 On 22 May , Alceste encountered some French feluccas that were forced to seek refuge under the guns of the bay of Agay . Under cover of darkness , two boats from Alceste , one under Lieutenant Andrew Wilson , the other led by the ship 's master , Henry Bell , were sent in to attack the shore batteries . This was only partially successful ; Wilson was unable to achieve his objective , while Bell 's section managed to spike the guns of the second battery but only after taking heavy fire . Alceste stood out to sea for three days , and on the night of 25 May , Maxwell sent two armed boats to lay in wait in a rocky cove . The following morning Alceste set sail . The French , assuming Alceste had gone to attend to some other business , attempted to leave , but the two British boats lying in ambush attacked . Despite fierce resistance and fire from the guns on shore , four ships of the French convoy were captured . 
