Michiel Adriaansz De Ruyter raised his flag on the Huis te Kruiningen on 10 September 1653

The Huis te Kruiningen was a new ship, recently purchased for the navy from Genoa, along with her half sister, the Huis te Zwieten. The Huis te Kruiningen was the smaller of the two ships. Witte de With and Michiel De Ruyter had hoped to have the two ships ready for the next battle, but they were forced to shift back to older ships for the Battle of Scheveningen. Michiel De Ruyter finally raised his flag on the Huis te Kruiningen on 10 September 1653. The next day, the fleet, under the command of Witte de With, set sail from the Vlie, bound for Norway. We have a translation done by C. T. Atkinson of De Ruyter's journal for this period. There were initially just 42 warships, but they were eventually augmented up to 70 or 72 ships. Witte de With had counseled against such a late season voyage to such northern latitudes, but the wealth on the ships lying in Norwegian harbours was thought to make the venture necessary. At least, that was the thoughts of the decision-makers (their High Majesties). By the evening of 12 September, they had progressed to a distance of about 23 or 24 miles from the Vlie. The fleet eventually arrived in Norwegian waters, although they had taken some storm damage on the voyage. We know a good bit about the Huis te Kruiningen, in this period. We have her dimensions: 140ft x 34ft x 13.5ft. We also know her armament, as of July 1654, just a few months later. She carried: 6-brass 18pdr, 6-brass 12pdr, 8-brass 6pdr drakes, 18-iron 18pdr, and 16-iron 8pdr, for a total of 54 guns. Sources:

1. C. T. Atkinson, Ed., The First Dutch War, Vol. VI, 1930
2. Staet van Oorlog te Water for the year 1654, July 1654