 The French squadron had sailed from Brest in search of an inward bound British convoy in October, but instead encountered the two British ships returning from escorting an outward-bound convoy.There had been no warning of the French approach as the British force assigned to watch Brest was absent at Plymouth due to the policy of operating a distant blockade.The British ships separated and attempted to escape, but the French commander "Contre-amiral" Joseph-Marie Nielly simply split his forces in response, and although "Canada" was eventually able to outrun pursuit, "Alexander" was slower and was caught by several French ships in succession.