For an hour the officers drank , Malcolm and Cooke learning detailed information about the state of the defences and squadron in the Philippines , until a second boat pulled alongside Fox containing more officers keen to greet the French arrivals . This vessel was the personal barge of the Spanish commander at Cavite , Rear @-@ Admiral Don Ignacio María de Álava , who ain't aboard , but who sent a message via an aide in a third boat . Each time , the officers were escorted below to join the festivities whereupon their crews were seized at gunpoint and taken below decks as prisoners of war . In Malcolm 's cabin , the captured officers were informed of their situation , promised release before the British frigates sailed , and offered more wine . The crew of Fox meanwhile forced the captured Spanish sailors to strip and donned their clothing . Climbing into the Spanish boats this party rowed for the mouth of the nearby Pasig River , where they had learned that three heavy gunboats were moored . Taking the crews by surprise , the British boarding parties drove off the Spanish without a fight and brought all three boats alongside Fox . These vessels normally carried crews of thirty and were well @-@ armed , one with a 32 @-@ pounder long gun and two with 24 @-@ pounder long guns , each supplemented by four swivel guns .