unexplained reasons Sans Culotte did not follow these orders and dropped out of the fleet during the night, while Ça Ira dropped further and further behind the main body of the French force. To better protect the damaged ship, Vestale was withdrawn and replaced with the ship of the line , towing Ça Ira back towards Toulon. In the morning the fleets were manoeuvring southwest of Genoa, the British closing on the French line to the west. Ça Ira and Censeur had fallen a long way back from the French fleet, and Hotham sent his fastest ships in pursuit, propelled by a northwesterly breeze. By 06:30 Bedford and Captain had caught up with the French stragglers, Captain in the lead fighting both for 15 minutes before Bedford reached the engagement. Captain suffered severe damage to its rigging, sails and masts and by 07:50 was unmanageable and drifting out of the action, and was towed to safety. Shortly afterwards Bedford too was forced to withdraw with extensive damage to the sailing rig. Both French ships had also been badly damaged, and were left drifting out of control, unable to unite with Martin's main fleet. Martin sought to defend his beleaguered rearmost ships, and gave orders for his line to wear in succession so as to cut between the British fleet and the badly damaged Ça Ira and Censeur, which were now threatened by the recently arrived HMS Illustrious and HMS Courageux. Both fleets were by this point beset by a period of calm weather which made manoeuvres difficult, and the French turn caught HMS Lowestoft by surprise, the frigate suddenly under the guns of the leading French ship Duquesne under Captain Zacharie Allemand. Allemand fired on the frigate, and Captain Benjamin Hallowell, aware that he could not effectively respond, sent his entire crew below decks to protect them from the French gunfire. Lowestoft was badly damaged in sails and rigging, but was saved from further loss by the arrival of the Neapolitan frigate Minerva which interceded with Duquesne. In turning, Allemand failed to follow orders effectively, meaning that instead of passing to leeward of the British ships, between the enemy and Ça Ira and Censeur, he passed to windward, sailing down the other side of the British vanguard. Hotham had succeed in interposing his ships between the shattered French ships and Martin's main fleet, and it seemed that a close general