Bromley first briefly commanded the frigate HMS "Squirrel" but never went to sea in her, instead staying in Woolwich Dockyard, followed by the post ship HMS "Champion" from 24 September 1803. "Champion" was more heavily armed than the average post ship of her size, as her twenty-two 9-pounder long guns had been replaced with an equal number of 32-pound carronades. In "Champion" Bromley was based in the English Channel on the Downs Station patrolling between Ostend and Le Havre to disturb the preparations for Napoleon's planned invasion of the United Kingdom.