 Fox was the first British ship into the anchorage , and was consequently approached by the <unk> , whose crew came aboard . Malcolm , like Cooke , spoke French <unk> and with Bernard translating was able to persuade the officer in charge that the new <unk> were Forte and <unk> seeking supplies and Spanish reinforcements for commerce raiding operations . The officer offered supplies but cautioned that none of the Spanish ships would be in a position to sail until March at the earliest . Cooke then joined the party on the deck of Fox , claiming to be Commodore <unk> , a French officer who , unknown to the Spanish , had been killed in the Action of 9 September 1796 off Sumatra . The Spanish officer was now completely convinced by the <unk> , which had been augmented by fake French uniforms . <unk> the visitor below decks , Cooke then passed wine around and together they drank a series of <unk> , including " the downfall of England " . 
