[4] In January 1499 Kemal Reis set sail from Constantinople with a force of 10 galleys and 4 other types of ships, and in July met with the huge Ottoman fleet which was sent to him by Davud Pasha and took over its command in order to wage a large scale war against the Republic of Venice.

After reaching Cape Zonchio in the Ionian Sea with the large Ottoman fleet in August, Kemal Reis defeated the Venetians.

The commander of the vessel, Burak Reis, was unable to disentangle his ship from the boarders and chose to set her aflame.

The sight of the three great ships burning together dealt a severe blow to the Venetian morale.

The Ottoman Sultan Bayezid II gave 10 of the captured Venetian galleys to Kemal Reis, who later stationed his fleet at the island of Cefalonia between October and December 1499.