Mad for War at Rapture, Part Two

So this was day two at the show. On day one, the Dutch had successfully got past Sheerness to enter the River Medway, and broken through the chain defence to capture the English flagship.

Today the Dutch (me, Lee and Steve) mission was to round the bend, pass Upnor Castle and destroy three moored English (Ray and Stuart) warships. Any damage on the dockyard itself would gain the Dutch extra honours.

Apart from Postie looking pensive, you can see the River Medway bending on the right when the Dutch are starting from, round past Upnor Castle and onto the dockyards on the left.

Dutch spirits were high after yesterday. Would their martial vigour and seamanship bring final victory?

The Dutch are on their way!  However, trying not to get in a tangle is a test of our seamanship.  Wisely, I'm in front with the warships Utrecht and Vrede, and the admiral's yacht.  The thing that concerned us most was the wind; it was fully against us as we rounded the bend.
English shore batteries were also firing at us, but to little effect... at the moment!

Dutch progress is slow, even the Utrecht and Vrede are now struggling against a prevailing south-westerly.  When sailing into the wind there is a risk of not moving (going into "irons").  I should also say that within 2 inches of the bank there is a risk of being grounded... there was quite a bit of that happening!

Admiral de Ruyter's yacht races ahead rather alarmingly close towards the guns at Upnor Castle.  The Utrecht and Vrede not far behind.  By now the whole force is struggling to move.

Meanwhile, the English have been enjoying some luck in getting scratch crews together and launching some ships.  Fireships amongst them.  You may also just see emerging from the creek on the right some rowing boats containing soldiers with the intent of boarding to capture and/or delay the raiders.
Of course if the wind is against the Dutch it is with the English.

The wind changes direction slightly.  Unfortunately for the Dutch it actually makes matters worse, with Steve and Lee failing to move or struggling to avoid grounding their vessels.
In the meantime, with a smart bit of seamanship, de Ruyter's yacht swings around to move away from the approaching English soldiers and the shooting from Upnor Castle.

The Vrede now leads the Dutch with the Utrecht slowly following.  More English vessels are moving aggressively towards the raiders, whilst the rest of the Dutch fleet make painful progress.  By this point two Dutch fireships are being towed by rowing boats to ensure at least some movement.

With the Vrede opposite Upnor Castle, the English try to board but are repelled.

The English have been busy in more ways than one.  Having carefully positioned a fireship they successfully light it and let it sail into the Vrede.  Fortunately, the crew are skilled and well drilled and with bill hooks and poles manage to push and manage the blazing hulk away and past the Dutch man of war.

The English are striking lucky at the moment.  A shore battery scores a hit on a ship struggling round the bend.  It just happens to be a fireship, which promptly explodes.  This now means that all vessels close enough must test for damage.

It just so happens that all the ships that tested and failed were also Dutch fireships.  They all catch fire!

Aside - I should comment that at the point when the tests for the ships had to be made a member of the public was watching.  I asked if he would like to roll the dice.  He did, and contributed significantly to the drama!  How we laughed... especially the English.

The blazing wrecks now made navigating the river a little trickier.

With the target moored battleships in sight, De Ruyter's yacht makes a move to board one to set it ablaze.  However, the crafty English manoeuvre a vessel between the yacht and the Vrede, firing broadsides at both.  De Ruyter gets into a boat, abandons the stricken yacht and joins the Utrecht.

Meanwhile, another English fireship is lit and accurately sent into one of Steve's warships.

Alas, Steve now has problems as his ship catches fire.

But with swift work and a well disciplined crew, Steve is able to extinguish the flames and see the English fireship drift away.

While Steve puts out fires.  The Utrecht starts making fires of its own!
The English attempt to board the Utrecht and get roundly beaten, surrenders (strike their colours) and De Ruyter decides to burn it.

A much reduced Dutch fleet slowly rounds the bend, gallantly struggling against the wind as it changes direction... but only to blow even more directly into the Dutch.

The Vrede beats off more attempted boarding actions from English soldiers before delivering a massive broadside that causes an English frigate to explode.
However, with English ships anchored and blocking the approach to the target the Dutch decide they now have to cut their losses and sail home.

Conclusion
The games were brilliant and the rules worked in such a way that gave the feel of needing to think like a ships captain and the excitement of action and drama.  I liked them that much I bought the rules.

I should add that Barry Hilton was a fantastic, approachable, affable, good hearted chap who made the experience and learning the rules a joy.  Check out his YouTube channel here.

As for the battle, the English played well in getting sufficient sailors and troops to man a defence and to then cause mayhem with their use.  

The Dutch struggled valiantly against the wind and engaged in some superb navigating to pose a threat.  As the Dutch fleet became separated and strung out, the Vrede was consistently in the thick of the action.  However, it saw off all attacks and boarding actions.  It was grievously damaged but proudly able to sail home to a hero's welcome. 

History was changed.  Did it matter? Not a jot as a great time was had by all.  Plus, it left us Dutch with a greater appreciation of the audacious nature of the real raid and the tremendous skill that was required.