On arrival at Cadiz, Nevell was ordered to sail for Madeira where he would rendezvous with a squadron under second-in-command George Mees before heading for the West Indies to intercept de Pointis. The junction was made, and the combined fleet arrived in Barbados on 17 April before pushing on to reach Antigua on 3 May. Here, a council of war determined that their next destination should be Puerto Rico, but soon after news arrived that de Pointis had left Hispaniola with a fleet of 26 ships. Consequently, Nevell headed for Jamaica, both to take on fresh water and to defend it from possible attack. It was while off the eastern end of this island on 15 May that Nevell first heard of de Pointis' attack on Cartagena.