Mighty Bouff Posted January 27, 2016 Share Posted January 27, 2016 Statement by 2nd Lieutenant Mighty Bouff of HMS Azure at Little Inagua 26th January 2016 I hereby transmit to you, for the information of the Lords Commissioners of the Admiralty, an account of our fleet engagement against the villainous pirates currently inhabiting the Bahamas. Having received notice of increased pirate activity in the Bahamas a fleet of British West India Trading Company ships departed Port Morant and made towards St. Nicholas. The journey was largely uneventful, a single captain misread signals and had to return to port after accidentally hoisting pirate colours, I have no doubt their Lordships will quickly return him to genteel British conversation and colours. Our fleet formed to the North West of St. Nicholas where we chased away a number of pirate cutters harassing the local fishermen. A passing picket ship gave notice that one of his Majesty’s Third Rate Ship of the Line had suffered a bout of sickness and was beating upwind near Matthew Town. Admiral Zak called for immediate deployment and we made full sail on a North by North West heading. On arriving in the shallows around Matthew Town the scale of the pirate infestation of these waters was evident. We quickly slighted the Third Rate who was now being engaged by 5 pirates. Showing his effective decision making Admiral Zac called for the entire fleet to enter battle once the pirate ships had placed themselves in combat. A quick victory was won with 4 pirate ships sunk. All crew of the pirate ships were strung up immediately. The Third Rate had important information relating to an attempt by the Pirate Faction to take Little Inagua. We sighted two pirate Cerberus ships on the horizon shadowing our fleet but with the immense power of a third rate, even under crewed due to an epidemic of gaol fever, we made all available sail to Little Inagua. Upon arrival a battle for control of the port was well underway. The Admiral of the fleet defending the Port appeared to have signalled for close engagement so Admiral Zac positioned our fleet to cut off any cowardly pirates trying to escape to ensure they could not escape their fate. Just before Dawn one of the pirate Cerberus ships hove into view, her sails unmistakeable against the fog that had descended. Needing no further invitation Admiral Zak ordered that the fleet engage. His Majesty’s fleet consisted of 25 ships consisting of 8 Navy Brigs, 2 Snows, 2 Cerberus and a smattering of Cutters. Admiral Zac had chosen to raise his flag in a luxury yacht, taunting the Pirates to engage. As the fog began to lift out of the gloom sailed the pirate Cerberus as expected, however she was accompanied by no less than 24 other ships. The pirate herd consisted 3 Cerberus, 7 Navy Brigs, a number of Snows, a single Mercury and an assortment of lesser ships. Given the terrible state of their yards and rigging we expect that a number of these ships were piloted by commanders of lower intelligence rather than real people, though I struggle to believe any pirate may be considered human. A battle line was formed by his Majesty’s fleet keeping the pirates in our lee. Sweeping down to the South East under a now cleared sky battle was made. The pirate cutters had managed to punch the rear of the line and cut out a single Navy Brig. Despite valiant effort of the Captain and his crew she quickly embraced the icy chill of the deep blue. Admiral Zac pulled to the south after sustaining withering fire however our fleet redoubled our efforts and severely damaged a number of pirate ships. Turning the fleet to the East while maintaining battle line the pirates chose to move for close range, almost as if they had honour. However this proved to be an unwise move, 2 of the pirate Navy Brigs who cut the line received such terrific volleys from our Fleet that they were effectively ruled out of the battle. Continuing to the East the superior fighting capability of the excellent Captains in his Majesty’s fleet was beginning to tell. The pirates had a final roll of the dice and moved all available ships into close attack. Seeing the signals Admiral Zac split the battle line into two and asked that each Captain placed his ship alongside that of the enemy. Dusk came and went and the battle still raged. Slowly our fleet imposed its authority as the pirate numbers thinned. A pirate Cerberus showed his nature by running from battle, I expect we will see more of this kind of behaviour over the coming years. I am pleased to report that, once cut-off from the rest of the battle I gave battle in my dependable Navy Brig HMS Azure against a filthy pirate Mercury, Navy Brig and 5 cutters. I received the greatest of support from two cutters though I could not make out their flag to name them properly in this report due to the toxic clouds of powder smoke clouding the area around my ship, I have no doubt such men of honour will step forward to receive both my thanks and the public admiration. The pirate Mercury and a cutter were sent to the bottom with the Navy Brig suffering nigh on catastrophic damage when reinforcements from the main fleet arrived. The pirate Navy Brig and cutters were quickly dispatched and Admiral Zac signalled that the battle was won. We made for Little Inagua and were relieved to see the His Majesty was still in control of the Port. We anchored at around 1:30am local time and the sound of repair hammers striking good British Oak filled the bay. It is therefore my very great pleasure to report the sinking of the following pirates ships: 8 Navy Brigs, 2 Cerberus, 1 Mercury, 2 Snows, approximately 9 Cutters, Yachts, Privateers or Pickles. Your humble servant, Second Lieutenant Mighty Bouff R.N.O aboard His Majesty’s Navy Brig Azure 9 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Charles Caldwell Posted January 27, 2016 Share Posted January 27, 2016 I congratulate our fellow Fleet... those scoundrels paid dearly last night. Salute Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mighty Bouff Posted January 27, 2016 Author Share Posted January 27, 2016 Thanks, I didn't reference SLRN much (it was your Third Rate but I didn't write down the Captains name) as I didn't have any details on the port battle you had with the Pirates (other than you won outnumbered in terms of BR). Need to grab your TS/mumble details at some point so we can coordinate, last night showed how powerful it can be! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Charles Caldwell Posted January 27, 2016 Share Posted January 27, 2016 The Captain in the 3rd was G'kar sir. I'll Pm our TS details. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SYN_Bloody-Bandy Posted January 27, 2016 Share Posted January 27, 2016 Priceless! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
James T Skoll Posted January 27, 2016 Share Posted January 27, 2016 Weird, there was zero mention of how the British fleet ran from battle for two hours just running down the clock. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Charles Caldwell Posted January 27, 2016 Share Posted January 27, 2016 Weird, there was zero mention of how the British fleet ran from battle for two hours just running down the clock. I wondered how long this would take... We were outnumbered and outgunned, arrived as you were taking the last tower. We engaged you, used the wind to our advantage and sunk a number of your vessels in the process. You even typed in Battle chat "Good fight guys" now the gun smoke has cleared this, tut tut. If I may, its up to the attacker to take the port and use their tactics to win it. You had the numbers and ships but yet couldn't sail or use the wind well enough to achieve it. The defender must merely stop you from doing that.......we did! Just be happy in the knowledge we all earnt buckets of XP & Goodies! 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
James T Skoll Posted January 27, 2016 Share Posted January 27, 2016 (edited) Oh, don't get me wrong. I've zero problem with taking advantage of game mechanics. If it's in the game and regularly replicated, I personally don't consider it an exploit at all. However, I will call a spade a spade and would expect similar were I the one twisting the rules to my advantage. While I wasn't present at Little Inagua, I heard what combat there was ( from what I hear, very little ) was good. No, I was too busy getting the tar kicked out of me at Morgan's Bluff when we got completely drowned in the American response at 3 AM. Life of a pirate ain't easy, etc, etc. Congratulations on your victory though, hopefully we can have an actual combat in taking it back. Not if, but when. Edited January 27, 2016 by Skoll 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mighty Bouff Posted January 27, 2016 Author Share Posted January 27, 2016 Oh, don't get me wrong. I've zero problem with taking advantage of game mechanics. If it's in the game and regularly replicated, I personally don't consider it an exploit at all. However, I will call a spade a spade and would expect similar were I the one twisting the rules to my advantage. While I wasn't present at Little Inagua, I heard what combat there was ( from what I hear, very little ) was good. No, I was too busy getting the tar kicked out of me at Morgan's Bluff when we got completely drowned in the American response at 3 AM. Life of a pirate ain't easy, etc, etc. Congratulations on your victory though, hopefully we can have an actual combat in taking it back. Not if, but when. The Inagua battle was my first big organised battle and it really was very good. The Pirate Cerb who (sensibly) ran away even had the decency to ask if he was the only one left and upon confirmation left the battle rather than tying us down for another 30 minutes so I doff my hat to him. Re the Port Battle I think its fair for the defenders to tie up attackers and offer no fight in order to gain a victory. Its probably not fun for all involved but in certain circumstances (and this sounds like it meets them) its going to happen as has to be viewed as a valid tactic. With my RP hat on: I have no doubt the pirate nation will descend into bickering amongst itself soon and these audacious attacks will be a thing of the past :-) o/ 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Charles Caldwell Posted January 27, 2016 Share Posted January 27, 2016 However, I will call a spade a spade and would expect similar were I the one twisting the rules to my advantage. While I wasn't present at Little Inagua, I heard what combat there was ( from what I hear, very little ) was good. I can remember the first time we encountered this tactic, Pirates I believe, during early Open World, first round of Port battles.... I can remember the sense of loss seeing these damned Pirates sailing hard, capturing the very breath of the gods... and laughing at us threw their blackened teeth. I thought, "damn that was clever"... We outnumbered them 2-1 and thought it an easy victory. We forgot the wind and that WE had to win this battle because the enemy wasn't going to let us! .... Look my friend, I am not sure if you expected us to meet you in the centre of some foreign field but we saw your BR, it was huge, we numbered well under that and when we entered the battle and saw what 3x 3rds along with Cerbs and such we knew it was going to be tough. It would be a very foolish commander who threw his men on your swords, so we had to think how best to achieve our goals at the expense of yours. We passed your lines initially and we all filled the air heavy with smoke, but as we did it was clear we'd have to fight clever. So we took the wind (the only game mechanic we used) and you let us. We had to use the only advantage we had against your odds. You had more than enough ships and of the right type to pin us and sink us but yet it was us who managed to split your ships off into manageable groups to chew up. I agree, its going to be good to fight you GAYS on an even field, its something we all are looking forward too. Re the Port Battle I think its fair for the defenders to tie up attackers and offer no fight in order to gain a victory. No fight, no fight We had the lesser fleet, outgunned, outnumbered yet manage sink equal numbers (5-6 ships sunk on either side I think). Yes we didn't stand and fight, but we did sail and fight and thats what saved the day! 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Edmund Pullings Posted January 27, 2016 Share Posted January 27, 2016 (edited) I had every able man aboard my Frigate working the pumps and I just barely made it past old Davy Jones. My crew earned an extra ration of rum as a result. The wind was the only advantage we had in that fight, and we used it every chance we had. There were multiple times we tacked back around into your lines through clouds of smoke and gunpowder. It wasn't as simple as just outrunning you lads. Within the final minutes you finally managed to push us off the weather gage and we scrambled in every direction. One more ship sank and you would had won. It was a well-played battled and I look forward to more - no matter which side I may be on sirs. Edited January 27, 2016 by Edmund Pullings 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Charles Caldwell Posted January 27, 2016 Share Posted January 27, 2016 Hear hear! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Gaspar Posted January 27, 2016 Share Posted January 27, 2016 defenders refusing to fight and winning via a time limit, while perfectly allowed, is still a bit cheap. I would prefer a mechanic that makes that much more difficult. If an attackign force has all but taken the port, but the other side "wins" by running away, it is hardly a win. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Nerdwing Posted January 27, 2016 Share Posted January 27, 2016 (edited) You even typed in Battle chat "Good fight guys" now the gun smoke has cleared this, tut tut. That was me IIRC. I'm the self-declared ambassador, so I'm there to help keep the mood as positive between "enemies' as I can . Look my friend, I am not sure if you expected us to meet you in the centre of some foreign field It uh... it was your port. It was as non-foreign of a field as you can get without it being located on Old Blighty itself. We had to use the only advantage we had against your odds. You had more than enough ships and of the right type to pin us and sink us but yet it was us who managed to split your ships off into manageable groups to chew up. Not going to "Put on an RP hat". But this didnt happen. With about 50 minutes left, one of the FTS guys noted "they're gonna run down the clock". You did exactly that. I'm not here to critique whether that is a valid tactic (it was a valid tactic, given how mechanics work IMO).but absolutely no decisive engagement happened, and the promise of one vanished when the clock ran down to 0 with British ships under fire. defenders refusing to fight and winning via a time limit, while perfectly allowed, is still a bit cheap. I would prefer a mechanic that makes that much more difficult. If an attackign force has all but taken the port, but the other side "wins" by running away, it is hardly a win. I'm of the same opinion. I hope in the future a middle ground can be reached in which both the attacker and defender will have fun. Edited January 27, 2016 by Nerdwing 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dudebro Posted January 27, 2016 Share Posted January 27, 2016 (edited) yo word on the street is u wudnt fight bois??? UK if u scared say ur scared if ur not rammin ur boats ur not really tryin imo Edited January 27, 2016 by dudebro 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Charles Caldwell Posted January 28, 2016 Share Posted January 28, 2016 It uh... it was your port. It was as non-foreign of a field as you can get without it being located on Old Blighty itself. "In some foreign field" is an actual British saying for any battlefield not in Britain. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Nerdwing Posted January 28, 2016 Share Posted January 28, 2016 My apologies then My vernacular from outside the states is sorely lacking aside from some random British foods. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bloody Hound Posted January 28, 2016 Share Posted January 28, 2016 (edited) Ah i don't mind the loss or the tactic of running away to win as it's the mechanics fault etc.... What i didn't like was it wasted 1 hour and 45 mins (Which ended up like 2am+ here irl) of sailing around with a few puffs of smoke now n then only to delay the inevitable that Little Iguana will be ours. Thankfully towards the end i managed to get quite afew shots into you guys which made the XP kinda worth it. Edited January 28, 2016 by The Bloody Hound Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DrunkenSloth Posted January 28, 2016 Share Posted January 28, 2016 Unfortunately I missed the battle, and thankfully my AI 3rd rate fleet shield helped me sail past the pirate fleet I'd recommend you remember my name, you'll be seeing a lot of me in the weeks to come.. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mighty Bouff Posted January 28, 2016 Author Share Posted January 28, 2016 Here is the video! https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Uo4bzgY-rMw Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bernard Sanders de Cuckold Posted January 28, 2016 Share Posted January 28, 2016 (edited) Hear hear! I must admit Admiral Caldwell I found myself shocked upon reading the report of the pirate siege which took place in your domain. I hope all is well with you and your seamen and those injured recover swiftly from their wounds whilst the dead find peace in the comforting embrace of the Lord, peace be upon him. I must dispense with the pleasantries however, and out of common decency and honor as a man of action to pursue a course of tone that may lead us to disagreement. I am beholden to my men, those immaculate honor-bound patriots, to admonish any cowardice or treachery I am made aware of. If I punish my own men for such behavior, why would I extend any courtesy to a foreign nation or potential ally? When I read that your fleet fled from the common rabble scum rather than meeting them with guns as any decent gentlemen would I found myself at first moved to confusion which hastily shifted to disdain! I sit here, quill in hand, flabbergasted that the same men who sail under the Union Jack would resort to such unscrupulous stratagem. Are we not men of honor Admiral Caldwell? Betwixt us do we not have the same blood coursing through our veins? When you portray our people in the manner such as you have you do my men and I a great disservice. Your behavior is on par with that of a common pickaninny sir, perhaps lower, if my negroes were to flee the plantation they would be whipped and branded for the betrayal and I recommend the same punishment be meted out to your commanders for ordering such skulduggery. Your men could learn a lot from the Mandingo warriors I maintain and breed upon my plantation. When confronted with an opponent during Mandingo Fights they do not flee, they do not turn back and run! They fight tooth and nail until the better negro is left. Please Admiral Caldwell, do not take my words lightly. Consider this a strong admonition for behavior, that if not corrected, may lead us to exchanging fire one day to reclaim the honor of our people that you squandered so efficiently. With all due regards, Bernard Sanders de Cuckold Edited January 28, 2016 by Bernard Sanders de Cuckold 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Leo Showers Posted January 29, 2016 Share Posted January 29, 2016 I wondered how long this would take... We were outnumbered and outgunned, arrived as you were taking the last tower. We engaged you, used the wind to our advantage and sunk a number of your vessels in the process. You even typed in Battle chat "Good fight guys" now the gun smoke has cleared this, tut tut. If I may, its up to the attacker to take the port and use their tactics to win it. You had the numbers and ships but yet couldn't sail or use the wind well enough to achieve it. The defender must merely stop you from doing that.......we did! Just be happy in the knowledge we all earnt buckets of XP & Goodies! This is an exquisite way of justifying the fact that you guys ran down the clock to win. If memory serves me correctly, SLRN were pretty annoyed about exactly the same tactic being used before the wipe. What changed between then and now? 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jimlit Posted January 29, 2016 Share Posted January 29, 2016 Here is the video! https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Uo4bzgY-rMw slander! 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
James T Skoll Posted January 29, 2016 Share Posted January 29, 2016 Oh, my! 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Charles Caldwell Posted January 30, 2016 Share Posted January 30, 2016 Perhaps Gentlemen this will warm the cockles of your black hearts.... a fight you wanted, a fight you got! The report I received informs me that many of your fellow blaggards ran, not to lure our fleet into a better position to strike but from the fight altogether. Leaving many of your fellows alone to face the wrath of His Majesty's RN. Clearly there IS no honour amongst thieves....... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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