A second blockade forms off Boulogne

The Royal Navy did not commit every available ship to the distant blockading squadrons. Vessels at home were refitting, revictualling, resupplying, or serving with other formations, leaving Britain a reserve that could concentrate against Boulogne. Once the surviving French squadrons arrived, the British could impose a new blockade and force them to fight again. In this counterfactual, an experienced commander such as Nelson or Collingwood leads that last defensive fleet as the final barrier between France and Britain. Even a French victory would probably leave both sides short of ships of the line, so the invasion fleet would gain no clean or durable command of the Channel.