Salty Dogs at Sea!
Naval Battle off Macho Grande!
This battle report was written by Jay Stribling who was one of those lost at sea - sunk during the game and Ed Sansing who was the victorious French admiral, the Marquis de Chardonay. We used a variant of the rules from the old Avalon Hill boardgame Wooden Ships and Iron Men adapted by John Stangel. The very nicely painted 1/1200 ships were Langton Miniatures, also belonging to John Stangel.
Photo by Ed Sansing
The British Commanders before the battle - completely confident as sons of Albion! Battle was to show that this confidence was misplaced.
Photo by Ed Sansing
The lead French ship, Guillaume Tell, continues to fire on the British and the others move under full sail trying to cross behind the British.
Photo by Ed Sansing
The Guillaume Tell is now the target of both British. The gallant had crew dashed forward and engaged the British, allowing the other 2 ships to maneuver for move favorable firing positions. After the battle the French commander was heard to mutter "I've got to get those brakes fixed."
Photo by Ed Sansing
The Guillaume Tell is now fouled with the enemy. The Centaur and Achilles have achieved good positions and open fire. There were three Frenchies in this battle and two Britishers.
Photo by Ed Sansing
In the next turn the British ship fires both broadsides. Unfortunately, in the next turn, only ONE can be reloaded.
A Letter from one of the Players' Great, great, great....
Dearest Rebecca,
I am pleased to report to you that I have safely
arrived in the Caribbean and am currently ensconced
at the Spanish port of Macho Grande. The port is
actually rather nice, and has a lovely fort
overlooking
the harbor, where I am staying. The fort of the
Blessed Virgin Mother, known simply as "tu Madre" to
the locals, is nicely accommodated, and has ample
space for the large number of British Guests that the
Spanish are currently entertaining downstairs. I have
not been this relaxed since the Terror.
We had a bit of a tussle with some British ships
before entering the harbor. Our flotilla had been
somewhat dispersed by some unpleasant weather, and my
ship, the Centaure, along with the Achille and Admiral
Chardonay's Guillaume Tell, had reformed and were
making for the Port. Unfortunately a couple of British
ships, the Mars and Superb, had sought to interrupt
our
journey and manged to interpose themselves between us
and our destination. Chardonay quickly ordered us to
break line and directly engage the British. This was
most unfortunate because as Centaure and Achille beat
upwind, Chardonay was left to fight both British
vessels alone. The Guillaume Tell put up a valiant
resistance, after which the crew promptly mutinied,
cast the admiral overboard, and set about trying to
democratically elect a new captain. I had always
wondered why a Royalist such as Chardonay was allowed
to keep his head after all these years. Apparently he
was popular at dinner parties.
Letter Continued Below
Photo by Ed Sansing
The two ships closest to the viewer are French and are engaging the two British ships which are frantically trying to avoid fouling each other. The British Admiral (John Murdaugh) was signalling with flags "Get out of my way" while the other British ship's captain (Jay Stribling) was muttering about "old farts who cannot steer"...
Photo by Ed Sansing
The Guillaume Tell is again fouled with the HMS Superb. Not long after this the Guillaume Tell struck her colors due to the large amount battle damage she had suffered. The Centaur next closed on the Superb and defeated her.
The Letter - Continued
Even with Guillaume Tell out of action Achille and
Centaure were able to resolve the affair. The Earl of
Cheddar, actually a rather pleasant gentleman despite
being British and a Royalist, had become entangled
with the Guillaume and was unable to free Mars before
we were able to sail astern of her and deliver fire.
She struck shortly afterward. Captain De Burgundy on
Achille did not fare as well as we, falling in a
boarding action to Superb under the command of Lord
Stilton. As with Cheddar, Stilton became entangled,
and was unable to free his vessel before we could
bring fire to bear on his bow. Superb eventually fell
to a boarding action initiated from Centaure, with her
crew surrendering after a hard fought action.
I expect I will stay in port several days before we
set out again. I received a couple of scrapes from our
tussle with Superb (not to worry) and the surgeons say
that after a couple of months most of my hair should
grow back. The crew is enjoying their shore leave and
have been hard at work trying to retrieve salvage from
Guillaume Tell and Mars, both of which went aground on
the reefs after our engagement with the British. even
with the loss of the Guillaume, we were able to take
Superb prize and my share of the prize money should be
sufficient for you to get that china cabinet you have
been talking about.
I will write again soon
Vive Le France
Sincerely
J. A. S. de Cabernet
Long Live the Emperor
Yada Yada Yada
Captain, Centaure
Photo by Ed Sansing
The two French ships still active gang up on the last British ship. This game lasted 24 turns, which is a long game when orders need to be plotted each turn.
Photo by Ed Sansing
Two defeated ships, 1 French and 1 British, drift slowly toward the shore at the end of the battle. The ships drifted at a rate of 2 inches every other turn. The reef was four inches away at game's end. Oh well, they are just little lead ships after all!
A bit more to come!
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