Black Seas: Pitched Sea Battle!

 

This Thursday at the uni Caesar and I arranged to play Black Seas - we plumped for Scenario 12 - Pitched Sea Battle, with just under 2,000 points each.

Caesar brought his very trim and ship shape Royal Navy fleet of 2 x 1st Rates and 4 x 3rd Rates, above on the left, or south of the table. I brought a Combined Fleet of 2 Spanish 1st Rates, 2 Spanish 3rd Rates, and a French 3rd Rate, over on the left, or north.

Caesar is still rigging some of his lovely models, but the unrigged ones handily showed which were up gunned with extra Carronade smashers!

Deployment was by alternate ship, with the stern either against the long edge of the playing area or the bows of an already deployed ship. The wind direction would come from either short edge, to be diced for...

We both ended up with 2 columns. It turned out the wind was coming from the east (Brrrr!) so my heavies, nearest the camera, formed my 'weather column'. Which was nice!

Santissima Trinidad opens the bowling at long range...gotta keep clear of those carronades!

With the second Spanish 1st Rate also finding a firing solution, and the Spanish Lee Column joining in, a blaze broke out on the Royal Navy Weather column's line middle ship!

Unfortunately for Caesar, any ship sailing close to a ship on fire itself catches fire - cue general disruption to the RN Weather column...

However, my Weather column, with 2/3s of my points, was rather unwieldy and was unlikely to bring its guns to bear for a long time as it strove to wear around....

Whereas Caesar's Weather and Lee columns combined very neatly to catch my Lee column in a vice - close range fire from death dealing carronades soon cause one of my 3rd Rates to strike!

At this point the night was wearing on so we called it there - at that point it was pretty close damage points wise, but with my Weather column off with the fairies my Lee column was looking at a world of hurt! An enjoyable and engrossing game!