Cornelis became master on his father's flagship the Hollandia in 1648; in 1651 he was for a time in the rank of lieutenant acting captain on the same vessel.
In July 1665, after the Battle of Lowestoft during the Second Anglo-Dutch War, he was appointed Rear-Admiral with the Admiralty of Zealand.
He did not participate in the Raid on the Medway in 1667, because the Zealandic fleet wasn't ready in time.
In 1676 he fought for Denmark under Admiral-General Cornelis Tromp, then the Danish supreme commander, against Sweden.
Cornelis was an educated man who twice married wives from wealthy families; he died of an illness in Flushing.