In 1779, Captain Jones took command of the 42-gun , a merchant ship rebuilt and given to America by the French shipping magnate, Jacques-Donatien Le Ray. On August 14, as a vast French and Spanish invasion fleet approached England, he provided a diversion by heading for Ireland at the head of a five ship squadron including the 36-gun , 32-gun USS "Pallas", 12-gun , and "Le Cerf", also accompanied by two privateers, and "Granville". When the squadron was only a few days out of Groix, "Monsieur" separated due to a disagreement between her captain and Jones. Several Royal Navy warships were sent towards Ireland in pursuit of Jones, but on this occasion, he continued right around the north of Scotland into the North Sea. Jones's main problems, as on his previous voyage, resulted from insubordination, particularly by Pierre Landais, captain of "Alliance". On September 23, 1779, the squadron met a large merchant convoy off the coast of Flamborough Head, East Yorkshire. The 50-gun British frigate and the 22-gun hired armed ship placed themselves between the convoy and Jones's squadron, allowing the merchants to escape.