Rubuta ci gaba don wannan sakin layi - "Fénix" an kafa shi a Cádiz a watan Janairu 1762 kuma ya shafe shekaru biyu masu zuwa yana aiki a Tekun Bahar Rum, da Straits na Gibraltar, da Tekun Atlantika. "Fénix" ta sami manyan gyare-gyare da yawa a Arsenal de la Carraca tsakanin 1764 da 1765, inda ta kasance ba ta da makamai har zuwa 1769, a ƙarƙashin jagorancin Francisco Cotiella. A shekara ta 1778 "Fénix" ya sake komawa karkashin Kyaftin Félix Ignacio deTejada, wanda Kyaftin Francisco Javier deMelgarejo y Rojas ya maye gurbinsa lokacin da Spain ta shiga yakin neman 'yancin Amurka a watan Yunin 1779. Nan da nan "Fénix" ya tashi zuwa Channel Channel, wani ɓangare na rundunar karkashin Lieutenant General Luis de Córdova y Córdova, wanda ya kamata ya sadu da rundunar sojojin Faransa a Tsibirin Sisgaras, a arewacin bakin tekun Spain. Wannan jirgin ruwan Faransa da Spain na 1779
na fiye da 60 jiragen ruwa na layi ya kasance ya bi dakarun mamayewa na 40,000 a fadin Channel a kokarin kama tashar jiragen ruwa na Birtaniya a Portsmouth. Jirgin ruwa na Córdova ya jinkirta ta hanyar iska mai iska, wanda ya tilasta musu su kasance kusa da bakin tekun Portugal. A sakamakon haka ba su isa wurin da aka haɗu ba har sai 22 ga Yuli, lokacin da Faransawa, ba tare da wadata ba, sun bar. Kodayake jiragen ruwa biyu za su haɗu da juna, "Fénix" ya bar Azores a ranar 23 ga Yuli tare da rundunar soja a karkashin Lieutenant General Antonio de Ulloa, don kare karewar Mutanen Espanya da kuma fuskantar sojojin Birtaniya wanda Mutanen Espanya suka sami labari.