In 1775 he served as a junior officer on board the xebec Atrevido, part of Pedro Castejón's squadron for the Invasion of Algiers (1775) seeing active service on several occasions.
[1] Promoted to captain in 1808, he was given command of the 38-gun Santa Maria Magdalena on board which he patrolled the Cantabrian Sea and saw action that year at Santander (1808).
[1][2][note 1] Although the expedition had had some success in capturing the important port of Gijón, in Asturias, as they were anchored in the bay of Santoña in preparation for the landing operation a sudden gale forced ships to head out to sea on 23 October, the Magdalena and the Palomo cutting their anchor cables.
[1] The ships then all headed back to Viveiro, where a hurricane caused the Magdalena to founder and the Palomo to be smashed against the rocks.
[note 2] Of the 508 people on board the Magdalena, 500 perished in the storm,[1] including Blas Salcedo,[1] and the commander-in-chief of the Expedition, Zarauz.