 Despite these difficulties , the Channel Fleet was possessed of one of the best naval commanders of the age ; its commander @-@ in @-@ chief , Richard Howe , 1st Earl Howe , had learned his trade under Sir Edward <unk> and fought at the Battle of <unk> Bay in 1759 . In the spring of 1794 , with the French convoy 's arrival in European waters imminent , Howe had dispersed his fleet in three groups . George Montagu , in HMS Hector , was sent with six ships of the line and two frigates to guard British convoys to the East Indies , West Indies and Newfoundland as far as Cape <unk> . Peter <unk> , in HMS Suffolk and commanding six other ships , was to escort the convoys for the rest of their passage . The third force consisted of 26 ships of the line , with several supporting vessels , under Howe 's direct command . They were to patrol the Bay of Biscay for the arriving French . 
