Battle - 1720 - October 24 - Port Battle for Puerta de Plata

Ships in Action:
ALLIES:

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

-5 other ships, namely a Couronne MC, a Triumphant 2nd rate, 2 Valiants and a Heavy Hercules

ENEMIES:

-Spanish group consisting of 3 vessels, namely a Hercules MC, a Raa MC and a Minerva frigate.

Action Setup:
Before the battle in question, I was docked in Port Royale with the HMS Striker. I was just sitting on the dock of the bay, wasting time, when I received a summons from the admiralty to report for battle at Puerta de Plata! I accepted, of course, although I was somewhat worried about our prospects, given my experience in recent battles, as well as the early time of day.

Upon entering the battle's ready room, I noticed probably the smallest attendance I have witnessed to date for such an important engagement. Only 6 captains had shown up, enough for just one full battle group. Mind you, the Spanish are not known for putting up much of a fight, but this was still troubling. Most troubling, however, was the lack of any apparent leadership for the battle. One person had started organizing a group, but this was the extent of the organizational efforts I saw. Here was a chance to test my leadership skills, it seemed. I therefore announced myself, and started to discuss tactics with my fellow captains. The first thing I made sure to make clear was that this was the first time I would be leading such an engagement, and that I therefore welcomed and encouraged any advice or opinions on how we should go about things, both before and during the engagement. Everyone understood, and we got to work.

The first thing I realized was the remarkably heavy composition ofour little group. Out of the six captains attending, mine was the only ship that wasn't a heavy lineship or frigate. This would put me in a good position to scout ahead, which is a role I'm comfortable with, but I worried for the safety of the tall ships. I offered any of the captains attending the opportunity to leave, if they so chose, but to their great credit, all vowed to stay, and face whatever we might encounter. Realizing that there was little more we could plan out in the ready room, we waited for the battle to commence, and set sail...

The Action Itself:
Upon entering the battle, we started to take stock of the situation. We were relieved to see that only 3 Spanish captains had shown up, but as we did not know what they were sailing, we decided to proceed by the book, and not to take any chances.

We sailed around to the mouth of the port's bay, and we soon spied the Spanish ships anchored in front of the Fort. As they were sailing only medium and heavy frigates, we guessed that they intended to enter the fort and draw us into a land battle at the earliest opportunity. Still, we handled things by the book, and brought our lines to bear against their flotilla at a range of about 500 yards. To their credit, they did not immediately enter the fort, but stayed and fought, entering the fort one by one as their structure became low enough as to risk sinking. They all aimed for me, apparently intent on trying to even the odds a bit before the inevitable avatar combat. It was a brave, bold tactic, and one I likely would have advocated, had I been in their position. I survived easily, however, and as we rained iron upon their ships, they entered the fort one by one.

After destroying a nearby defense gun, we entered the fort, and began searching for the wiley Spaniards. Their assumed commander, Don Juan de Diaz, was waiting a ways inside the fort, next to 3-4 NPCs. As we shot him down and started engaging the NPCs, the other two captains made surprise attack from the rear! I saw them attacking, however, and called it out. We quickly put down the two attacking Spaniards, followed by their NPC allies, and celebrated as we waited for their timers to tick down.

The Result:
Victory! Although the odds were clearly in our favour, no earthly battle is a sure thing. A victory is still a victory, and I am quite happy that my fellow captains and I won the day. We have taken Puerta de Plata! Now, only 6 more points to go ;)

Lessons Learned:
Being as how this was the first port battle I unequivocally led, by myself, I think I learned a great deal. One thing I realized, from my experiences at Bridgetown and Port-de-Paix, was that there's no shame in turning to others for their opinions and thoughts. Indeed, taking advice from one's peers is the sign of a wise commander. At multiple points throughout the battle, I turned to my fellow captains for vital advice and information. Their help was essential, and I wonder if things would have gone as smoothly if I hadn't fielded others' opinions, and listened to their advice. The biggest thing I learned, however, was that I'll need far more time getting to know the rules and parameters of port battle mechanics before I'm fit to lead larger scale, more complicated and important port battles. However, I'll get to that point, eventually. I just need time :)

Misc.
The following is a picture of our line of battle as it approached the Spanish Fort. Ain't it a beaut?