Map 7: The Battle off the Isle of Wight
The skirmishes continue with the stragglers from the Armada tempting the English to engage. The calm seas hampered the Lord High Admiral, Lord Howard of Effingham’s efforts, and he had to engage rowing boats, as shown on the map, to drag his ships towards the Armada.
Both the Ark Royal and the Golden Lion were dragged by rowing boats to do battle with the Spanish ships, an engagement that can be seen at the bottom of the map. This is probably the battle around the ‘great galleon of the Spaniards.’; the turning point of the campaign
As the day progressed the wind rose slightly and Sir Martin Frobisher’s squadron went into action against the San Martin, which had become isolated, and although the San Martin sustained significant damage, several Spanish ships managed to come to her rescue.
Sir Francis Drake attempted to force the Spanish fleet northwards on to the perilous Owers, east of the Isle of Wight. The Solent was the only harbour now capable of holding the Spanish fleets. The Spanish lodged in the Solent would have presented a formidable problem for the English but yet again the Duke of Medina Sidonia was unable to bring the English to close quarters, and decided to disengage and reform.