 The siege was intensified about this time, with the Spanish making determined efforts to oust the British.On 7 August 1781 he played an important role in the defence of the brig-rigged , which had been becalmed in the entrance of the Bay of Gibraltar.The Spanish sent 14 gunboats from Algeciras to attack her, against which the senior British officer, Roger Curtis, dispatched Crawford's "Repulse", and another armed vessel, the "Vanguard", to defend her.