Patrol - 1720 - December 1 - Hunting Pirates off San Marcos

Ships in Action:
Alec Dai - Heavy Hercules

James Maddox - HMS Hannibal - Valiant-class third rate

John R. Lapenotiere (priv alt) - Postillionen

Everett Wick - Mercy?

Lewis McLain - HMS Spitfire - Gallant-class frigate

William Sherrin - HMS Kent - Valiant

Enemy: Pirate Maneuvering Fleet, Lev 65, 12

Action Setup:
Regrouping after some econ, Captain Dai, Frenchie, and I went after the Maneuvering Fleet off San Marcos.

Other captains were en route.

The Action Itself:
The three of us soon became overwhelmed. The rat NPCs stayed in a very tight formation. I requested that we broadreach and gain some distance on them. I was in the rear, and the enemy continually pummeled my stern. Captains Lapenotire and Dai intercepted and attempted to draw aggro as I pulled away to repair with what few consumables and skills I had. Sherrin, McLain, and Wick eventually entered the fight, but were some ways off.

Dai then took a direct hit to the stern, destroying his armor and eviscerating his structure. He pulled out of the fight, but unfortunately had to show his vulnerable stern to the enemy to do so. Frenchie and I tried drawing their fire while I hit Dai with Guardian and Escort. He was down to about 130 structure and was pretty certain he'd lose the ship, but he was able to turn his solid broadside to the enemy as we continued to draw fire. He pulled away safely to repair.

The enemy fleet then, once again, started chasing me down. I did my best to pull away, but they were attacking not only my armor, stern specifically, but my masts as well. Once Dai was healthy enough to rejoin the fight, he intercepted me, drawing aggro along with Frenchie.

The cavalry then arrived, drawing the enemy fleet into broadsides with fresh ships as Dai and I continued to hammer on a particularly nasty rat off our starboard beam. Once he was dealt with, it was a simple matter of mopping up.

One thing that did help was McLain boarded an enemy, and they seemed to stop firing, or at least become less aggressive.

The Result:
We took the fleet, and a whole lot of high quality blue fittings with it. More importantly, we didn't lose a single ship, despite the troubles we had.

Lessons Learned:
1. 12 ship, lev 65 maneuvering fleets are tough. Don't attack one unless you've got your group together and on the same page.

2. Drawing aggression fire from the enemy is a great way to watch the back of other captains.

3. Boarding, in some instances I've seen, seems to take the wind out of the enemy.

Sherrin adds:

4. If you are the big boat, always know which direction you need to sail to find your 'out'. Taking the ten minutes to get back in shape is better than the hours needed to replace the boat. The little ones can get into trouble fast and exit trouble fast. 3rds don't have that luxury.

5. Valiants bleed sails, lots of sails.

6. Captains reinforcing can develop a good picture for those engaged. Call out threats so the commander may address them in turn. A closely engaged leader may not have the oppertunity to see the whole of the current fight.