_ 40 _ the latter encountered our men near Muscat, commended by the Viceroy's son, D. Fernando de Meneses, who was returning from Sofar and the mouth of the Strait, where he had no success. The fleet in which D. Francisco had left Goa in February consisted of six galleons, six caravels and 25 or 26 foists, though it was not known for certain, even in August, whether it was considered sea-worthy for the action which was known to be imminent. Since the commanders of our cutters, while reconnoitering in the vicinity of Basra, had come to report the departure of the galleys, D. Antão in a galliot with 50 men and Bernaldim de Sousa with a galleon belonging to Gomes Farinha and three or four merchant ships which were anchored in Ormuz, went to join as volunteers. He put artillery and fighting men aboard them. The advance guard of cutters saw the galleys off Cape Mussendom and attacked them with broadsides. The Turkish admiral, under sail, was drifting towards the surf on shore and concentrated his attack against the galleon of Gomes da Silva, who was short of crew, but D. Antão went to take him a reinforcement of 20 men in his galliot. The galleys retreated to the gulf of Lima, which the galleons and carracks could not enter because it was too
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