Plucket started sailing on a privateer in 1778; he was taken prisoner in England after the British HMS Amphitrite captured his ship,[5] and was exchanged after several escape attempts.
[4] Promoted to officer, he took command of a merchantman and was almost wrecked in Ireland in July 1791; rescued, he took several soldiers hostage to avoid paying salvage fees and escaped, returning his captives on fishing ships encountered en route.
[6] After the War of the First Coalition broke out, Plucket took command of the privateer brig Sans-Culotte nantais, with fourteen 4-pounder guns.
[9] On 1 June, Patriote sprang a leak, forcing Plucket to jettison all but two of his guns, and make a hasty return to Brest; chased by British 28-gun corvette on the 6th, he fought a three-hour running battle before reaching the safety of Île de Batz.
[10] The population gave the wounded Plucket a triumphal reception and the nickname of "second Jean Bart".