 However, other English officers said that the Dutch pursued the retreating English fleet for two hours before deciding to retire back to their own harbours.De Ruyter later claimed that he had called off the pursuit of the English fleet because of a thick fog which made navigation difficult, otherwise he would have followed the ships as far as their home ports.However, the fog was only temporary and de Ruyter had only around 40 ships under his immediate command, with others disabled and returning to the Netherlands or dealing with prizes, and Albemarle had almost as many, including several large vessels, which posed a significant risk to the exhausted Dutch fleet.