Spanish Armada very cramped and most of the ships ran out of food and water. Many more later died in Spain, or on hospital ships in Spanish harbours, from diseases contracted during the voyage. It was reported that when Philip II learned of the result of the expedition, he declared, "I sent the Armada against men, not God's winds and waves". The English fleet was still cautious of the remaining Armada after the Battle of Gravelines, requiring it to remain on duty even as some of its sailors died. The following year Elizabeth I launched the Counter Armada, with 23,375 men and
3rd Spanish Armada but with a military force very different from that foreshadowed by Lopez de Soto's estimate. The Armada left Coruña and Ferrol after which a fleet under Admiral Diego Brochero was to meet another from Blavet in Brittany (under Spanish rule) with a thousand men under Pedro de Zubiaur. Zubiaur joined them for a council of war which was made to settle the final details of the landing. On 17 October 1597, after three days of sailing in good weather, the fleet arrived in the Channel, after advancing towards the English coast without opposition. As they sailed on, an English bark