Gimmie Shelter.........A Naval Scenario

       At last we return to the gaming table! Huzzah! We rejoin the ongoing conflict in Epicurea to find that the Ferndalians had taken advantage of the disruption caused by the plague to isolate the island of Pinatella with an eye to starving it into submission. Late word of this came to the ears of Louis the Ravenous and he demanded that action be taken forthwith. Two galleons were prepared and loaded with extra troops and supplies and sent off to rescue Pinatella. As they approached the island they were spotted by the Ferndalian blockade squadron and a bitter battle ensued. we played the game using the "Ship of the Line"/"Wooden Ships and Iron Men" rules system with modifications for free movement, the scale difference and the earlier period. We used my fleet of 1/350th scale ships from Zvezda for the game, you can see how I built these over on my regular gaming blog Anton's Wargame Blog.

the scenario, the Freedonian squadron (lower right of the picture) sails resolutely onward while the Ferndalian squadron hurries to engage the enemy outside of the range of the fort's guns

 

Freedonian ships; (l to r) The San Andreas and the San Martin

 

Ferndalian ships; (l to r) the Coq au Vin, the Quiche Lorraine and the frigate Dijon

 

being that this was the first game in a long while I was fully prepared

 

the Ferndalians opened their formation to allow each ship

 to move at its best speed on the broad reach

 

while the Freedonians, carrying full sail struggled to work their way upwind

 

the Ferndalians split their forces, doubtless looking to 

gain a raking position regardless of which way the Freedonians turned

 

as the squadrons closed the Dijon raced ahead

 as everyone dropped full sail to battlesail

 

the next move found the Dijon raking the San Andreas

 

after another turn the fire was general with the San Martin opening on the Quiche Lorraine and the San Andreas firing at the Dijon, all of the Ferndalian ships fired at the San Andreas, crippling her and causing her to strike with her entire forward flotation destroyed

 

game-note: smoke was left on the firing ships until they had reloaded

next move saw the San Martin frantically maneuvering to avoid the wreck of the San Andreas but still getting a shot off at the  Coq au Vin, the other ships were busy reloading (or sinking!)

 

the following turn the Coq au Vin got her revenge 

firing a broadside into the stern of the San Martin 

the San Martin was returning to full sail

 

now began a race to the island as the Ferndalians hurried to reset full sail 

and catch the San Martin before she could deliver the crucial supplies

 

the San Martin had a good head start

 

but the faster Ferndalians began to close as they now had full sails up

 

but sooner or later the San Marti would have to make that fateful move

 and turn to windward to gain the harbor entrance

 

carefully waiting to the last moment the San Martin made the turn

 with just enough of an angle to windward to make the port

 

the Ferndalians were delighted to see the San Martin slow down as she clawed her way to windward this was their chance to close the gap

 

like circling wolves they ran down toward the San Martin

 

with safety nearly within reach it became clear that the

 San Martin was going to have to fight for every inch of the way

 

the Dijon opened fire, 

the San Martin returned fire hoping to finally sink the annoying little frigate

 

then the Coq au Vin slipped alongside and added to the damage

 

the San Martin gave her a sharp reply the next move, 

but the other Ferndalian ships continued to make headway at cutting the San Martin off

 

by staying to lee side of the San Martin they were slowing knocking out her guns

  and blocking the way to the island

 

so close, and yet, so far

 

the faster-loading small guns of the Dijon lacked killing power, 

but they kept picking away at the San Martin all the same

 

and when the Coq au Vin and the Quiche Lorraine managed to get good broadsides

 (a stern-rake from the Quiche Lorraine) the San Martin really began to suffer

 

but, at last, the fight had moved within range of the forts 

the guns opened fire with some punishment for the cheeky Dijon

meanwhile the Coq au Vin and the San Martin exchanged unpleasantness

 

the upshot of this turn was the outright sinking of the Dijon and the mutual crippling of the San Martin and the Coq au Vin, this left the Quiche Lorraine as the only functional vessel in the area

 

the Quiche Lorraine escaped almost untouched

 

the Dijon was doing fine until the last couple of turns, then well.....

 

 the Coq au Vin was in it from the beginning but the damage 

was widely spread around, allowing her to stay afloat until the end

 

the poor San Andreas was virtually untouched except for the loss of forward buoyancy 

 

the last stern-rake effectively  finished the San Martin's chances of making it into harbor

       Pretty much a disaster for the Freedonians, one of their new "Great Galleons" wrecked and another galleon captured (the Quiche Lorraine took the San Andreas in-tow after the battle). Fortunately the rowers from Pinatella were able to tow the wrecks of the San Martin and Coq au Vin into the harbor for off-loading so the island is saved. They also rescued the crews of the the Dijon and Coq au Vin. It remains to be seen if either of the ships in harbor are able to be repaired.

       Much thanks to Rich Uncle Pat and Trunkmonkey for joining me for this game. We managed to play to a conclusion in just under two hours, credit goes to them for staying focused and keeping things moving.