When Rainier arrived in India in 1794 he was new to the role of independent command and he had much to learn. At least he had in-depth experience of his vast station of thirty million square miles and appreciated what could go wrong during the 15,000—16,000-mile journey out from England. In theory there were some naval supplies held for him by the Company in Madras and Bombay, there was a private victualling organisation under a contract held by the Honourable Basil Cochrane, which held food for the navy in Madras, and there was the Bombay dockyard, the only one available to the Royal Navy outside Britain. The Admiralty Boards had little knowledge of the East Indies — it being numerically the smallest station — and it is important to note that Rainier could expect to receive little or no help from them.

Primary Concerns

On arrival, Rainier found himself in the unique position of having no resident Royal Naval forces and a minimal shore-based organisation. The lack of naval stores was an immediate concern. He appreciated the need for detailed planning to ensure that the stores and equipment he required were always available when needed. Within two weeks of arriving in Indian waters, he wrote to James Moseley, the Marine Storekeeper at Bombay, requesting an inventory of all Royal Navy stores in Bombay.