 He was rewarded for his bravery with command of HMS "Colchester" in 1710, in which, on 9 November, Balchen secured his first prize, a 20-gun French privateer which he outran in a gale.In 1712 and 1713, Balchen was in the Mediterranean under Sir John Jennings and returned home in 1713 for a period of unemployment on shore.With the end of the War of the Spanish Succession in 1715, Balchen was returned to sea in the 40-gun frigate HMS "Diamond", which he used in the suppression of piracy in the West Indies until 1716.