Duel - 1720 - September 14 - A Duel with the Pirate Captain Billy D. Jones

Ships in Action:
ALLIES:

Captain Kyle - HMS Thorn ('Mystique' Polacre)

ENEMIES:

The Pirate Captain Billy D Jones - 'van Hoorn' Mastercraft Snow

Action Setup:
It all started when I received an urgent call for distress from some fellow British captains near Jamaica. Apparently, two of them had been jumped by a vicious wolfpack of four pirate vessels off the French port of Irish Point. Upon hearing of this, I made full sail towards their position. Upon arriving there, however, I discovered that, much to my chagrin, the battle was closed to me, and I could not enter. Those captains would, unfortunately, have to fend for themselves. However, I discovered a 'consolation prize', if you will, lurking just outside the battle. A pirate captain, one Billy D Jones, sailing a 'van Hoorn' Mastercraft Snow, had missed the battle as well. Feeling somewhat distraught at my inability to help my fellow captains already in battle, I decided that this level 50 Cutthroat would have to pay for his brothers' misdeeds!

With that, I sailed into battle against the hated pirate...

The Action Itself:
Upon entering the battle, it soon became clear that neither of our vessels had a particular advantage in strength or firepower. However, being that I was sailing a polacre, I very clearly had the advantage in maneuverability. Also, as my vessel was far larger than the pirate's little snow, I handily outnumbered him in crew, as well. Given these disadvantages, the pirate's objective soon became clear - to destroy my rigging, and thus negate my advantage. He quickly loaded bar shot, and gleefully took to ripping my sails and riggin to shreds. Seeing this, I decided that a protracted engagement would ultimately end in disaster for me, as he would undoubtedly be able to destroy my rigging faster than my men could repair it. I therefore had the men load bronze shot, in an effort to dispatch the enemy vessel as fast as possible. We opened fire, and quickly saw the fruits of our own labor, as large gashes of broken and splintered wood opened up on the sides of his hull. We continued in this matter for some time, he battering away at my rigging, I battering away at his hull. Despite the mast braces and emergency repairs, however, my rigging soon started to fail with increasing severity. Just as things started looking worrisome, the pirate captain made a fortuitous mistake! In one of his efforts to cross behind me and fire at my stern, he over-estimated the maneuverability of his ship, and under-estimated my maneuverability, which was still quite good, despite my failing sails. He overshot his turn, and proceeded to ram into the side of my hull! Needless to say, this quickly halted his progress, and his ship groaned and creaked loudly as it lurched to a stop.

This was an opportunity I could not ignore. I ordered the men to cut all of our sails, and to quickly grapple the scurvy pirate dog! Now, it was a matter of numbers. Although my crew had been decimated by his merciless swivels, I still had some 200 men to his 40. The boarding action was nevertheless bloody, and his men were more than a match for even my stout Englishmen...

The Result:
...but the result was still the same: Victory! In a fight which was remarkably fair, given the state of affairs nowadays, I had emerged victorious! However, as was demonstrated at multiple points during the battle, it could easily have gone otherwise, and it was only by the intercession of merciful Providence that I managed to come out triumphant.

Lessons Learned:
Being as how this was only my second head-to-head contest with another player, I was quite pleased with how things turned out. The fight was remarkably fair to start off with, with each of our vessels having similar firepower, armor and structural strength, and so it was the perfect opportunity to test my (assumed) prowess with my unique vessel. However, as I have said, it was a mistake from the other captain which ultimately granted me victory. If the fight had continued, the outcome would have been much more in doubt.

Still, there are lessons to be learned here. First, use your vessel's strengths against your enemy's weaknesses. In this battle, I endeavored to take advantage of his lack of maneuverability by using my own vessel's against his, and while he focused on taking down my sails, I tried to use that as an opportunity to take down his structure, by far the most important deciding factor in who sinks and who stays afloat. Second, take advantage of your enemies' mistakes! History has shown that some of the most amazing victories have resulted from one side fully exploiting and taking advantage of another side's critical mistake or error in judgement. It is important to make sure that the enemy isn't making a 'mistake' on purpose, of course, in order to lure you into some kind of trap or pitfall. History is also rife with scenarios like this, where victory was achieved through convincing the other side a mistake had been made when there was none. Still, if you see your enemy making a mistake, don't be afraid to take advantage of it. It could be your key to victory, as it was for me.