . After capturing a merchant ship while under fire from the coastal batteries of Calais , the Spanish squadron crossed the English Channel . An Anglo - Dutch convoy of 28 Dutch merchantmen and 16 English merchantmen , escorted by 6 Dutch warships , was sighted off Lizard Point , on the coast of Cornwall . The Spanish warships rapidly proceeded to attack , approaching the convoy under heavy fire from the escorting warships . Soon after the convoy escort was engaged by the Spanish , the Dutch flagship was completely disabled by heavy artillery and musketry fire from Horna ' s flagship . Antonio Díaz ' s ship managed to board her and capture her flag , but the assault was ultimately repulsed . A second attempt from Horna ' s ship , which lasted half an hour , also failed , but with the help of a third Spanish ship under Cornelis Meyne , the Dutch flagship was finally captured . Although the merchants used their artillery to help the Dutch warships , three of the latter were sunk . The remaining two surrendered and were captured . The convoy ships dispersed and tried to escape individually taking advantage of the smoke of battle and the darkness of the night . However , 14 of them fell into Spanish hands and were taken to Dunkirk with the 3 captured warships . Aftermath . Horna returned to Dunkirk escorting 17 prizes fully loaded with ammunitions and supplies . He avoided the Dutch Admiral Philips van Dorp , who had been sent to intercept with 20 warships . Dorp blocked the Spanish fleet in the port , but also failed , as Horna was able to continue his campaigns without difficulties . In July he ambushed two Dutch Bordeaux convoys , carrying off 12 prizes loaded with , amongst other items , 125 valuable cavalry horses . The convoy coming from Venice to Amsterdam was also captured , as well as 14 ships of the Dutch East India Company and 8 which carried gifts to Louis XIII of France . A later exploit , the action of 18 February 1639 , when he was attacked by a Dutch fleet of 17 ships , resulted in another victory for Horna , despite his numerical inferiority .