continued until Dec. following; when finding that he had been promoted by the Admiralty, on the 26th August, and appointed to the Pilot, another brig of similar force, he returned home and joined the latter at Portsmouth, in April, 1810.
About the end of that month, the Pilot sailed with a large convoy, under the orders of Captain the Hon. G. H. L. Dundas, and on their arrival off Lisbon, Captain Nicolas was directed to proceed with the merchantmen bound to Gibraltar and the Mediterranean. On his arrival at Malta, he was placed under the immediate orders of Rear-Admiral Martin, who sent him to cruise on the coast of Upper Calabria, for the purpose of intercepting the enemy’s convoys and annoying his coasting trade. An opportunity of doing so presented itself as soon as the Pilot reached her station; and the result is shewn by her commander’s official report, addressed to the Hon. Captain Wodehouse:–
“Proceeding, in obedience to your directions, towards my station, on the evening of the 22nd inst., his Majesty’s schooner Ortenzia was observed in-shore of us, with the signals flying for an enemy. I consequently made all possible sail, and swept towards her; and on arriving up. Lieutenant (Edward) Blaquiere informed me, that a large convoy of the enemy were at anchor off the town of Cirella. I did every thing in my power to get in-shore daring the night, and desired him to do the same; but the winds being very light and variable, prevented our making much progress. At day-break on the following morning, the 23rd, fifty-one sail were observed pulling and tracking along the beach, escorted by five large armed settees, and eight gun-boats, about seven or eight miles distant from us. It being calm, we immediately got out our sweeps, and pulled towards them, and continued in chase with the oars alone until two o’clock p.m. as we had not an air of wind until that time, and then but a very light one.
“Finding the Ortenzia swept better than the Pilot, and that she gained much on the convoy, I sent two boats armed to assist in towing her, hoping that by doing so she might get within reach of the gun-boats, and by that means stop their progress, as well as that of the convoy, until we arrived. I had the satisfaction to find that it in some degree succeeded, as at about half-past twelve she opened her fire, and caused five of the largest merchant vessels to run on shore a little to the northward of the town of St. Lucido, and some of the others to take the ground under the battery there, where the armed vessels, now sixteen in number, having been reinforced by three at that place, drew up for the convoy’s protection, and the outermost of them, two of which wore mortar-boats, opened a