 Captain Cofffin's orders were to separate from the convoy at Cape Verde, sail to Goree, and then cruise the coast of West Africa as far as the Island of Saint Thomas and back to Cape Verde, then returning to Spithead.While cruising the coast "Arethusa" was to examine bays and creeks looking for vessels engaged in the slave trade.In late June "Arethusa" grounded on a sunken rock off Factory Island in the Isles de Los.