An English fleet under Sir Robert Mansell intercepted and attacked six Spanish galleys under the command of Federico Spinola in the Dover Straits.

[6] Buoyed by this achievement, he had indulged Philip III of Spain, the Duke of Lerma and Martín de Padilla, in a vision of a massive galley-borne invasion of England from Flanders.

[9][10]: 386–387  Queen Elizabeth decided to act, so she appointed Sir Robert Mansell to join with a United Provinces fleet before Dunkirk and Sluis, to see what they could do to impede them.

[7] On 3 October, Mansell was soon joined by two Dutch flyboats, Samson and the Moon to improve communication, and now Spinola was effectively sailing into a trap.

[10]: 392  In contrast, the Spanish have said Spinola's galleys succeeded in passing almost unscathed between the English ships by rowing at full strength.

[14] A number of galley slaves leapt into the sea from the damaged ships – a few even made it to shore where they were captured and interrogated at Dover Castle.

[15] By the time both fleets reached Goodwin Sands the Spanish galleys started to retreat in desperation for the Flemish coast.

[9] A gale was now blowing strongly from the west which favoured the pursuing English ships and soon the gunfire was a signal for the Dutch to engage.

[5] The Dutch admiral Jan Cant soon cut off the Spanish and the English waited outside of the Flemish road stead in case any tried to escape elsewhere.

[10]: 393  The galley San Luis, which bore Spinola himself and his thirty-six pay chests, attempted to reach Dunkirk, but as the tide was low, she was forced to wait beyond a sandbank.

[14] The transition in warfare, along with the introduction of much cheaper cast iron guns in the 1580s, proved the "death knell" for the war galley as a significant military vessel.

[1] As a result, Spinola would be defeated again and mortally wounded at the Battle of Sluis by the blockading Dutch forces in an attempt to escape.

[7][10]: 395  Spinola's death and the subsequent surrender of Sluis to the Dutch in 1604 ended his and Philip III's dreams, and English fears, of a galley-borne invasion of England from Flanders.