On 17 April, Grasse had detached a cutter which arrived at Martinique on 26 to inform Bouillé of his arrival. Before sailing to the lee (western) side of the island, Grasse anchored the fleet and sent someone ashore to gather news and bring orders to Albert de Saint-Hippolyte, commander of a 4-ship division that a British fleet of 17 ships of the line under Samuel Hood had been blockading at Fort Royal for 50 days. The division comprised the 74-gun "Victoire", under Saint-Hippolyte, and the 64-gun "Caton", under Framond, "Réfléchi", under Cillart de Suville, and "Solitaire", under Cicé-Champion.