Peter Padfield on tactics at the Battle of the Kentish Knock

In The Tide of Empires, Peter Padfield writes about the tactics used at the Battle of the Kentish Knock. He says that both sides fought in informal lines of battle. Unlike what Michael Baumber writes about Blake, Peter Padfield says that the English sailed north in a "column some six miles along". He shows that the Dutch sailed to the west-northwest in an informal line, with ships divided as to their squadron commander. As the English tried to turn onto the same tack as the Dutch, the James and the Resolution grounded on the Kentish Knock. They pretty easily got off and went on the other tack. The Dutch had also had to go to the southeast to keep off the Kentish Knock sandbar. The Dutch were divided into four squadrons with De Ruyter's squadron in the van, Witte de With in the center, and Gideon de Wildt in the rear. Cornelis Evertsen's reserve squadron was behind the line. As the Dutch ships took damage, John Mildmay, in the Nonsuch (40 guns) took the Gorcum (30 guns) and apparently, the Maria (30 guns). On 9 October 1652, the next day, the English abandoned the Gorcum, as they thought the ship was "in a sinking condition". The Dutch crew, led by Willem Adriaansz Warmont took the Gorcum back and it was taken back to the Netherlands. One other ship, the Burgh van Alkmaar (24 guns) apparently blew up. Many other ships took considerable damage, as you would expect when a fleet of inferior ships tried to fight in line of battle with an English fleet with at least 7 First and Second rates. Sources:

1. R. C. Anderson, "English Fleet-Lists in the First Dutch War," The Mariner's Mirror, Vol.XXIV No.4, October 1938
2. Michael Baumber, General-at-Sea, 1989
3. Peter Padfield, The Tide of Empires: Decisive Naval Campaigns in the Rise of the West, Vol.I, 1979
4. A. Vreugdenhil, Ships of the United Netherlands 1648-1702, 1938