What if Nelson intercepted the Egyptian expedition at night?

How might history change if Nelson caught the French fleet and its transports at night before they reached Egypt?

An interception would expose the expedition's army and transports to disruption before the landing. French coordination is expected to remain poor, but the battle's outcome and its wider consequences are left open.

The counterfactual places Nelson's squadron against the French fleet and its transports during their passage to Egypt. French ability to maneuver and fight is expected to be little better than at Aboukir Bay. A boarding action bringing Nelson and Bonaparte face to face aboard Orient is an imaginative possibility, with no definite claim that it would happen. The historical pursuit instead saw Nelson overtake the slower expedition, reach Egypt before it, and return before finally finding the French fleet. Intercepting the transports would put the army as well as its naval escort at risk before the Egyptian campaign began.