The Franco-Spanish relief force moved sooner than Saumarez expected, bringing the 112-gun Real Carlos and San Hermenegildo, the 96-gun San Fernando, the 80-gun Argonauta, the 74-gun San Agustín, and the newly transferred San Antoine. Rather than refit Linois's damaged squadron fully, the allies meant to make it barely seaworthy and cover its departure with overwhelming strength, collapsing Saumarez's expected two-week repair window to days. Saumarez had asked Mediterranean commander Lord Keith for reinforcements because the longer repair estimate implied that help might arrive in time. HMS Superb had missed the first battle after a false report from an American merchant sent her back to her blockade station, but Richard Goodwin Keats returned with confirmation that the relief force was preparing to sail. At Gibraltar, Saumarez went from ship to ship, coordinated officers and dockyard workers, secured stores, and pushed repairs with only days available. Some of the dockyard's most willing workers had been lost or captured in the mistaken attempt to recover Hannibal, making the rapid effort harder. The contrast between a functioning Royal Navy dockyard and the French squadron's improvised repairs at Algeciras became an operational advantage.
Chapter · 43:34-50:19
Gibraltar's dockyard restored Saumarez's squadron
Saumarez used Gibraltar's stores, dockyard labor, and command organization to return his damaged ships to sea before the expected two-week repair period had elapsed.