In 1791 Komeet sailed to Cape of Good Hope, in company with the Dutch naval corvette Scipio, leaving on 17 December 1791.

The Dutch captains decided to sail via the Shetland Islands to ports in then-neutral Norway.

[5] Then Unicorn parted company with the rest of the squadron and after a chase of 13 hours captured Komeet.

Captain Thomas Williams of Unicorn described her as a remarkably fine vessel, only four years old, sails extremely well.

On 10 April, Unicorn recaptured the brig Thames while in company with Penguin and the hired armed cutter Fox (the third).

At some point between 28 March and 19 April, Penguin saved the crew of Prince of Wales, which had foundered on her way from Galway to Cork.

The four were: On 24 May 1797 Penguin was off The Lizard with a convoy sailing to Cork when she encountered the French lugger privateer Terrible.

[13] Mansel sailed to meet the three and in the subsequent engagement managed to cause the corvette to strike her colours.

By this time it was dark, and though Mansel and his crew stood ready to fight off boarders, the French took the opportunity to sail off.

The crew worked to effect repairs and in the morning Penguin attempted to follow the French vessels, but was unable to prevent them reaching Teneriffe.

The day after the engagement, Penguin detained a Swedish East Indiaman, which then carried his letter describing the action.

Penguin had driven the privateer on the bar of the Senegal River on 17 March but could not get close enough to destroy her, while the surf did not do the job either.

[18] Then, sometime between 1 March and 1 June 1805, she captured the Spanish schooner Santa Severina, which was carrying pitch and tar.

[21] After the Battle of San Domingo on 6 February, their captains drove the flagship, Impérial, and the Diomède, on shore between Nizao and Point Catalan, their hulls broadside to the beach and their bottoms stove in by the reefs that lay offshore, to prevent their capture.

On 8 February, Admiral Sir John Duckworth sent boats from Acasta and Magicienne to the wrecks.

Boarding unopposed, the boat parties removed the remaining French crewmen as prisoners and set both ships on fire.

On 18 August Penguin was in company with Franchise, Magicienne, and Veteran as they escorted a fleet of 109 merchantmen from Jamaica to Britain.

Franchise lost her fore-mast and main-top-mast but together with Penguin managed to bring 71 merchant vessels back to England.