Thomas Macdonough the fleet. Both commanders would have seen the parallels of Macdonough's anchorage on Lake Champlain to that of the French under Vice Admiral Francois-Paul Brueys, opposing British Rear Admiral Sir Horatio Nelson, at the Battle of the Nile in Aboukir Bay on August 1, 1798. A study of Nelson's battles was part of the professional knowledge expected of naval commanders. But Macdonough did all that Brueys did not. He expected to take advantage of the prevailing winds on Lake Champlain that constrained Downie's axis of approach. "Because nearly every circumstance that worked to Nelson's advantage proved disadvantageous to Downie, 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",