 Rodgers then crossed the Atlantic hoping to catch a valuable British convoy from the West Indies.The weather was foul throughout the voyage and Rodgers missed the convoy, capturing only seven small merchant vessels.On hearing of "Belvidera" encounter, Vice Admiral Herbert Sawyer, the commander of the Royal Navy's North American Station based at Halifax, Nova Scotia, despatched a squadron under Captain Philip Bowes Vere Broke to catch Rodgers' squadron.