Initially Ganteaume sailed south in search of the convoy .
Initially Ganteaume found himself becalmed in the Sea of Sardinia , where he only narrowly avoided an encounter with a large British squadron under Rear - Admiral Robert Mann .
Initially Ganteaume sailed south in search of the convoy and found himself becalmed in the Sea of Sardinia , where he only narrowly avoided an encounter with a large British squadron under Rear - Admiral Robert Mann .