How close Nelson came to joining Calder at Finisterre

Nelson returned from the West Indies while Calder watched Cape Finisterre, then moved to reinforce the Channel Fleet against a possible junction with the French ships at Brest. Villeneuve arrived off Finisterre after Nelson had already passed. If the timing had allowed Nelson's roughly twelve ships to join Calder's fifteen, the British could have faced twenty allied ships with twenty-seven of their own. The proposed attack uses three columns of nine against the allied van, centre, and rear, with enough flag officers available to command them. That battle remained hypothetical because the British were still trying to locate and concentrate against Villeneuve.