Nymphe vs Cléopâtre, 18th June 1793

This is my first foray into age of sail miniature wargaming. After checking out several
rulesets I chose Post Captain by ODGW as it has the granular level of detail I want as I will be
playing mainly single ship or small squadron actions. There are many scenarios on the
ODGW website and I chose: scenario 6 – action of 18 June 1793, HMS Nymphe vs Cléopâtre,
as it represents a relatively evenly matched fight and there are no scenario specific rules.

I purchased the rules

as a digital
download. I printed
out the rules and
playaids, here is
everything ready to
go for my first
battle. The ship
cards fit into small
trading card sleeves
so you can mark
them with a suitable
pen.

My budget for gaming is modest and so after purchasing Post Captain I started looking
around for models to use. I came across the paper models by WarArtisan and purchased a
few to try out. The models are surprisingly easy to construct and look good on the gaming
table, the models I am using are 1/900th.

I have only made

four so far, two
frigates (for use in
this scenario), a 74
SOL and an 18-gun
brig.
I constructed the frigates first and realized afterwards that the Spankers on both ships are a
little too high.

Anyway, back to the

action… Here are
the two ship cards.
On the bottom is the
Cléopâtre, she has
four gun boxes each
side, each
representing three
12pdr long guns.
Also on her quarter
deck are some
6pdrs. The Nymphe
is similarly armed
but instead of the
small 6pdrs she has
12pdr carronades.
The Nymphe being a British ship will only take two turns to reload her broadside compared
to the French Cléopâtre’s three – the addition of the carronades and quicker reloading gives
the British an edge in firepower. However, the French ship has a larger crew and more
marines that she may be able to use to her advantage.
During the battle, there will be plenty of daylight as the fight began at 5am. The wind was
moderate from the North. The two ships began 1000 yards apart and the action began when
the French captain, Jean Mullon, decided to stand and fight.

Finally, the ships’ logs were filled in. Post Captain does not use pre-plotted movement but
the log records if a ship has trimmed her sails to speed up or slow down, any repairs
undertaken, loading of guns and crew allocation. Once the crew allocation has been filled in
it can be left alone until you lose crew or want to change something – this minimizes
excessive number shuffling.

Close up of Cléopâtre’s
crew assignment
section of the ship log.
She had 10 crew and 3
Marine factors. The
ship needed two factors
to trim the sails (for all
regular movement). For
a broadside: five to
man the four 12pdr gun
boxes and 0.5 to man
the 6pdrs. That left 2.5
spare crew factors and
the three marine
factors unallocated.
The Nymphe had a
smaller crew and had no unallocated personnel.

The starting positions:

HMS Nymphe, started
NNE of Cléopâtre, 1000
yards between them.
Here Nymphe looks
across towards its
quarry. Both ships
began in battle sail.

Ships further than 1000 yards from each other use an extended move procedure to quicken
play. When within 1000 yards, as in this engagement (just about), a tactical move system is
used. The tactical system breaks down a three-minute turn into three, one-minute phases.
These phases are named: red, white and blue. In addition, when a ship sails within 400
yards of an enemy vessel players begin rolling for initiative, modified by crew quality.
However, as the Nymphe and Cléopâtre were not yet that close, the ship with the weather
gage automatically gained the initiative. In this instance, Captain Pellew on the Nymphe had
the initiative. Pellew decided to move first.

At the start of each turn, not tactical phase, each ship rolls a D12 (the standard die used in
the game) for possible gusts and eddies that may affect an individual ship. That may cause a
ship to lose or gain a movement factor in each of the three tactical phases – possibly not so
significant in single ship duels but could make sailing a larger formation more difficult. These
rolls are kept secret from your opponent but as I was playing solo I rolled for them before
each ship’s first move of a turn.

Game turn 1 – Red tactical phase

Players start each tactical phase by recording any changes of speed in their deck logs. The
Nymphe did not wish to change, but the Cléopâtre trimmed her sails for -2 MFs, which is the
maximum allowable by ships in battle sail. This change was marked on Cléopâtre’s ship log.

Nymphe moved first, the gust and eddy roll did not indicate any unexpected increases or
decreases in speed.

Before moving a ship,

the Wind Gauge is
placed alongside
orientated with the
direction of the wind.
In this instance, the
ship’s base is
touching the ‘F’ (fast -
running) sector of the
gauge and so the ship
uses the ‘F’
movement gauge.
The game uses three
movement gauges,
‘S’, ‘M’ and ‘F’ (slow,
medium & fast).
Nymphe’s ship card shows that she has 6 movement factors under battle sail. (I am using
Perspex bases and have marked a line to show the position of the main mast – this helps my
accuracy with measuring.)

In addition, the Nymphe wished to turn to starboard. There are three turn gauges
corresponding to the ‘S’, ‘M’ & ‘F’ on the wind gauge. So the Nymphe will use the ‘F’ turn
gauge. Before a ship can significantly turn she needs to ‘advance’, this reflects the forward
distance travelled before the rudder overcomes the ship’s inertia and begins to turn her. For
a 5th rate ships, which both of these frigates are, it takes a 1/3 of their movement to
‘advance’ before they start turning. With 6MF, the Nymphe would have to move 2 MP
forward before turning. When turning, a ship needs its crew on deck and so a turning ship
may not reload guns or change the sail state in the same phase.

The turn gauge is marked in movement factors. The dark blue section represents minor
turns which a ship may make without any advance and without the need of additional crew.

Nymphe used a
minor turn and so
does not need to
advance before
turning…

Captain Jean Mullon aboard the Cléopâtre had decided to fight and so had ordered her sails
to be trimmed to reduce speed, this was noted on the ship’s log. The Wind Gauge indicated
she will use the ‘M’ movement gauge and moved forward 5 MF.

End of Red tactical phase. I will skip over the following few phases until the ships move
within 400 yards of each other.

Game turn 3 – Red phase

The ships were now within 400 yards of each other. The Nymphe had been closing quickly,
whereas the Cléopâtre had slowed further and turned into the wind as far as she was able.

Nymphe continued
to close.
The Wind Gauge
has a flat edge that
indicates the
closest a ship can
sail into the wind.
There are separate
gauges for Square
Rigged and Fore &
Aft Rigged ships. In
addition, the
Nymphe is classed
as ‘crank’ which
makes moving into
the wind (pointing)
and tacking more
difficult. Here you
can see Cléopâtre sailing as close to the wind as she can – any further and she would have
to tack.

As moving within 400 yards of each other coincided with the start of a new turn, both ships
could adjust their speeds. The Nymph maintained her maximum speed whilst the slow-
moving Cléopâtre increased to 5 MF.

Due to their proximity they now had to roll for initiative, as both sides had regular crews
there were no modifiers. Pellew aboard the Nymphe won the initiative and decided to let
Cléopâtre move first, in case she turned away. Captain Mullon decided to fire at long range
at the approaching British ship.

Cléopâtre checks
that the Nymphe is
in her broadside –
which she clearly
was.
Here is the cannon table, the range is just over 300 yards. The pen indicates the column to
use, in this case 12pdrs against 5th rate ships. Normally a 1 would need to be rolled but for
initial broadsides you move down 1 row, so the long guns will hit on a 1 or 2. The 6pdrs
against a 5th rate – shows ½. The ½ indicates that dice for only half the number of guns are
rolled, as this is
rounded down then
they can have no
effect – so they
won’t be fired. One
the chart you can
see some results
are marked ‘PRG’
that shows that the
shot could only
effect: personnel,
rigging or gun –
they lack to power
to damage the hull.

So the Cléopâtre will rolled four dice (because of the four gun boxes) and before rolling had
to decide whether to fire on the up or down roll. The captain decides to roll on the up roll
which will have more chance of damaging the rigging.

Of the four dice, one scores a hit.

To determine
damage the single
hit is rolled on the
damage table. Note
on the left the
numbering for up
or down roll results.
A seven is rolled
and so the first hit
of the game causes
one rigging hit,
which is recorded
on the Nymphe’s
ship card.

On Cléopâtre’s deck log her Larboard broadside is marked as fired in the red phase. I also
noted down next to it that the 6pdrs are still available to fire.
Nymphe declares she
is turning and has to
move at least 2MF
forward before she
can do so, in fact she
moves four before
turning. Now within
200 yards of the
Cléopâtre she fired
her entire broadside
on the down roll –
looking to score hull
hits. She manages to
score 3 hits, causing a
rigging, upper gun (a
6pdr) and a hull
damage. Hull damage in the game represents damage to an area of the hull that might lead
to flooding. Pretty fine shooting. Nymphe marks her broadside as fired on her deck log.

The real fighting was about to begin…

Game turn three – White phase

Cléopâtre released more sail and increased her speed to her maximum of 7. Both players
again rolled for initiative – it is rolled each tactical phase. Nymphe won it again a lets the
French ship move first. Cléopâtre was using the slow movement gauge as she was sailing
close to the wind. She also knew it would take her a phase longer to reload her guns than
the Nymphe. She decided to turn to starboard to swing around to get her other broadside in
arc. Moving at 7 MF she advanced forward 2.5 MF (actually 2.33 rounded to 2.5). After
moving forward, she turned for the remaining 4½ MF. As she was turning she couldn’t start
reloading her guns this phase as the crew were needed on deck.

The Wind gauge indicated that the Nymphe now needed to use the ‘M’ movement gauge,
she followed the movement of the Cléopâtre by turning to starboard.

The Nymphe
continued to track
the Cléopâtre

Game turn three – Blue phase

Both ships maintained their speed and once again Pellew on the Nymphe gained the
initiative. He waited to see what the French ship would do first. The Cléopâtre was reaching
with the wind (‘S’ gauge) and as she was still turning, continued to do so without having to
advance. She swung hard about to starboard and finished ‘pointing’ into the wind, her
starboard broadside facing the Nymphe. The Nymphe was running with the wind but also
still turning and continued to do so. At the end of the British movement the two ships were
at their closest.
Cléopâtre declared
she was firing,
Nymphe checked her
broadside arc and
then announces she
was returning fire –
the resolution of both
broadsides would be
simultaneous.

The ships exchange

broadsides.
Cléopâtre firing on the up roll caused a hit on Nymphe’s ‘yard + rigging’. This caused one
rigging damage and the loss of the main T’gallant (decided randomly). She marked her
broadside has been fired on her ship log.

Nymphe’s Ship
Card. The card
shows the
damaged taken so
far. In the top right
you can see the
rigging boxes, 12 in
all. However, the
first three are
green, when these
are lost the rigging
is more vulnerable
due to added strain
and may cause a
section of rigging to
fail. Above the ship
graphic the sails are represented. The black outlined sails show battle sails, adding up the
numbers in each sail gives you the MF of the ship. The blue outlined sails are used when
under easy sail and the green full sail. The main top gallant is crossed off and so if the ship
changed to easy sail it would not get the ‘1’ MF show in the crossed out box.

The Nymphe resolved her fire but her broadside fell short – the broadside fired was marked
on her log.

The blue phase marks the end of the turn. Next was the repair phase. Captain Pellew was
concern at the state of his rigging. Each repair phase a ship may send repair teams to
attempt repairs on a rigging and one other damaged box. Rigging repairs take an entire turn
and are not guaranteed to be successful, they also require a crew factor for each repair
team. Pellew withdrew two crew factors from manning her guns to attempt two rigging
repairs – he replaces the carronade crew with marines, who are not as efficient as it takes
two marines to replace a single crew factor. One of the long guns will not be manned and so
will not be able to be reloaded. The smaller crew on the Nymphe was already being
stretched.
Nymphe crew assignment –
second column, from top to
bottom: 2 crew to trim the sails,
4 crew to man the long guns
(each 12pdr requires 1.25 crew,
so only three gun boxes can be
manned), both marine factors
are manning the carronades
(which only require a half crew
factor each – marines count as
½ crew factors when manning
guns), two crew are repairing
the rigging (this is recorded in a
repair space above what you
can see), there were no spare
crew or marines.

As Cléopâtre had a larger crew, Captain Mullon sent crew to repair a rigging and a hull box
and was still able to man all the guns and leave the marines free.

Game turn 4 – Red phase

Cléopâtre slowed down by 2 MF. Once again, the British won the initiative and lets the
French ship move first. The French ship was beating into the wind. As she needed to reload
her guns she only performed a minor turn and noted in her ship log she had started
reloading her starboard broadside with roundshot. The Nymphe caught a gust which
propelled her an additional MF forward. Her crew also begun reloading roundshot and so
only made a minor turn.

Both ships were

now within 100
yards of each
other.
Game turn 4 – white phase
With the gusts forcing her to pick up speed, Nymphe trimmed her sails and reduced her
speed by 2 MF, whilst Cléopâtre put on more sail to her maximum of 7 MF.

At last the French gained the initiative and took it. The Wind Gauge indicated that Cléopâtre
would using the ‘M’ movement gauge. She needed to turn away from the Nymphe as the
British will have her broadside ready next turn – a turn quicker than her French crew. She
can’t afford to take the crew away from reloading and so she moved forward taking only a
minor turn. Pellew chased the French ship knowing that his well-drilled crew would have
their guns ready to fire next phase.

Nymphe drew
level with the
Cléopâtre as she
completed
reloading her
broadside.

Game turn 4 – blue phase

Nymphe unfurled as much sail as she could to gain an extra 2 MF, which with the gust will
allow her to match the speed of the Cléopâtre. Pellew gained the advantage and closed on
the reloading French ship. At 50 yards she opened fire. With a gun box down, as it was not
manned, she scored 2 hits on the down roll, causing a crew and rigging hit (I can’t find
anything in the rules that state you must resolve the loss of the crew immediately, so I
assume it will be resolved at the end of the turn). As the range was within 100 yards, the
marines on board the Cléopâtre opened fire with their muskets which caused a half casualty
on the British marines manning the carronades. Because the British marines were manning
the guns they could not return the volley.

The Cléopâtre maintained pace with the British ship knowing it could fire next phase.

End of turn 4. Repair phase. Repairs are resolved by the roll of a die, a rigging or hull repair
needs a 1-6 on a D12 to be successful. The French crew repaired a rigging and hull box. The
British crew failed to repair either of their two rigging hits – the damage must have been
more extensive than they first realized.
Captain Pellew left the two crew units repairing the rigging, but due to the loss of half a
marine unit could only man one of the two carronades on each broadside. Captain Mullon
kept only one crew unit running repairs on the rigging due to the loss of a crew unit.

Game turn 5 – red phase

Both ships maintained maximum speed and as both were reaching in the wind they would
both move swiftly.. Cléopâtre gained the initiative and forced the Nymphe to move first,
waiting for the best chance to fire her just loaded broadside. Pellew wanted to reload and
so did little to evade Cléopâtre’s broadside, apart from making a minor turn away to
increase the range a little. Sure enough Nymphe’s maneuver was interrupted by fire from
the Cléopâtre. She fired once again on the up roll.

The larboard side 6pdrs were out of action so the 12pdrs fired and scored two hits – the
French gunnery was proving very accurate! The Nymphs hull was breached below the
waterline and the starboard rear carronade was hit.

The ships were also at maximum musket range – 100 yards. The French marines failed to hit
and once again the British marines were too busy to return fire.

Cléopâtre (on the

right) was proving to
be the more effective
with her cannon.

Cléopâtre turned a little downwind to put some distance between her and the British whilst
she reloaded her guns.

Game turn 5 – white phase

Again both ships maintained maximum sail. Nymphe gained the initiative and despite
coming off worse from the initial exchanges of shot needed to close to gain the greatest
benefit for her speed of reload – and hopefully just out-fire the French.

After her last movement Nymphe had turned out of a reaching position and was in danger
of losing contact with the Cléopâtre. She advanced and turned to chase the French ship.
Cléopâtre maintained a relatively straight course and began reloading her starboard
broadside.
Cléopâtre had
managed to keep
her distance from
the Nymphe and
somewhat nullify
the British ship’s
advantage in
reloading times.

Game turn 5 – blue phase

Cléopâtre realized that the Nymphe could not close the distance timed some sail to
maintain their current separation.

Nymphe found herself unable to catchup with Cléopâtre and so had to bide her time until
the French ship had reloaded and come about.

End of the turn repair phase and this time the British crews were successful and repaired
both their rigging hits, the French repaired their last rigging hit.

Pellew sent his two repair teams back to the guns and released the marines so they could
engage the Cléopâtre when necessary. Mullon sent a repair crew to start repairing the
damaged 6 pdr – a task that would take at least three game turns.

Game turn 6 – red phase

The British win the initiative and wait to see if the Cléopâtre is ready to turn into them. The
French ship is not as she completes the reloading of her starboard broadside. Nymphe had
completed the reloading of her larboard broadside and begins to reload her starboard.

As the Cléopâtre trimmed her

sails a little last turn the British
ship begins slowly to close the
gap between them.

Despite getting the better of the

initial exchanges the Cléopâtre
still faces the very real problem
of how to engage a ship who can
fire far more rapidly than she
could?
Game turn 6 – white phase
The French increase her sail a little to maintain the current distance between the ships. It
was clear to the British captain Pellew that the Cléopâtre did not intend to turn until she
had reloaded both her broadsides…

We will temporarily leave the action there and return in a few phases when the Cléopâtre
turns to engage the Nymphe once more…

We rejoin the action on turn 7 at the start of the blue phase. Cléopâtre had reloaded both
her broadsides and had swung around to starboard pointing into the wind, the Nymphe was
close on her heels.

Cléopâtre turned to fight…

Game turn seven – Blue phase

Cléopâtre, now beating into the wind, trimmed her sail for an additional 1MP, so was
moving at her maximum of 7, albeit on the ‘S’ movement gauge. Nymphe slowed to 4MF as
she was reaching and closing rapidly.

Cléopâtre won the initiative and allowed the British ship to come on to her, which it duly
did. Both captains withheld their fire in anticipation of a closer and better shot. Cléopâtre,
making as much speed as she
could whilst beating, pulled in
front of the Nymphe and
opened fire.

Pellew was prepared to take

fire in order to get the best
possible shot.
Cléopâtre fired on the up roll, scoring a single hit, which caused two rigging hits on the
British frigate. Captain Pellew was relieved he had prioritized repairing rigging in previous
turns.

Three French marine factors fired at the Nymphe but this time a the British marines were
able to reply as they were no longer manning the carronades – neither side hit anyone.

In the repair phase, Pellew decide not to attempt more repairs as he wanted all his guns
manned. It had been three turns since the repair crews on the Cléopâtre had begun
repairing the larboard 6pdrs and so they rolled for repair. They needed a 1 or 2 on a D12 to
succeed, unsurprisingly they did not do so. As the French ship still had surplus crew the
repair continued.

Game turn eight – Red phase.

Both ships maintained their current speeds: Nymphe was only on 4 MF but was using the ‘F’
gauge, Cléopâtre was on 7 MF but was using the ‘S’ gauge.

Nymphe won the initiative, but also caught an eddy which reduced her speed by 1 for the
rest of the turn. She made a minor turn to starboard and sailed forward until she felt she
had the optimum shot and fired on the up-roll. The range was now less than 50 yards,
Nymphe had already lost a gun section from her larboard broadside so only rolled three dice
and two for the carronades. She scored a single hit which knocked out Cléopâtre’s other
6pdr battery. The marines on both sides exchanged fire, with the French eliminating a
British crew factor. The Nymphe’s crew assignment table was quickly consulted and the
crew lost meant that the ships carronades were now no longer manned.

Cléopâtre, was now very close to the Nymphe and had to make sure she avoided a
‘proximity’ collision. Ships within 25 yards of each other could collide. Cléopâtre, believing
she was getting the better of the broadside exchanges, decided to stay with the Nymphe
and see if her luck would hold. She made a minor turn and ran parallel to the British ship,
whilst reloading her broadside.

Cléopâtre decided to
stand toe-to-toe
with the Nymphe as
she believed she was
gaining the upper
hand.
Game turn eight – White phase.
Nymphe released as much sail as she could under her battle sail state and increased her
speed to 6, but she was still caught in an eddy which reduced it back down to 5 MF.
Cléopâtre reduced her sail by her most her topmen could manage.

Cléopâtre gained the initiative and waited for the Nymphe to move first. By making the
British move first there was no chance that she would be able to swing across behind them.
Nymphe sailed forward with a very slight adjustment so she was in no danger of fouling the
French frigate.

Cléopâtre decided to back her sails to slow her further. Backing sails is a quick way to
temporarily reducing speed by 2MF, it can only be used when the wind is forward of the
amidships. This maneuver does not require her to stop reloading her guns.

It was very close but

the wind is just
coming from
forward of
amidships.

This maneuver kept the Cléopâtre parallel to the Nymphe.

Both ships were

now sailing parallel
to each other.
Game turn eight – Blue phase.
Cléopâtre increased her sail a little as both ships maintained a parallel course as they
reloaded ready to fire next phase – the French being able to fire at the same time as the
British as they fired and started reloading a turn earlier.

In the repair phase the French finally managed to repair their 6pdrs – must have taken time
to repair the gun carriage.

Game turn nine – Red phase

Both ships had the wind amidships and attempted to match each other’s speed. The
Nymphe was almost blanketing the wind from Cléopâtre but a careful check revealed that
not quite 50% of the French frigate was being blanketed by the British frigate. If 50% or
more of Cléopâtre had been blanketed she would have lost a 1MF.

Nymphe gained the initiative but also was caught in another eddy reducing her speed by 1
MF. Nymphe moved forward 2 MF and as the range was still less than 50 yards she fired her
broadside, to which Cléopâtre replied by firing her own. The British fired on the up and the
French on the down roll.

Even with no carronades, Nymphe secured two hits. One was on the 6pdrs and the other
was a critical hit. A roll on the critical hit table revealed that the Jib Boom was hit! The jib
was damaged, an additional 4 rigging boxes were crossed out and the foremast was sprung!
The loss of the jib reduced the maximum battle sail speed of the Cléopâtre by 1. The sprung
foremast was now in danger of breaking – and would need to checked for each repair phase
until enough rigging damage was repaired. Captain Mullon had the opportunity to
immediately reduce the ‘press of sail’ on the sprung foremast but that would have further
reduced Cléopâtre’s speed, so he decided not to do so, a mistake as it turned out! If that
was not bad enough all her green rigging boxes had been damaged so other masts and
rigging were in danger of further damage.

French return fire disabled a British carronade battery.

Both sides’ marines exchanged fire, with the Nymphe losing a crew factor. British fire was
ineffective. Pellew eliminated the crew manning one of the 12pdr batteries – this would not
be too significant as long as she kept the Cléopâtre to her larboard as she had already lost a
gun box there.

Mullon was going to stay and trade shots with the

Nymphe but after the loss of the jib he decided to
turn away to attempt repairs, although at a
slower speed than she was at previously.

Cléopâtre ship card after receiving her critical hit.

Her jib and sail is crossed through reducing her
battle sail speed by 1. Her foremast was
vulnerable and marked with a ‘S’ for sprung. Also
4 of her 12 rigging boxes had gone!
Captain Mullon was
no longer prepared
to trade shots and so
turned away
downwind.

Game turn 9 – White phase

Nymphe was still caught in her eddy and tried to maintain her maximum speed. Cléopâtre
wishing to get as much open water between her and the British trimmed her sails to her
new maximum speed of 6 MF.

Cléopâtre won the initiative and decided to move first. She made a minor turn away from
the Nymphe and began reloading. Nymphe followed Cléopâtre, but due to the eddy lost a
little ground.

Nymphe, caught in
an eddy, saw
Cléopâtre gain a
ship’s length on her.

Game turn 9 – Blue phase

Both ships maintained their maximum speed with the Nymphe still penalized by the eddy.
Nymphe won the initiative and let the French ship move first so she could shadow her. Both
ships were now reaching with the wind. Cléopâtre turned to run with the wind to gain some
distance on the much faster reloading British frigate. Nymphe turned and followed but
made sure she was still reaching with the wind in order to try and catch her prey.

Cléopâtre had pulled

away from Nymphe
but at the price of
now running with the
wind.

Repair phase. First Cléopâtre’s sprung foremast needed checking. This is achieved by rolling
on the ‘sprung table’. There are modifiers for the ship’s sail state and a +1 because the sails
on the foremast were not ‘loosed’. An 8+ and the mast would fall. A 6 was rolled and the
mast held!

Mullon ordered a crew factor to attempt repair on the damaged rigging. He withdrew the
0.5 crew factor now uselessly manning the damaged 6pdrs. He kept 2 crew in surplus to
cover any casualties that may occur in the upcoming turn.

Pellew had more difficult decisions. So far, he had lost 2 crew factors and half a marine
factor. He had little capacity to make repairs, and some of his guns were already unmanned.

Game turn 10 – Red phase

As this was the 10th game turn a weather check was made. The wind remained constant but
the weather drew in a little and visibility reduced from 20,000 yards to 12,000 yards which
would have no effect on the current battle.

Both ships kept pace with each other, with the British gaining the first initiative of the new
turn. Then once again the British frigate was caught in an eddy – that was the third time in
three turns, considering it can only occur on a roll of 1 or 2 on a D12, Pellew was quite right
to curse his luck! Despite the lack of wind, the Nymphe had her broadside reloaded and was
reaching with the wind. She drew up alongside Cléopâtre and fired her broadside, this time
on the up roll to try and cause more damage on the French ship’s rigging. At a range of
under 50 yards, but with a 12pdr battery down and the carronades not manned, she caused
only a single hit, and knocked out the recently repaired French 6pdrs. Cléopâtre turned to
larboard to avoid a collision.
 Cléopâtre tried to
open the distance as
once again as the
Nymphe was caught
in an eddy. Her
starboard broadside
would be reloaded
by next phase.

Game turn 10 – White phase

No changes of speed were made by either ship. Cléopâtre grabbed the initiative and as she
had a fully loaded broadside allowed the British to come on to her. Cléopâtre opened fire on
the Nymphe as she passed. The range was a little over 50 yards but no cannon hit their mark
– well I assume some did but they did not penetrate the hull and/or caused very minor
casualties or rigging damage. Nymphe, after passing Cléopâtre, pulled hard around to
larboard, trying to force the French ship to close haul to the wind with her damaged jib.

Nymphe tried to
force Cléopâtre, in
the foreground, to
close haul to the
wind…

Mullon considered his options, the Cléopâtre was currently reaching which meant there was
not enough space to turn behind the British frigate. However, Pellew had left just enough
space for Cléopâtre to turn and pass in front of him.
 Cléopâtre squeezed
through the gap left
by the Nymphe.

Game turn 10 – Blue phase

Neither ship wished to slow. Cléopâtre grabbed the initiative and sailed straight ahead.
Pellew saw an opportunity to try and bring his undamaged starboard broadside to bear.
Nymphe closed and turned to starboard trying to line up a raking opportunity but could not
quite get across the French frigate.

Nymphe could not

turn any further into
the wind to get a
raking shot.

Repair phase and disaster struck for the Cléopâtre as she failed her sprung mast roll and the
foremast collapsed! The loss of the foremast was a serious blow to the Cléopâtre, it had the
following effects:
• The sails on the foremast could no longer provide MF.
• The mast in front of it, the main mast, became sprung.
• The fallen mast obstructed the forward half of its starboard (downwind) guns.
• Because the whole mast had fallen it caused a drag of -3 MF, pivoting the ship
downwind until the wreckage was cut away.
In addition, the loss of a foremast shifted the centre of gravity of the ship to aft and caused
the bow to tend upwind. So when turning downwind double MFs would be required, also no
tacking and she could only turn slightly less than 900 to the wind.

The Cléopâtre found herself in a bad way – Captain Mullon ordered the sails on the main
mast to be ’loosed’ and with the loss of all the MF found herself temporarily adrift.

The fallen and dragging

mast.

Thankfully the rigging check for having all three green rigging boxes damaged was passed.
Despite the fallen mast, the crew repairing the rigging on the Cléopâtre continued their
work. They managed to patch one section of rigging but that still left all of the three green
rigging boxes crossed out and so the ship was still in danger of losing more rigging and
masts. The repair crew was left to continue the repairs. A crew was dispatched to try and
cut the fallen mast free, their success would be determined next turn.

Game turn 11 – Red phase

Nymphe began to pull in sail in order to slow her down as she did not want to overshoot the
stricken Cléopâtre. Cléopâtre won the initiative but could do little but continue reloading
and hacking at the rigging of the fallen mast in order to free the ship of the drag.

A drifting ship is moved downwind at a rate of half the wind speed using the ‘S’ movement
gauge in MF. The current wind speed was Force 4 (moderate) and so Cléopâtre drifted 2MF
and turned her bow one turning arc into the wind (this happens for each even numbered
MF of drift.

Nymphe, free from eddies a last, swung alongside the French frigate to its larboard side.
Cléopâtre had her larboard broadside loaded and so both ships exchanged broadsides. The
range was 75 yards. The British ship landed a hit on a battery of French 12pdrs. Cléopâtre’s
reply also knocked out a 12pdr battery. At 75 yards, no marines manage to land a hit.
Broadsides were
exchanged.

Game turn 11 – White phase

Nymphe won the initiative and not wanting to lose contact with the Cléopâtre reduced her
speed further to just 2 MF. She made a minor turn and the crew busied themselves with
reloading - with Pellew calling for double shot! This would take an additional turn to prepare
but it was clear the Cléopâtre wasn’t going anywhere in a hurry. Cléopâtre could do little
but continue drifting.

Game turn 11 – Blue phase

Nymphe trimmed her sails so she had only a single MF. The British won the initiative and
crept forward, the drifting Cléopâtre continued to swing her bow into the wind.

The all-important repair phase came around. First, Cléopâtre needed to make a rigging
check as she had all her green rigging boxes crossed out. Passing a rigging check depends on
how many undamaged rigging boxes as ship has remaining. The Cléopâtre had 9 left, and so
a roll equal or less than 9 would see her pass the check. However, the higher over 9 rolled
would lead to increasingly worse consequences. The French frigate passed the rigging check.

Next was a check on the sprung main mast. As the sails on the main mast had been ‘loosed’
then any number less than 9 would see the mast hold. The mast held on a roll of a 6. Finally,
the cutting away of the fallen foremast was attempted, with a regular crew there is a 50% of
success each turn. The crew succeeded and the fallen foremast drifted away.

The crew of the Cléopâtre managed to repair another rigging box, meaning there was now
an undamaged green rigging box. That secured the main mast so it was no longer in danger
of falling and no further rigging checks would be needed. Captain Mullon, with crew to
spare, left the topmen repairing the rigging. On the Nymphe, a marine section was sent to
man one of the carronade batteries, leaving only a ½ marine section to fire upon the French
ship.
Game turn 12 – Red phase
Although Cléopâtre had managed to cut away her fallen mast see was pointing into the
wind and with no jib or foremast she was ‘in irons.’ Nymphe trimmed her sails for more
speed to 3 MF.

Nymphe won the initiative and decided to act first. Her double-shotted starboard broadside
would be ready next phase and so she wanted to close as much as possible on the still
drifting French frigate. She began to swing across the front of the Cléopâtre.

Cléopâtre was in irons. The ‘in irons’ rules are in the tacking section. To escape from ‘in
irons’ they states it is a four phase process, as when you are ‘in irons’ after a failed tack you
are facing directly into the wind. In this instance it will only take a single phase before
Cléopâtre’s sails caught the wind.

Cléopâtre on the left

had drifted and
turned her bow-
next phase she could
catch the wind and
start moving under
her own sail.

Game turn 12 – White phase

Captain Pellew clearly saw the wind beginning the fill the sails of the Cléopâtre but as he
was reaching with the wind he felt he had enough speed to kept her where he wanted her.
Cléopâtre tightened her rigging on her main mast now it was secure and began to make way
at a speed of 2 MF.

Nymphe won the initiative. She swung around in front of Cléopâtre and at a range of less
than 50 yards unloaded her double-shotted cannons into her hull (fired on the down roll).
She scored two hits, one of them being on an even number and because of the double-shot
caused two damage instead of just one. Two hull and a hit on the already damaged upper
deck 6pdrs was taken by the Cléopâtre.

Captain Mullon saw little chance in out running the Nymphe, but as the British Frigate had
turned in front of her, he saw a chance to try and collide with her and possibly win a
boarding action with his more numerous crew. Cléopâtre could still not quite make physical
contact but sailed within 25 yards, so there was a chance of a proximity collision. Mullon
declared a ramming attempt and so he had to roll greater than Pellew, which he failed to do
and so a collision and consequent fouling was avoided.

The captain of the

Cléopâtre chanced
his luck and tried
colliding with the
Nymphe.

Game turn 12 – Blue phase

Cléopâtre continued to accelerate as the wind filled her remaining sails. Nymphe did the
same realising her proximity to the French Frigate was not in her favour. Fortunately for the
Nymphe she won the initiative and managed to move away from Cléopâtre before the
French captain tried to ram her again.

Cléopâtre sailed due east to keep her stronger starboard broadside facing the British ship.

Nymphe sailing away

from the Cléopâtre to
prevent any more collision
or fouling opportunities.

Neither side had an rigging checks to make and the French repaired another rigging hit. As
the thought had now entered into Captain Mullon’s mind he assembled a boarding party of
two crew and a marine, just in case they got the opportunity to board the British Frigate.
Game turn 13 – Red phase
Cléopâtre was already at maximum speed under her damaged battle sail of 4 MF. Nymphe
maintained her speed of 5 MF.

Cléopâtre won the initiative but unsure of what the British planned allowed them to act
first. The Nymphe advanced 2 MF and turned hard to larboard. Cléopâtre with her missing
foremast had difficulty turning downwind but still did so after advancing 2 MF. At the end of
Cléopâtre’s movement Nymphe opened fire.

Nymphe wanted to
keep her range from
the Cléopâtre and
was content to take
longer range shots.

The firing from the Nymphe was good causing the Cléopâtre to lose a crew and a ship’s
boat. Captain Mullon took the crew loss from his boarding party as making contact with the
British ship looked unlikely at present.

I will leave the battle there for now and resume in a few turns where another critical hit,
this time on the Nymphe, changed the battle again…

For several turns Nymphe had kept her distance and had managed to reduce Cléopâtre’s
hull to 5 hull boxes from long range firing. As Cléopâtre had lost over a 1/3 of her hull boxes
Captain Mullon aboard the Cléopâtre had already had to make a morale check, which could
have led to a possible striking of her colours, however the French captain held his nerve.

Nymphe had total control of the battle and was keeping downwind of the Cléopâtre,
preventing her from escaping. I really didn’t think that there was much Cléopâtre could do
and was expecting her to fail her morale as some point and strike, when the following
happened…

Nymph had been keeping her distance and had just turned to point into the wind in order
not to prevent the distance between the ships open up too much. Cléopâtre had been
keeping up her fire and in the previous turn eliminated another of Nymphe’s dwindling
crew, forcing the marines on board to help man some of the 12pdrs. Cléopâtre had been
firing on the up roll, trying to take down Nymphe’s rigging to reduce her movement
superiority…

Game turn nineteen – Blue phase

Nymphe had just turned into the wind. Cléopâtre, caught by a gust, moved to get into a
position to target the British frigate’s rigging. A single hit was scored and that resulted in a
critical hit. The critical hit destroyed the wheel on the Nymphe.

The loss of the wheel meant that Nymphe would have to maintain the same heading until
the wheel was jury-rigged, an extended task taking at least two full turns. This was just the
opportunity Cléopâtre was looking for, now was the time to make her escape…

In a regular game, Cléopâtre would have taken that opportunity to exit the battle as she was
in a bad way, but I wanted to try out the boarding rules and so Captain Mullon decided it
was his time to be a hero and try and capture the Nymphe. The gamble of a boarding action
did not appear to be too great as Cléopâtre’s crew now greatly outnumbered the British.

With the Nymphe’s wheel

shattered with her pointing into
the wind she would be easy to
catch, even for the slow moving
Cléopâtre.

Captain Pellew sent a crew factor to begin repairs on the wheel.

In the command phase, Captain Mullon prepared a 3 factor boarding party, this was seen by
Pellew on the Nymphe and so he too mustered a boarding party of 1½ marine factors and
1½ crew. Neither captain needed to create larger boarding parties as the deck capacity for a
5th rate ship is only three factors.

If Captain Mullon was going to pull off an incredible victory he needed to do it now…

Game turn twenty – Red phase

Turn twenty meant there was a weather check, which resulted in no change.

Nymphe won the initiative but her broken wheel meant she could only continue to slowly
beat into the wind, and after forming boarding parties she only had enough men to man
one of her carronades, which was currently busy being loaded with grapeshot.
For Cléopâtre, the lack of a foremast made turning downwind slow and difficult but she
made as much progress as she could.

Cléopâtre was seizing

her opportunity and
closing on the
faltering Nymphe.

Game turn twenty – White phase

Nymphe won the initiative and try as she might could not stay out of boarding range of
Cléopâtre. Cléopâtre succeeded at ‘Running Aboard’ the British ship. Moving at 4 MF or less
a ship can attempt to ‘Run Aboard’ an enemy and so suffer no collision damage. ‘Running
Aboard’ is not automatic but Captain Mullon could not chance taking more hull damage
from a collision as the next hull box on the Cléopâtre was a blue bolded square – loss of
which would require the pumps to be manned or water would begin flooding the hold.

The Running Aboard table indicated that for a bow to stern attempt the two ships become
fouled, a further die roll indicated that the crew of Cléopâtre did not successfully grapple
the Nymphe. The two ships reduced their speed to zero and would drift until freed of each
other. However, being fouled was enough for
Cléopâtre’s boarding party to attempt boarding the
British frigate.

The Running Aboard table.

The two ships became fouled.

As the ships were now fouled and boarding parties were ready, a Deck Displays for both
ships was setup – reflecting the orientation of the two ships to each other.

The Deck Displays

with both sides’
boarding parties
formed up. Note
both boarding
parties are being led
by an officer.

Before any boarding attempt is made, marines on both sides can fire a volley at the
opposing ship’s boarders. The surviving British marines were all preparing to repel boarders
but 2 factors of French marines were unallocated and so formed up on the waist and aft
deck areas of the Cléopâtre and let fire. The French volleys were very accurate (a 1 was
rolled). An entire crew factor in the British boarding party fell. This loss pushed the British
crew losses to over a 1/3 and so Pellew would have to check morale in the command phase
at the end of the turn.

The boarding action

had not even started
and a British crew
factor had already
been lost.

The success of a boarding attempt is reliant on the quality of the crew. Both crews were
regular. As Nymphe did not wish to board, it was down to the French to make an attempt.
By attempting to board from the bow the French had the greatest chance of success
needing to roll 5 or less. The French rolled a 10 and not only was the boarding attempt
unsuccessful they also lost a crew factor in the attempt as well. No doubt the British were
incensed by the loss of their crewmates and fought fiercely. Other boarding attmepts could
be made again in the subsequent phases.

Game turn twenty – Blue phase

With both ships locked together they drifted downwind, each ship turning their bow to the
wind for each even numbered MF drifted. Both sides continued reloading although neither
side could get the other within their broadside arcs.

Before the French tried a second boarding attempt their marines fired onto the deck of the
British ship. Good shooting again reduced the British boarding party by ½ a crew factor. The
French were then successful in their boarding attempt and their boarding party was placed
in the aft section of the British frigate. The two opposing boarding parties joined in hand to
hand combat.

The aft of the Nymphe

was now a contested
deck area as both
boarding parties
fought hand-to-hand.

As this was the end of the blue phase the boarding action was resolved. The French had 2
factors and an officer against the British 1½ factors and officer. The French rolled two dice
for their melee but failed to cause any effect. The British also rolled two dice with one of
those only causing half casualties. The British half factor caused no results but the other
took out the French officer at the head of their boarding party. A roll on the officer table
revealed it was the 2nd Lieutenant – his box was crossed off from the ship display. A
boarding party without an officer may not move into an enemy occupied deck area and has
a negative die roll modifier. As neither side had a 2:1 advantage the deck area remained
contested.
 The French boarding
party outnumbered
the British but had
lost their officer.

In the repair phase neither ship needed to take a rigging check. The repair on the wheel of
the Nymphe continued and the Cléopâtre failed to repair her hull.

Next came crew allocation and Captain Pellew, aboard the Nymphe, had a serious problem
as his crew was greatly reduced. He only had 5 of his original 8 crew factors and 1.5 marine
factors stull active. As the Nymphe was not going anywhere for the present, the British
captain called upon the two crew sections assigned to trim the sails. The repairs on the
wheel had to be maintained and an additional crew section was sent to try and un-foul the
ship. On the French frigate a repair crew continued repairs on the hull.

The final phase of the turn is the command phase. As Cléopâtre had not taken any more hull
hits and still had over two-thirds of its original crew, it was not required to take another
morale check. However, Pellew was required to check as his crew had fallen below 2/3 of its
original complement. British morale was good and with Pellew having a ‘crack’ rating the
Nymphe easily passed the check.

Finally, boarding parties were addressed. Nymphe’s boarding party was reinforced with 1½
additional crew. The crew on the British frigate was now stretched to breaking point.
Captain Mullon, aboard the Cléopâtre, had none of those problems. He reinforced his
boarding party with an additional crew and sent another officer across to lead. He also
assembled a new boarding party on the forecastle of the Cléopâtre in preparation of taking
control of the Nymphe’s aft deck area when the fighting there had been successfully
resolved.
 Both captains had
reinforced the melee
as much as they
were able, but the
British would
struggle to find
anymore
reinforcements.

Game turn twenty-one – Red phase

The manner in which the ships had fouled each other meant there would be no opportunity
to fire broadsides at each other. The ships drifted and slowly turned their bows into the
wind.

Fighting on the deck of the Nymphe continued but would not be resolved again until the
end of the next blue phase.

The fouled ships

drifted and turned
their bows towards
the wind, whilst
desperate fighting
continued on the aft
deck of the Nymphe.

The French marines could not fire into the ongoing melee, but a factor could fire from each
waist and aft deck area at the British crew not involved in the melee. Fortunately for the
British they failed to score any hits.
Game turn twenty-one – White phase
Drifting continued and once again the French marines failed to cause any casualties to the
British.

Game turn twenty-one – Blue phase

Drifting continued and now both ships were pointing their bows directly into the wind. The
French marines hit a British half crew manning the carronades. The loss of the half crew
would ensure that Captain Pellew would have to check his morale again.

Both drifting ships

now pointed their
bows directly into
the wind.

The end of the blue phase marked boarding actions would once again be resolved. Both
sides’ boarding parties rolled for their melee. The French forced a British crew factor to fall
back to the waist deck area.

The British crew section that was sent to try and cut free the Nymphe attempted to do so
and succeeded. Slowly, the ships began to separate… The French boarding party scurried
back aboard the Cléopâtre. This was just what the Nymphe needed for it had looked unlikely
that she would have been able to win the boarding action. Captain Mullon looked on in
dismay as he felt he could have taken the Nymphe.

Captain Pellew disbanded his boarding party, sending his men back to trim sails and
continue the repair on the wheel. Only a few cannons could be manned by the remainder of
the small British crew. Captain Mullon did not want to give up on his ambition to board and
take the Nymphe just yet and so kept his boarding parties ready. One crew remained
patching the hull while the others manned the French guns.

Pellew, once again, handsomely passed his morale check.

Game turn twenty-two – Red phase.

Although no longer fouled both ships were ‘in irons’ and drifted back two MF. As they
drifted they turned slightly, away from each other. The French marines fired on the Nymphe
but failed to cause any casualties.
The ships were slowly
separating.

Game turn twenty-two – White phase

Both ships were still ‘in irons’ however, the turn had brought the French guns to bear on the
Nymphe. She fired on the up roll. Two hits were caused – a rigging and another ‘yard and
rigging.’ The Nymphe had to lose a crew from its guns as it needed to complete its repair on
its wheel. The fore top mast was shot away reducing the top battle speed of the Nymphe by
1 MF. The British frigate would also need to take rigging check at the end of the turn as she
had now suffered, in total, 4 rigging hits.

To add insult to injury the French marines eliminated another ½ British marine – now even
fewer British cannon was manned.

Game turn twenty-two – Blue phase

The ships continued to

separate.
During the repair phase, the Nymphe failed to repair her wheel but the Cléopâtre succeeded
in repairing a hull breach. Pellew passed his morale roll – but only just as he had a +1 die
modifier due to crew casualties reaching 50% casualties.

Game turn twenty-three – Red phase

Another turn and the Nymphe would be able to catch the wind in her sails, although a lack
of a wheel will mean she would only sail straight ahead. At least she would move beyond
the range of the French marines, which would be a relief.

The French marines fired but now the range was greater they failed in hitting anyone.

Game turn twenty-three – White phase

At last the wind was caught by the sails of the Nymphe and she began to accelerate.
Cléopâtre, because of the loss of her jib would need to drift another phase before her sails
caught the wind. The distance between the ships was now too great for the marines to fire.

Nymphe was once again under

sail and far enough away from
the French marines to be safe
from their incessant volleys.

Game turn twenty-three – Blue phase

At last, Cléopâtre began to fill her sails and accelerate whilst Nymphe continued to sail
straight as her wheel was still being jury-rigged. The lack of a jib made turning downwind for
Cléopâtre a slow process.

HMS Nymphe, in the

distance, had managed to
escape from the clutches of
the Cléopâtre.
Both ships were sailing away
from each other but neither
was prepared to throw in the
towel just yet!
A few turns passed…
We rejoin the action when the Nymphe had eventually repaired her wheel and both ships
had turned towards each other. Both captain felt they still had a chance to win this fight.
Cléopâtre just need to cause more crew casualties to force the British to take a morale
check and Nymphe needed to score another hull hit to do the same.

The condition of the ships leading into turn twenty-six.

HMS Nymphe:
Crew: 3½ remaining from 8 original factors
Marines: 1 remaining from 2 original factors
Cannon: each broadside had lost a 12pdr box
Carronades: larboard carronade damaged
Rigging: 2 damage
Sails: fore topgallant and topsail damaged. Main topgallant damaged.
Hull: 1 damage

La Cléopâtre:
Crew: 8 remaining from 10 original factors. The loss of the 2nd Lieutenant
Marines: 2½ remaining from 3 original factors
Cannon: larboard broadside had lost a 12pdr box
Light guns: both 6pdrs damaged
Rigging: 2 damage
Sails: Jib and jib sail damaged. Foremast fallen.
Hull: 3 damage
Both ships were is such a bad way that if either disengaged there would have been no
questions asked back at port. But with both captains feeling they could still win the fight, it
continued…

Game turn twenty-six – Red phase

With the wind to the aft, both ships were reaching. As both captains wanted to keep their
options open they maintained their maximum speeds, 5MF for Nymphe and 4MF for
Cléopâtre.

The two battered ships

once again turned
towards each other…
Pellew, on the Nymphe, was playing a dangerous game as he had not much more than a
prize crew left onboard (okay a little bit of an exaggeration as 2 crew factors would amount
to a prize crew on a 5th rate ship). He had just enough crew to trim the sails, and with help
from the marines, man a battery of 12pdr and a battery of carronades. Nymphe could really
not afford to take any more crew losses.

Mullon, on the Cléopâtre, had little control over his ship as it clumsily navigated the waters
with its much-reduced sail and rigging. Although she could still man all her available guns.

Nymphe won the initiative, turned to larboard and fired a broadside off at long range, trying
to hit Cléopâtre before she had a chance to respond. At a range of around 150 yards, a 1 or
2 was required to secure a hit. Unsurprisingly, from the only cannon battery that was
manned, the shot fell short. Nymphe then continued its turn.

Cléopâtre tried to follow Nymphe downwind but the lack of foremast greatly restricted her
downwind turning speed and she could not get her broadside into arc.

Both ships were

reaching with the
wind, but Nymphe’s
superior
maneuverability was
making it difficult for
Cléopâtre to line up
her broadside.

Game turn twenty-six – White phase

Each ship tried to squeeze the most out of their reduced sail. Nymphe won the initiative and
reloaded whilst opening a gap on Cléopâtre. Cléopâtre finding it easier to turn upwind
turned to larboard but still could not line up her broadside.
 HMS Nymphe was
now controlling the
battle with a display
of superior
seamanship

Game turn twenty-six – Blue phase

Remaining at the same speeds, Cléopâtre at last managed to gain the initiative and tried to
move into a position to fire her starboard broadside. However, the lack of a foremast meant
she could not turn sufficiently into the wind to line up her shot. She had to content herself
with the marines firing some long-range volleys, which did cause a ½ marine loss to the
British. Thankfully for Pellew, marine losses do not trigger a morale check.

The loss of the

foremast meant that
Cléopâtre was
consistently being
out sailed by
Nymphe. Cléopâtre
could sail no closer
to the wind than
show here.

Nymphe sailed on and swung around to larboard whilst her larboard broadside reloaded.

In the repair phase, Cléopâtre fixed a hole in her hull (repaired hull box)
Game turn twenty-seven – Red phase
Cléopâtre won the initiative and turned slowly downwind (she was still paying double to
turn downwind due to the loss of her foremast). Unfortunately, she was caught by an eddy
and moved and turned only 3 MF on the ‘S’ movement gauge.

Nymphe, still turning from the previous phase, continued to swing around to larboard until
she had the Cléopâtre in her broadside arc and fire on the down roll. Again, only a single
12pdr battery could fire but it found its mark. A rigging hit was caused, which was enough to
make the Cléopâtre undertake a rigging check at the end of the turn.

Cléopâtre was at the

mercy of HMS
Nymphe.

Game turn twenty-seven – White phase

Nymphe won the initiative, advanced and turned hard to starboard. She was effectively zig-
zagging in front of the stricken Cléopâtre.

The realisation was dawning on Captain Mullon that he lacked sufficient maneuverability to
successfully engage the Nymphe and unless Pellew made a serious mistake this battle was
only going to end one way.
So Cléopâtre continued
turning downwind with the
view to trying to disengage.

Cléopâtre, in the foreground,

was going to try and make a
run for it…
Game turn twenty-seven – Blue Phase
Cléopâtre gained the initiative and even in the eddy managed to turn downwind just
enough to get the retreating Nymphe in her broadside.

Although almost firing down the length of the Nymphe is was not a raking shot. To gain a
raking advantage, the target ship needs to be within your chaser arc and from the target
your mainmast must be within its chase arc.

The chaser firing arcs

are dark blue. It was
clear that the chaser
arc from the Cléopâtre
did not cover the
Nymphe, and so
regardless of the fact
that the Cléopâtre was
just about in the chaser
arc from the rear of the
Nymphe, no rake was
made.

At a range of just under 200 yards Cléopâtre fired her three working larboard batteries. She
targeted the rigging on the up roll. She scored a hit and a roll of 4 on the damage table took
out a boat and another British crew factor – the worst possible result for the British! On the
Nymphe, all thoughts of reloading the cannon was abandoned as virtually every hand was
needed to man the sails. Pellew would have to check his morale.

Could this be the

shot that saved the
Cléopâtre?
At the end of the blue phase, Cléopâtre had to take a rigging check, which she passed.
Captain Mullon dispatched a crew to repair the rigging and another hull breach was
repaired.

In the command phase, Captain Pellew rolled for his morale. As a crack captain he needed
to roll 10 or under to pass. As Nymphe had now lost just over 2/3 of her crew he had to +3
to the roll. He rolled a 9 and failed his morale check. Consulting the failed command check
table at sea, failing a roll by 2, results in the ship withdrawing from the battle. Captain
Pellew realized that he lacked sufficient crew to take on the Cléopâtre any longer and
disengaged.

With that the ships separated and the battle concluded. Looking over the victory table,
Nymphe was classed as damaged because of the loss of crew, Cléopâtre despite the lack of
a foremast was not classed as damaged.

The winner was therefore Captain Mullon and the Cléopâtre, Vive la France!

Post-game thoughts
Well this was a lot of fun to play. I am not expert in naval matters or naval wargaming so I
will temper my observations with my ignorance. I very much enjoyed the sailing model in
Post Captain, it is quick, simple to implement, and gives a player interesting choices and
decisions. I appreciated how ‘calculation light’ the model is – no millimeter movements or
modifiers to check.

The gunnery model is also quick, with each gun box being resolved by the roll of a single die.
The cannon CRT worked particularly well, the ease in which you can cross reference; range,
type of target vessel, weight of shot being fired, into a single table with no modifiers made
resolution simple and stress free. The crew management is the most taxing of the tasks
required to play and might be more onerous on larger ships but with these frigates it was
pretty straightforward.

I had hoped the boarding action would have lasted a little longer as I wanted to explore it in
more depth, but I am sure Pellew was relieved it did not! Boarding rules read more complex
than they play and I really enjoyed having a boarding model that is more visceral and
involved than just comparing two numbers and rolling a die.

This battle was shaped by two factors/events. The first was the critical hit on Cléopâtre’s jib
which later resulted in the loss of the foremast. That could have been prevented if Mullon
had ‘loosed’ the sail as it was only the +1 for having wind in her sails that caused the mast to
fall. The French had the men to keep the rigging in good repair and so a turn later the mast
would not have been at risk from falling. The second factor, and ultimately the most
significant, was the excellent volleys fired by the French marines – they consistently rolled
low causing casualties to the already smaller British crew – which eventually lead to the
British yielding.

Post-script: to anyone who has read this far I salute you in your perseverance.