in the early hours of 22 october, as "agamemnon" sailed southwards down the sardinian coast, sails were sighted leeward. at 02:00 the strange ships fired rocket signals and tacked eastwards away from the british ship. nelson closed with the squadron under the assumption that they may be from the allied navies of naples or sardinia. at 04:00 he attempted to hail the rearmost ship, a large frigate, but received no answer. nelson then fired a single shot ahead of the ship, which pulled away to windward, confirming that it was an enemy vessel. all sails were raised on "agamemnon" in pursuit, the rest of the french squadron trailing behind the french and british front-runners.