Reprisal became the first vessel of the Continental Navy to arrive in European waters. En route to France, Reprisal captured two British brigs, reaching Nantes on November 29, 1776. Off the Spanish coast and return to France On December 17, 1776, Reprisal docked at Saint-Nazaire, France, where Wickes prepared the ship for her first cruise in European waters. She set sail again on January 24, 1777, cruising along the coast of Spain, in the Bay of Biscay and in the mouth of the English Channel. Five prizes were captured on the cruise. On February 5, Reprisal boarded and captured Britain's 16-gun Lisbon packet, two days out of Falmouth, Cornwall, after a hard fight of 40 minutes in which two officers of Reprisal were seriously wounded and one man killed. After taking his prizes into Port Louis on February 13, 1777, touching off a diplomatic furor, Wickes sailed for L'Orient to end the cruise on February 14. Lord Stormont, the British ambassador in Paris, demanded that the French government expel Reprisal for violating France's neutrality, and demanded the return of the captured ships. However, Wickes had been able to arrange, with Franklin's assistance, a clandestine sale of the prize vessels before the French could take action. Ultimately, Reprisal was ordered to leave in 24 hours by the French authorities, who had been stirred to action by the bitter remonstrances of the British government. Wickes, however, claimed that Reprisal had sprung a leak and should be careened for repairs. He received permission to make his repairs and by excuses was able several times to defeat the intentions of those in charge of the port while he made ready for another cruise. Cruise around Ireland, April–June 1777 In April 1777 Reprisal was joined by the Continental vessels (16 guns), and (10 guns), these three vessels constituting a squadron under the command of Wickes. The American Commissioners in Paris sent the squadron on a cruise along the shores of the British Isles, where Wickes had planned an attack on the Irish linen merchant fleet. Leaving Saint-Nazaire on May 28, 1777, they entered the Irish Sea by way of the North Channel, and cruised clockwise around the coast of Ireland. On June 19, they took their first prizes—two brigs and two sloops. During the following week, they cruised in the Irish Sea and made 14 additional captures, comprising two ships, seven brigs and five other