Patrol - 1720 - October 18 - The Juggernaut Strikes

Ships in Action:
ALLIES:

Virgil Kyle - HMS Striker ('Conquistador' Sleek Frigate)

Everett Wick - HMS Ramillies - ('Wenden' Third Rate)

William Sherrin - Unknown ('Dauntless' Frigate)

Richard Moradir - HMS Peregrine Falcon ('Minerva' Mastercraft Frigate)

Various other players, including John Norrington sailing an 'Invincible' First-Rate, and, for a time, two other First-Rates.

ENEMIES:

-Numerous large pirate fleets, as well as French fleets of all sizes

Action Setup:
Upon completing an excursion to Ragged Point in Bridgetown with John Norrington and his first-rate, among other ships, I heard tell that he and a group of two other captains with First-Rate ships-of-the-line had met up outside the port, no doubt as a show of force to the recently departed pirates. However, these captains likely had no plans to use them against the enemy, as they primarily earned them from, and used them for, doing patrols around the hotly-contested Ragged Point area in Bridgetown. Hearing of this, I hatched a plan. After all, a force of three first-rates could be a mighty hammer if used against our foes! I looked around the Carribean for a port in which the hotly-contested areas could be avoided, while still allowing for some room to attack the enemy and thus drive the port into contention. My eyes fell on Santa Clara, a pirate port in the Yucatan, and I had my answer. It's area of contention was quite small, and thus had a window in which the first-rates could operate with impunity against any foe which might wish to stop us, or worse, capture one of the precious ships! We set sail in our migty armada, ready to face the pirate hoards!

The Action Itself:
...Unfortunately, I had not counted on the ponderous pace of the large ships, and the journey to Santa Clara from Bridgetown was a long and arguous one, indeed! Luckily, however, this gave us tim to recruit more captains to our cause. I invited Captains Wick, Sherrin, and Moradir to come and help, as I noticed that they were in the area. Sherrin and Moradir agreed to join us immediately, with Wick vowing to come a little later on. We arrived at Santa Clara, and quickly went to work. The pace at which we dispatched heavy pirate fleet after heavy pirate fleet was truly staggering to behold, with only the wait for their arrival slowing our pace down. Within a couple of hours, we had not only driven Santa Clara into full contention, but added a sizeable amount of additional contention on to the port, which would undoubtedly help our forces in the upcoming port battle.

After completing this task, we vacillated for a time about which port to strike next. Every time we decided on a port, we learned that it was either protected by treaty, or reserved for later attack by our forces. Apparently, any port which we attacked now would not be driven into immediate contention, as three ports were already under attack. We could still add contention on to a port, which could be built upon later, and thus I urged my fellows to stay on and continue fighting. Finally, we received clearence to assault Port St. Joe, in French Louisiana. This would be another long haul, and it was at this time that Captain Moradir, as well as two of our first-rate captains, left our company. However, Norrington and his ship stayed, and Captain Wick sailed in to take the other first-rates' place with the HMS Ramillies, a sturdy 'Wenden' class ship-of-the-line. Upon arrival at Port St. Joe, we quickly got to work. We sailed away having sowed an admirable path of destruction, one which the French would definitely notice!

The Result:
The results of the day's patrol were, in no uncertain terms, staggering to behold. In approximately four hours' worth of time, we racked up around 7,500 contention points. With our immensely powerful fleet, we drove Santa Clara's contention from 8000 points, 2000 under the amount needed to 'flip' it, to almost 4000 points ABOVE the level needed to flip, ensuring our forces would enjoy tremendous advantages in the port battle to come. The rats will definitely be surprised by that! In addition, we drove Port St. Joe's contention from nothing to 2400 points, a good number to build on in the days to come. At the very least, the French will have one hell of a time grinding it back down, hehe. We definitely accomplished the goal I had set out to achieve, and so, so much more. Within mere hours, we struck a substantial blow against Britain's enemies. Rule Britannia!

Lessons Learned:
This patrol actually taught me a number of things. First, it confirmed the viability of first-rates in generating huge amounts of contention in a very small amount of time, and with minimal danger. Truly, there was no enemy which could stand against even one of our behemoths, much less the three we had at one point! As long as we keep the valuable ships out of the 'red zone', and away from greedy players who may wish to harm, or worse, capture them, they can be a powerful weapon we can wield against our foes. Also, it confirmed the viability of line tactics, as in the few instances where we could keep our first-rates in a proper line, the enemy dropped twice as fast as when the first-rate captains went off in all directions on their own, which they did frequently, much to my, Captain Wick's and Captain Sherrin's dismay.

Most importantly, however, I forged valuable ties of friendship with some captains outside the SGS, captains who have considerable resources and ships at their disposal. I believe the comraderie we forged in battle steeled their resolve in looking outside Bridgetown and Orleans for their excitement, and I hope to be able to call on their aid in the future. I hope the bonds forged today will help lead to a stronger, more unified British nation, and ultimate (and repeated) victory for our people.

Strength in Unity! Huzzah!