At 17:10, Cradock decided he must fight, and drew his ships closer together. He changed course to south-east and attempted to close upon the German ships while the sun remained high. Spee declined to engage and turned his faster ships away, maintaining the distance between the forces which sailed roughly parallel at a distance of . At 18:18, Cradock again attempted to close, steering directly towards the enemy, which once again turned away to a greater range of . At 18:50, the sun set; Spee closed to and commenced firing.