A contemporary interpretation of the Relief of Gibraltar by Earl Howe on 11 October 1782. Since the garrison at Gibraltar had not received any supplies since Darby's relief in April 1781, Lord Howe sailed for Gibraltar in September 1782. He took a fleet of 183 sail, 38 of which were ships of the line. Howe arrived off the Straits on 11 October and, putting the merchant ships before him, headed for the Mole. Unfortunately, most of the ships missed it and were carried east into the Mediterranean, where Howe and his men-of-war were forced to follow them. Waiting for him in Algeciras Bay, only four miles from Gibraltar, was a Franco-Spanish fleet of 48 ships of the line, and these followed Howe in turn. After some manoeuvring, the wind changed to east, which enabled Howe and the merchantmen to return to Gibraltar. The success of the manoeuvre was greatly assisted by the new code of signals based on the system of Admiral Kempenfelt. All the merchantmen moored safely between 16 and 18 October so that Gibraltar had another year's supplies.