 The French convoy , escorted by Vanstabel , departed America from Virginia on 2 April , and Howe sailed from Portsmouth on 2 May , taking his entire fleet to both escort British convoys to the Western Approaches and intercept the French . <unk> that Villaret was still in Brest , Howe spent two weeks searching the Bay of Biscay for the grain convoy , returning to Brest on 18 May to discover that Villaret had sailed the previous day . [ Note C ] Returning to sea in search of his opponent , Howe pursued Villaret deep into the Atlantic . Also at sea during this period were the squadrons of Nielly ( French ) and Montagu ( British ) , both of whom had met with some success ; Nielly had captured a number of British merchant ships and Montagu had taken several back . Nielly was the first to encounter the grain convoy , deep in the Atlantic in the second week of May . He took it under escort as it moved closer to Europe , while Montagu was searching <unk> to the south . 
