 Colpoys immediately ordered his squadron to give chase and at 12 : 00 the strange ships were identified as a squadron of French frigates . The French ships were the 36 @-@ gun Gloire , Gentille and Fraternité , led by Captain Beens of Gloire and on a three @-@ month raiding cruise from Brest in the Bay of Biscay that had so @-@ far been uneventful : the only prize taken had been a small Spanish merchant brig . Beens quickly discovered the danger his squadron was in , and gave orders for them to sail westwards away from the British squadron . However , the wind favoured Colpoys and his vastly superior squadron rapidly gained on the French frigates . The first British ship to come within range was the 74 @-@ gun HMS Colossus under Captain John Monkton , which managed to exchange distant gunfire with the rearmost French ship before the gap widened once more . 
