Leaving the heavier warships at Macau , Cooke sailed on 5 January 1798 only with Sybille and Fox , the latter carrying a Mr. Bernard , an experienced linguist . Passing Luzon , Cooke 's ships encountered a small Spanish merchant vessel , which was lured towards the frigates , which were flying French tricolors . Seizing the Spanish vessel , Cooke closely questioned the captain and learned that most of the Spanish squadron in Manila were undergoing extensive repairs at Cavite and were unfit to sail . Cooke rewarded the captain by releasing his vessel with its cargo intact , although he did remove 3 @,@ 900 silver dollars . The Spanish squadron had suffered badly in a typhoon in April 1797 and much of the damage had still not been repaired by the time Cooke 's small squadron arrived off Manila . Cooke had taken precautions to disguise his ships as French vessels , modelling Sybille on the powerful 40 @-@ gun Forte and Fox on the smaller Prudente .