Throughout this period, naval skirmishes were infinitely more common than the savage and bloody combats that fuelled the privateering myth. Saint-Malo's merchants devoted considerable financial and human resources to commerce raiding or privateering; on a European level, they were matched only by their counterparts in Vlissingen (Netherlands) and Dunkirk. At the same time, ocean-going raiding, which mobilised 200- and 300-tonne frigates, brought talented ship-owners and captains to the fore. In the late 17th and early 18th centuries, their ranks included Noël Danycan, François Le Fer de Beauvais, Alain Porée and René Du Guay-Trouin. A century later, the name Robert Surcouf would be known in every warehouse. The fame and fortune these men accrued should not blind us to the fact that small coastal raiders, which were very present at Saint-Malo, and small ships of between 20 and 120 tonnes regularly clashed with Anglo-Norman privateers from Jersey and Guernsey.