The discussion of finding an enemy at sea leads to a concrete sighting. At 6:30 on 20 May, lookout frigates from Howe's British fleet spotted another fleet directly to windward in rough seas. The young signal lieutenant Edward Codrington was one of those scanning the horizon from a masthead at daylight. Information from passing merchantmen and recaptured ships helped estimate the convoy's route, while the lookout frigates supplied the final visual contact.
Notable Point · 7:53-8:15
How Howe's fleet turned maritime clues into contact
The Chesapeake convoy example ends with Howe's lookout frigates sighting sail, showing how accumulated shipping intelligence could produce an operational contact.