One thing that I just received is a letter signed by Witte de With and Michiel de Ruijter

I still am really interested in understanding better the relationship between Witte de With and Michiel de Ruijter. I just received a letter signed by both Witte Cornelisz de With and "Michiel Adr Ruijter" on board the ship Leeuwarden on 2 May 1653. This is about two weeks after the abortive raid on Scarborough, commanded by Witte de With. that operation is very curious, but unlike his usual decisive mode of operation, in this case, Witte de With held a council of war where they decided not to go into Scarborough Bay with the squadron of about 18 ships, including the Leeuwarden (36 guns) and ships such as Cornelis de Groot's ship Sampson (28 guns).