The wind shifted, then died. The ship was drifting on the current; forward momentum was sufficient to bring the São Miguel in to grapple with the enemy flagship, with the São António following behind, but Hussain, seeing the moment, managed to effect an extraordinary maneuver. By slackening the forward anchor cables and hauling in the stern cables tied to the bank, his sailors managed to pull the ships back to the shore—out of the path of the oncoming attack. The rudder of the São Miguel was unable to correct its course. It began to drift past its target.
