Patrol - 1720 - October 6 - The Defense of Nassau

Ships in Action:
ALLIES:
 * Captain James Maddox - HMS Adversary - Conquistador-class sleek frigate
 * Captain Everett Wick - Dauntless-class frigate
 * Captain George Sherrin - Raa-class heavy frigate
 * Captain J. R. Lapenoteire - Mercy-class refit frigate
 * Captain Virgil Kyle - HMS Striker - Conquistador-class sleek frigate
 * Captain George Codwell - Alexander-class 4th rate

ENEMIES:

Various French fleets

Action Setup:
Finding ourselves with a full group of captains for the first time in forever, we decided to aid the cause to flip Orleans, as per Council orders, however the town went into double-red, and the rats came out to play. As there were other, more experienced Brits in the area, we decided the situation had outpaced our usefulness, and it was better to focus our attentions elsewhere.

We discussed other targets. The rats had already beat us to Port of Spain, and Santo Domingo was a possibility, but it was fairly close to becoming a red zone via a different town the rats were working over, and though we do not lack in courage, we wanted to be as effective as we could, considering our collective experience as a group.

One person suggested possibly helping the scrappy Spanish get revenge on the Frogs by blocking for them as they put Grenville in play, but we weren't sure how likely that was. In the end I suggested we take down the 15oo or so points the French put on Nassau, and we'd move to assist the Dons should it be possible.

The Action Itself:
It wasn't difficult finding 12-ship maneuvering fleets in the area. Though Wick was senior, everyone agreed to put me in command. We engaged the first. Our goal was to make a good line, keep it, and practice focused fire.

There was some confusion at first, trying to get the line together, and it didn't ever get in precisely the right order, but it didn't really matter in the end. We kept a good line. Various captains suggested turns and targets, and we worked together very well. TeamSpeak helped greatly. I should note that at one point I had to talk to my wife and took off my headphones. About this time we had whittled the fleet down to three and we were steering toward land. The other captains were asking for permission to break formation and engage at will, which I didn't hear until a couple minutes later. I gave permission, and we did. I mention this because I wanted to showcase the discipline all the captains showed, by not breaking the line. I commend them all for that, though we did discuss the benefits of having a second in command should the leader go AWOL.

I took a temporary leave, as did Wick, and the rest of the group tackled some more fleets, getting Nassau down to 50 points. At that point Frenchie took leave to do some econ. I believe Codwell did too. Wick was still away. The rest of us went over to scout Grenville. The French were about, in particular, CeltBlood Le Animal. We only saw one or two Spanish. We had a privateer, so we could tackle the French, but the general consensus was that it was too risky with the french around us. We considered the idea of attacking Spanish Maneuvering Fleets. It wouldn't put any points on a French port, but it would help the Dons by taking targets away from the French. However it seemed that the Spanish had decided to abandon their effort, more or less, so we wrote the idea off as a lost cause.

Virgil Kyle challenged CeltBlood to a one-on-one, which he accepted, but CeltBlood dawdled in port too long, and we no longer had the patience to wait.

Captain Lapenotiere returned, and the rest left, save for Kyle and myself. We decided to take the last 50 points off Nassau, and call it a night. We did it in grand fashion!

For no other reason than to see if we could, we tackled another French maneuvering fleet. This was a particularly nasty one with two or three vetrans. The make up was a few Tigres, a few Capris, four or five Mordaunts, an Alex, and a Trinity 2nd rate, that could turn on a dime for some reason.

Under the command of Frenchie we kept a straight, if loosely spaced line, and took them one at a time. At one point Kyle split off, and three ships followed him.

We tackled the lighter ships first, followed by the heavier 4th rates. I was so fed up with the Trinity, that I switched to disabling shot, and went after it alone. I concentrated on staying on it's stern and took down its sails, then went after its crew, after which Virgil Kyle boarded and took the captain's sword.

After the Trinity had lowered its flag, the fight went out of the Frogs, and we swept up the remaining 4th rates.

The Result:
Mission Accomplished. Though we couldn't help in Grenville, we took Nassau out of unrest for the time being. More importantly, we worked together as a group.

Lessons Learned:
Had I to do it over again, I might have decided to start by assisting the Dons in Grenville. I wonder if our presence scared them off, for some reason. Maybe they thought we were here for them. Had we engaged the French earlier there would have been fewer of them, and it may have emboldened the Spanish to press harder. But there are a lot of ifs in that assessment, and in the end I have no regrets. I do hope we can get together soon, decide on a fleet make up, and form a heavy Redtails squadron, that can face challenged undaunted by the sight of McHercs and the like.