Spee – making a leisurely voyage back to the Atlantic – wished to destroy the radio station at Port Stanley, so he sent the armoured cruiser and the light cruiser to see if the harbor was clear of British warships on the morning of 8 December. They were spotted at 07:30, although the pre-dreadnought , grounded in Stanley Harbor to defend the town and its wireless station, did not receive the signal until 07:45. It mattered little because Sturdee was not expecting an engagement and most of his ships were coaling. Furthermore, the armoured cruiser and the light cruiser had one or both of their engines under repair. The armed merchant cruiser "Macedonian" was patrolling the outer harbor entrance while the armoured cruiser was anchored in the outer harbor, scheduled to relieve the "Macedonian" at 08:00. The Germans were not expecting any resistance and the first salvo from "Canopus"s guns at 09:20 caused them to sheer off from their planned bombardment of the wireless station and fall back on Spee's main body.