The condition of Parker’s squadron shows that the Admiralty had indeed been driven to sore straits to provide protection for the North Sea trade. After he had been joined by Stuart with the =Berwick=, 74, he was able to make up a line of seven vessels in all, but it was only by including two which were not line-of-battle ships—the =Preston=, 50, and the =Dolphin=, 44. The =Princess Amelia=, 80, was nominally a strong ship, but she was so crazy with age that it had been found necessary to reduce her armament. She carried only 24-pounders on the lower deck instead of 32-pounders, and the rest of her guns were 18-pounders and 9-pounders. Parker’s flagship, the =Fortitude=, 74, and the =Berwick= represented the solid part of his command. If the Dutch had been able to send an equal squadron of strong ships, it would have gone hard with “Vinegar” Parker. Happily for him and for the interests of British trade, the Dutch had to make shift with the old and weak when they needed the new and strong. On the 20th July a squadron of seven ships, to form the line, and a number of frigates sailed from the Texel with a large fleet of merchant-ships under their protection. The admiral in command was the Schout-bij-nacht Johan Arnold Zoutman, an elderly officer, of the same stamp as his English opponent, an excellent practical seaman beyond doubt, and a stout-hearted man, but nothing more. His line of seven was made by including three ships of 54 guns and one of 40. The largest of his ships was the _Admiral Generaal_, 74, commanded by Captain Kinsbergen. Zoutman’s flag was in the _Admiraal de Ruiter_, 68, and one 64-gun ship, the _Holland_, made up the tale. Other two ships were sent out to accompany the convoy, but were not available for an action with the British squadron. Contrary winds and the usual obstructions inseparable from the task of convoying a swarm of clumsy merchant-ships delayed Zoutman’s movements. It was not till the first days of August that he was clear of the shallows of the Dutch coast. In the meantime, the British trade homeward bound from the Baltic had collected behind Parker. On the 5th August the Dutchman bound northward, and the Englishman southward, sighted one another on the Dogger Bank, in a north-westerly wind—Parker being to the windward and westward. Each admiral sent his convoy on its way, and both prepared for a fair trial of strength.