A document dated 22 March 1653 that describes the "hiring" of the two Genoese ships.

One of the last photographs that I received today was dated 22 March 1653 and says that two Genoese ships were "hired". I had thought that they were purchased, not hired. The document gives the dimensions of the two ships: 146ft x 36ft x 15ft and 140ft x 34ft x ? ft. These ships were later named Huis te Swieten and Huis te Kruiningen. During July 1653, Witte de With was getting the Huis te Swieten ready to be his new flagship and Michiel De Ruyter was fitting out the Huis te Kruiningen. They were not ready in time for the Battle of Scheveningen, on 10 August 1653, but served as their flagships during the voyage to Norway in September to November. In September, the Huis te Swieten carried 56 guns and had a crew of 276 men while the Huis te Kruiningen carried 48 guns and had a crew of 210 men.