Patrol - 1721 - April 15 - Manoeuvres off Gibara

Master Collister's account:

Ships in Action:
Captains of the Squadron

Captain Collister - HMS Centurion, Minerva fifth rate.

Captain Blatchford - HMS Javelin, Capricieux Mastercraft fifth rate.

Action Setup:
With the pending attack on Gibara, Captains Collister and Blatchford saw fit to commit to a cruise in the contested waters north of said port. Captain Blatchford was the first to arrive to the area and engaged enemy shipping NW of the port. Captain Collister arrived shortly after.

The Action Itself:
The two British frigates patrolled the area and took, burnt, or sank 2 Spanish Patrolling Fleets of 8 sail each. After cleaning the waters to this degree, 2 French ships were spotted to the NE engaging a pirate vessel. The pirate was sunk relatively quickly and we had little time to close and identify what ships the French commanded. As the battle was so far from port, the British Captains concluded that at least one of the French vessels must be commanded by a privateer. The British frigates therefore resolved to attempt a lame-duck ruse (feint retreat, spilling wind from their sails) and lure the French closer to Gibara to engage them honourably. This succeeded in luring in one of the vessels, a privateer captaining an Expedition sixth-rate, to their location. The British frigates closed in on the French sixth-rate, but could not outsail her and consequently the French vessel retreated to the west.

The British frigates then engaged and sank a sail of 12 patrolling Spanish ships, including two fourth-rates and a third-rate. However, upon sinking the third-rate, the last enemy ship afloat, Admiral Tikky, sailing past their location, hailed them with the familiar signal Superior Enemy Force Spotted. The French privateer had obviously sailed and recruited reinforcements. However, thanks to successful evasive manoeuvres and keen advice from the good Admiral the British fifth-rates managed to retreat from a superior force of three heavy fifth-rates.

The Result:
Spanish shipping had been harrassed in the contested waters off Gibara with no loss to his Majesty's Royal Navy, and a British flotilla had managed to escape from a greatly more powerful foe.

Lessons Learned:
Good communication on the 'nation' channel can save one's ship. It is always a good idea to warn fellow British Captains in engagments in contested waters of lurking enemies present. Thanks to Admiral Tikky's signals we managed to escape without so much as (further) scratching our paintwork.