When they came opposite the Isle of Wight the storm ceased and there was a calm; but Sir John Hawkins contrived to get his ship the Victory alongside a large Portuguese galleon, the Santa Ana, and a single combat ensued.  Both fleets watched the progress of the fight, the Spaniards being quite certain of their comrades’ victory, while the English placed their confidence in the bravery of their champion.  It was a stiff fight, in which many were killed and wounded, but at last the English were seen swarming like ants up the sides of their opponents’ great ship, and in a few moments her brave captain was seen handing his sword to Sir John Hawkins.  The flag of Spain on the mast of the Santa Ana descended, and the white flag and red cross of St. George soon floated in its place.  Then arose a mighty cheer, and the triumphant hurrahs of the English proclaimed the victory to the anxious watchers on shore.  But three huge Spanish galleons were rowed to the scene to recover the Portuguese ship, and Howard towed the Ark Royal and the Golden Lion to fight them.  It was a desperately unequal fight, and the boats were for a time hidden from view by the smoke, but in the end the cheers of the English announced that the galleons had been driven off and the Santa Ana lost to Spain.

The Armada continued its progress towards the Straits of Dover, with the English hanging on, and anchored off Calais; but by this time the English fleet had been reinforced by many ships raised by private gentlemen and others, which brought the number to about 140.  Howard now decided to draw the Spanish fleet from its anchorage, and Drake, turning eight of his oldest ships into fire-ships, distributed them in the night amongst the enemy, ordering the crews to set them on fire and then return in their small boats.  The ships were piled up with inflammable material, with their guns loaded, and when these exploded, the Spaniards were so terrified that they unfurled their sails, cut their cables, and so lost their anchors.  They fled in confusion, many being seriously damaged in collision, but only to encounter the English ships Revenge, Victory, Mary Rose, and Dreadnought, which immediately attacked.  Some of the Spanish vessels were captured and some were lost on the shores of France and Holland; but the main body, much battered and with their crews badly out of spirits, sailed on into the North Sea.  Howard was close up to them east of the Firth of Forth, but shortage of water and provisions, as well as of munitions, kept him from attacking, and with bad weather threatening he made for the Channel ports, and on August 7th, 1588, the Lord High Admiral returned to England with his victorious fleet.

The remaining ships of the Armada encountered furious storms off the coast of Ireland, where ten were sunk; and it was not until the end of September that the battered remnants of the once great fleet reached the coast of Spain.