Command of "Meleager" passed to Captain George Cockburn in June 1794; Cockburn took command of the fifth-rate HMS "Minerve" in August 1796 and Hardy went with him, subsequently becoming his first lieutenant. Horatio Nelson, then a commodore, moved his broad pennant to "Minerve" in December 1796. While en route to Gibraltar, in the action of 19 December 1796, "Minerve" and her consort, the fifth-rate , engaged two Spanish frigates and forced "Santa Sabina" to surrender. Lieutenants Hardy and Culverhouse were sent aboard "Santa Sabina" with a prize crew, and the three ships continued on towards Gibraltar. Before the night was out, Nelson ran into the Spanish fleet and only managed to get away when Hardy drew the Spanish away from "Minerve" and fought until being dismasted and captured. Hardy and Culverhouse were almost immediately exchanged for the captain of "Santa Sabina", Don Jacobo Stuart, and were able to rejoin "Minerve" at Gibraltar on 9 February 1797.