George Johnstone Hope "Romulus", in which he saw action against French ships off Genoa in 1795. Following his appointment to HMS "Alcmene", Hope joined Nelson at Aboukir bay, 11 days after the battle of the Nile. On 19 August Nelson left for Naples but left Hood with three 3rd rates and three frigates, including "Alcmene", with which to blockade Alexandria, where the remaining French ships; two of the line, eight frigates and four corvettes, were sheltering. Hope obtained Nelson's good graces by capturing the French gunbrig "Légère" off Egypt, and seizing dispatches intended for Napoleon. The papers had been thrown overboard by the
Battle of the Nile rigging, in general, out of repair, and I am sure it requires no little courage to undertake the management of a fleet furnished with such tools." Although initially disappointed that the main French fleet was not at Alexandria, Nelson knew from the presence of the transports that they must be nearby. At 14:00 on 1 August, lookouts on HMS "Zealous" reported the French anchored in Aboukir Bay, its signal lieutenant just beating the lieutenant on HMS "Goliath" with the signal, but inaccurately describing 16 French ships of the line instead of 13. At the same time, French lookouts on "Heureux",