_ 38 _ 15 of them to withdraw to Suez, under the command of Murad-bey, who arrived in Basra at the end of July 1552 and immediately set sail. At that time, D. Antão and D. Diogo de Noronha occupied the land and sea captaincies respectively. The two commanders of the cutters, Gomes da Silva and Luis de Aguiar, continued the blockade of Basra. At the end of August, one of them caught sight of the 15 galleys and notified D. Diogo, who attacked them at sea off the coast of Persia. When the wind dropped, the galleon of Gonçalo Pereira Marramaque became separated. The 15 galleys maneuvered with their oars and concentrated intense fire against Marramaque. He resisted bravely and set examples of almost superhuman courage. His galleon was completely destroyed, so much so that it is difficult to understand how it remained afloat, but it avoided or repelled the repeated attempts to board it. All the chroniclers describe the battle with the utmost praise for the captain and his men. It is gratifying to transcribe part of Diogo do Couto's account: All the top rigging was smashed to bits, injuring everyone in the galleon. The mizzen was totally destroyed, both the masts split in many places and the booms were
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