Against expectation, Bridport's leading ship was "Queen Charlotte", which had attained an unusually fast speed for a first rate through the carefully planned sailing of Captain Sir Andrew Snape Douglas. Immediately behind Douglas was Captain Richard Grindall in "Irresistible", with "Orion", "Colossus", "Sans Pareil" and "Russell" a short distance behind the leaders and the rest of the fleet substantially to the rear. At 04:00, the island of Groix lay approximately to the east of "Queen Charlotte", the French coastline behind it. It was to this region that Villaret was retreating, hoping Bridport would be reluctant to follow him into the confined waters around the well-fortified island, which lies on the entrance to the port of Lorient. The southern Breton coast was a notoriously dangerous region, where Atlantic gales could push ships towards poorly charted reefs and rocky outcrops.