"It ain't a close blockade off Cadiz," Chase explained.
A loose blockade is a close blockade where the blockading ships are withdrawn out of sight from the coast (behind the horizon) but no farther.
His ships continued their close blockade of Brest.
Meanwhile new realities of naval power made Britain's traditional policy of close blockade of an enemy's ports obsolete.
When a ship attempts to run a close blockade, the port she is making for is obvious and the question of destination does not arise.
Starve them out with a close blockade, says he again, in his execrable French.
Starve them out with a six months' close blockade, when we did not possess the ships to do it and when every day is of prime importance!
"This is a damned awkward harbour for a close blockade," observed the Commodore.
My orders are to start and maintain a close blockade of Brest with this fleet.
There she remained, under a close British blockade, until the Spanish declared war on the French.