At sea, the Bay of Biscay, the Western Approaches and the English Channel all became areas of significant naval activity as French privateers sailed on raiding cruises against British merchant shipping.

[3] The new arrival was a British ship sent from the Channel Fleet on a lone patrol: the frigate HMS Thames under Captain James Cotes.

[3] Tartu, brought below deck and dying, had ordered a retreat for fear that his prisoners would revolt and because the engagement was drifiting in the east-north-east direction, where two sails, assumed to be British warships, had been sighted.

Cotes however anticipated a resumption of the action and ordered his men to begin making repairs immediately: Thames was so badly damaged that pursuit was out of the question.

Uranie was in a similar state, and hauled up approximately 2 nautical miles (3.7 km) away, the masts intact but damaged with most of the rigging shot through and numerous holes smashed through the hull.

So engrossed was the British crew with their repairs that it was not until 16:00 that it was realised that the French frigate was no longer holding station within sight, and had completely disappeared.

Cotes was unable to manoeuvre his ship or respond to the new arrivals, which were soon identified as French vessels wearing false flags.

Cotes immediately hailed the French, announcing that he was in no position to fight them due to the damage his ship had suffered and that he was striking his flag.

[7] Allemand questioned Cotes intently about the nature of his recent combat and, on identifying Uranie as one of his own squadron, commented that Tartu should have defeated Thames in half the time the action had taken.

[2] Thames subsequently returned to Brest with Allemand's squadron on 25 October, although the British ship was thoroughly looted during the journey by the French sailors, whose officers were unable to exert any control over them.

Cotes wrote a report on the engagement, which he sent to the Admiralty from captivity in Gisors, which the French authorities intercepted and delayed, with the result that the first news of Thames' fate did not arrive in Britain until 7 May 1794.

HMS Santa Margarita recaptured Tamise in an engagement near the Scilly Isles between British and French frigate squadrons at the action of 8 June 1796.