He was still in the Sunderland and in company with the Captain, Hampton Court and Dreadnought, when, on 6 January 1745, they fell in with, and did not capture, the two French ships, Neptune and Fleuron. The chase later brought criticism and legal proceedings instigated both by and against Captain Savage Mostyn of Hampton Court, but Sunderland had had her mainmast carried away at an early period of the chase, and Brett escaped opprobrium. He was afterwards sent out to join Commodore Peter Warren at Cape Breton, and took part in the operations which resulted in the capture of Louisburg.
