He was appointed to the Amphion, in which, in the following spring, Lord Nelson went out to the Mediterranean, and which, on 5 October 1804, assisted in the capture of the Spanish treasure-ships off Cape St. Mary.
On 13 December 1810 he was promoted to command the Tuscan brig, in which, during the next year, he assisted in the defence of Cadiz.
The following years he spent in travelling over Europe with the object of examining the maritime resources of the different countries.
He was already well acquainted with the coasts of Spain and Italy; he now visited the ports and arsenals of France and Holland, of the Black Sea, and of the Baltic.
The work, which he dedicated to Sir William Hoste, by whose advice the travels seem to have been undertaken and the journals kept, is written intelligently, though at excessive length.