> *First, apologies for the gap. I got weekly games in, but on Tabletop Simulator, which doesn’t make for as pleasing images, and the stories of the games were less gripping. One, for example, was a turn-one wind change keeping my opponents in the wind’s eye, while I closed, then boarded across their flagship’s stern, took it, and had the strike points to win. It was decisive, but hard to spin a tale out of.* > *But this is more a return to form. I think that there’s enough here to write up. The scenario was **Blockade**, the point total was **200**, and my opponent and I (Spanish, and French, respectively) each brought a first rate, a third rate, and some smaller ships—he a total of seven, I a total of six. I was the attacker, he the defender, and we both had unnamed Experienced admirals.* *Amiral* Nicodème Belrose, writing aboard the *Soleil Roal* at sea. August, 16— Mon Intendant, First, that you may rest easy, we have broken the Spanish blockade at Camago, and our fleets may freely pass that strait now. I have taken the Spanish admiral as a prisoner of war, and you will, I hope, get to meet him—he is an urbane and gentlemanly fellow, and *hidalgo* as the Spanish say, of a family noble since time immemorial. But I get ahead of myself—I must provide an account of the battle. The wind was out of the east, a steady breeze. We were approaching the Spanish line-to-line, the wind at our backs, they a little to our south. Ahead on our course lay a channel between two islands, with a stretch of shoals in that water. We believed we had soundings that would allow us to pass through, towards the point where we could force open the Spanish blockade. The spaniards formed two lines, with their heavy ships nearer us and their smaller support ships shielded on the other side. I opted likewise to form two lines: in the main line, the 3rd rate *Bellone* lead, followed by my flagship, the *Soleil Royal*, and then the 4th rate *Tonnant* at the rear. I formed a second line at the rear of this, running on a beam reach towards the Spanish: the 5th rate *Cète*, the light galleon *Aube*, and then the galley-frigate *Artémis*. *Capitaine* Gosselin of the *Aube* carried the vice-flag. ![[aug_02 - 1.png]] I urged my main line forward, towards the objective, while the Spanish handsomely moved around the other side of the island to meet me. We exchanged some shots at extreme range, but nothing decisive. However, the second line saw action almost right away. The Spanish flagship, a 1st rate, taking up the rear of their line, had no protection across its stern, and their admiral wisely saw the threat my swift second line posed. The *Cète* was aiming to cross the spaniard’s stern, and maul them. And so the spaniard turned, and mauled the *Cète*, instead. The crew held together valiantly, never striking colours the entire battle, but the ship will need to be towed back to port, and I fear she may end up being broken up. But the second line did what it was supposed to: the Spanish flag ship had to pull out of line to defend itself, leaving the rest of their line without the admiral’s attention or coordination. The second line started to become disorganized once the *Cète* could no longer sail well, and the *Aube* and *Artémis* had to break formation to avoid a collision, but by then they were in a position to move towards the Spanish flag and bracket it stern-and-bows. ![[aug_02 - 2.png]] I will leave them now, to tell my story in its proper order, and return to the first line. As I rounded the headland, passing between the island and the shoals, I witnessed the *Bellone* moving far ahead. The *Soleil Royal* may be fast for a 1st rate, but the *Bellone* is truly a swift ship. Or, I should say *was*. ![[aug_02 - 3.png]] ![[aug_02 - 4.png]] After loosing a powerful broadside on the Spanish fluyt, the *Bellone* came into contact with a Spanish light galleon, and threw grappled, and began a boarding action. But the moment was ill-chosen: the Spanish were able to unleash the broadsides of that light galleon, a brigantine, and their own third rate on it before the boarding action could be decided, and then the Spanish defenders, seeing the blood covering the noble French decks, surged forward and took the *Bellone*. And worst of all, the truly injurious part: seeing that we would take it back from them in a moment, that the crew of the *Soleil Royal* stood ready to wield their cutlasses, the Spanish sunk her. They placed charges in the hold, lit a fuse, pushed off, and watched that noble French ship sink. And sink it did: I have never seen a ship go down so fast. ![[aug_02 - 5.png]] At this point, all our hopes rested on the second line. I and the *Tonnant* were able to close and keep the Spanish near the objective busy, but would never be able to decide the battle. Back to windward, the *Cète* removed itself from the way of the other ships, and kept providing supporting fire. The *Aube* attempted to corral the first rate, but could not move swiftly enough, and found the spaniard grappling his broadside to her bows. But she cut free and pushed off, just as the *Artémis* sailed hard and rowed hard to bring itself across the stern of the Spanish flagship, throwing grapples. A Spanish corvette came up on the other side of the *Artémis*, and grappled as well. She was pinned, but her action was clear. The *Aube* got off one good broadside, and hit the magazine of the Spanish flagship. I could hear the explosion all the way from the *Soleil Royal*. From the reports I have received, the ship’s keel was broken and the masts damaged below the upper decks, but it still functioned as an effective fighting platform. *Capitaine* Faucheux of the *Artémis* fired a broadside from both sides of the ship, one tearing apart the small corvette, and the other raking the Spanish flagship from stern to stem. Alas, he did not achieve this before the Spanish fired a point-blank broadside at the poor ship *Aube*, destroying it and taking the life of *Capitaine* Gosselin. ![[aug_02 - 6.png]] But having fired that stern-rake, the men of the *Artémis* (and there were, you may recall, many: an over-full crew, with marines, and trained boarders) surged through the shattered stern galleries and over the gun-decks. The action was swift and the action was barely resisted; the men of the Spanish flagship were still in shock from the rake. Admiral Abascal struck his colours and handed over his sword. He had at this point lost three ships, to my two, and one crippled, and while the cost was high, we did carry the day. Vive la France, vive le roi, Yours faithfully, *Amiral* Nic. Belrose ![[aug_02 - 7.png]] > *There were a number of exciting moments this game. Twice, I got a broadside on his 3rd rate that he made me reroll via his Lucky captain—one of them even got a two-swords critical that could have* killed *that captain, but which I had to reroll. The big mauling ships of the line got lots of shots in, a magazine exploded. Initiative cards were well-timed and disastrously mis-timed. But I got Superior Firepower, a potent French card, down on the turn when the Galley-Frigate* Artémis *launched a broadside out each side to destroy the corvette and stern-rake the 1st rate, so I count it a success. Choosing to board his light galleon with my 3rd rate, and then* losing *the action and the ship was brutal, and nearly closed the door on victory to me, but I eked it out.* > *On the last turn, I had 5 strike points to his six, but both of us had more strike points than remaining ships, so you could say we both lost, but I lost a hair less.* > *The entire purpose of my second line was to deliver at least the Galley-Frigate, loaded as it was with boarding boosts, to their flagship, ideally across the stern. And I knew I would lose at least one ship doing so, and hoped I would lose no more. When I lost the 3rd rate, I saw my margin go down: I could not* afford *to lose more than one ship. So I was, in the end, lucky.*