A fleet of more than a hundred ships of the United Provinces, commanded by Lieutenant-Admiral Jacob van Wassenaer Obdam, on June 13 attacks an English fleet of equal size commanded by James Stewart, Duke of York, forty miles east of the port of Lowestoft in Suffolk, England.

The Dutch are desperate to prevent a second English blockade of their ports after the first had been broken off by the English only for lack of supplies.

The leading Dutch politician, Johan de Witt, has ordered Van Wassenaer to attack the English aggressively during a period of stable eastern winds which would have given the Dutch the weather gage.

Van Wassenaer however, perhaps feeling that his fleet is still too inferior in training and fire power to really challenge the English in full battle, postpones the fight till the wind turns in order to seek a minor confrontation in a defensive leeward position from which he could disengage quickly and return without openly disobeying orders.

His attitude costs him a sixth of his fleet and his life.

During the duel between the Dutch flagship Eendracht and the Royal Charles commanded by the Duke of York, James is nearly killed by a Dutch chain-shot decapitating several of his courtiers.

Around three in the afternoon the duel between Royal Charles and Eendracht ends abruptly when Eendracht explodes, killing van Wassenaer Obdam and all but five of the crew.

Kortenaer is second in command; though fatally wounded, he hadn't died yet and the other Admirals are unaware of his condition.

For hours the Dutch fleet is therefore without effective command.

After Eendracht had exploded, the English immediately became more aggressive, while many Dutch captains faltered: some Dutch ships already fled a little later, followed by Kortenaer's ship Groot Hollandia now commanded by Stinstra.

By evening, most of the Dutch fleet is in full flight, save for forty ships or so under Vice-Admiral Cornelis Tromp and Lieutenant-Admiral Johan Evertsen, both having assumed command (showing the utter confusion on the Dutch side), who make possible an escape and cover the flight, thus preventing complete catastrophe, though sixteen more ships are lost.

The English lose only one ship, the captured Great Charity.

The outcome of the battle is partially caused by an inequality in firepower, but the Dutch have already embarked on an ambitious expansion program, building many heavier ships.