Page "Battle of Beachy Head (1690)" Paragraph 6

After evading Killigrew off Cadiz, Château-Renault's Toulon squadron joined Tourville's fleet on 21 June.

Tourville, now commanding the combined Brest and Mediterranean fleets totalling 75 ships of the line and 23 fireships, sailed on 23 June into the Channel ; by 30 June, the French were off the Lizard.

Torrington sailed from the Nore already convinced the French would be stronger – much of the Royal Navy had been diverted to protect their maritime commerce from privateers, and the Allied fleet now only had 56 English and Dutch ships of the line, totalling 4, 153 guns, to Tourville's fleet of 4, 600 guns.