_ 68 _ furious that they caused ricochets on the sea, and all made of cast iron, many failing on the fleet. One was weighed in the flagship and found to weigh sixty arrateis (about sixty pounds). From here the governor sent Dom Afonso de Meneses and Dinis Fernandes de Melo to sound the channels and afterwards they went to tell him about them. They said that the gallies could well enter the channels, though they would always have to face the enemy artillery on the coast. They would not be able to maneuver their own artillery, which they carried in the bows, and therefore could not inflict any damage on the enemy's before receiving enough themselves either to be sent to the bottom or killed before reaching land. On hearing this the governor discussed what was to be done with Dom Goncalo Coutinho and Afonso Lopez da Costa two of the most (...) captains in the fleet. He agreed with them that it might be possible to spike the guns of the enemy on the beach, enabling them to attack the city. With the artillery spiked they would be in no danger. They would certainly be killed if the enemy artillery was allowed to fire on them and they would not be able to sink the enemy gallies
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