 Upon "Discovery"'s return to England, Whidbey served briefly in HMS "Sans Pareil", but eventually turned to a shoreside career.In 1799, then-Earl St. Vincent commissioned him to make of feasibility survey making Tor Bay a fleet anchorage; Whidbey recommended this be done by building a great breakwater.Surviving correspondence suggests that around this time he apparently struck up a lifelong friendly and professional relationship with the engineer John Rennie.