The galley that had fled reached Lisbon and did not go directly to the city; rather, it stopped very near Almada, dropping anchor without the men aboard leaving it. Those who saw it arrive as it did immediately suspected it had not been successful, but they waited to see what galley it could be, for they were not quite sure whether it belonged to Portugal or to Castile. When the men aboard the galley anchored, they all began to tear at their hair, grieving out loud. On seeing this, the townspeople immediately realized full well that it was true the fleet had been entirely destroyed; both men and women began to bewail the loss of their loved ones. They then got into barges and skiffs and went to find out what news the galley brought; they were told of the sad episode in minute detail. The sorrow was immense, not only in the city but also in all the places from which men had been sent to the fleet, with people thinking that all who sailed in it had died, even though the men from the galley told them that they had merely been made captives.

King Fernando was in Santarém when, on the next day, the message was brought to him. Whereas he had quite happily expected his fleet would bring him captured Castilian galleys, he found out through news, now confirmed, how all his galleys with their respective crews had been taken, save for the one that had fled and had not been in the battle. The king was thereby as greatly saddened as you would expect him to feel in such circumstances. He was quite right in being extremely depressed by such an adverse event, first, for the great dishonour he had earned in that action, as he was the one who had started the war, hoping to avenge past reversals; in addition, there was the loss of so many men that he needed for the war he had started, as they numbered a good 6,000 troops, among them knights, squires and sailors as well as other men. Then there was the loss of 70,000 dobras, which was the value of the galleys with their equipment. Consequently, weighing these and other things together, his sadness steadily increased.