frigates varied in size greatly ---- a frigitilla was a smaller type frigate -- a small shallow draft vessel that was very quick and often used as dispatch vessels and such because of their great speed --foreign smugglers that snuck goods into spain's waters often used these and galera --like a schooner but rowible as well (for extra speed or if there was no wind) both these class vessels were used as trading vessels to sneak in--- do a deal and then haul butt quickly away -- they depended mainly upon their speed to outrun the slower spanish vessels -- but their equal was the spanish patache class vessels which were often used to capture the illegal trading vessels. as Echeverz pataches did to three vessels off of columbia while he sat in porto bello, panama -- one was an english "blandra" class vessel (which might have been sold to Ubilla in havana* since records show he bought one to replace one of the 4 patache class vessels he lost in vera cruz, mexico to a storm -- it might very well that the english blandra is the vessel later known as the MARIA GALANTE)-- one was a french galera class vessel aka "the french prize" or "EL CIERVO" the stag--- the last was a dutch galera class vessel -- called "senora de la popa" -- aka LA Holandesa / Olandesa (the dutch / dutch)--- and the SAN MIGUEL -- not to be mixed up with the NAO SAN MIGUEL A MUCH LARGER AND TOTAL DIFFERANT VESSEL
