 <unk> his boats , Corbet determined to sail to Île Bourbon directly . By 04 : 00 on 12 September he had arrived at Saint @-@ Denis and there landed his wounded and came ashore for news , learning that two French frigates were just offshore , blockading the port . The French ships had spotted Africaine in the harbour and despatched the small brig <unk> to Isle de France with information of her whereabouts , although Corbet had raised flags that successfully deceived the French into believing that his frigate was Rowley 's flagship HMS Boadicea . The French ships were Astrée , commanded by Pierre Bouvet , and Iphigénie , formerly one of the British frigates captured at Grand Port , under René <unk> de <unk> . 
