A gentle reminder if you've forgot; UK Fleet annual regatta to be held over the weekend of 21st to 23rd September inclusive at Doncaster Air Museum. There are rumours that the French and Spanish will make a showing!:cannonboom:
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A gentle reminder if you've forgot; UK Fleet annual regatta to be held over the weekend of 21st to 23rd September inclusive at Doncaster Air Museum. There are rumours that the French and Spanish will make a showing!:cannonboom:
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7 days to main event:
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Well it would seem that my pics aren't showing!
Piraticals and Cochrane at Valdivia on Friday afternoon (21st).
Pics are fine Neil.
It is seamen who are not showing at present.:sad:
Bligh.
Ok last one before we weigh anchor on Friday:
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I love your advertising, Neil. If I was on that side of the Pond, I would be there.
I will be attending.
Glad to hear that Dave.
Nelson is depending on his band of brothers.
Bligh.
I hope that he will not depend too much on me. I have been on 'shore duty' for a long time and need to find my sea legs again.
Don't worry Dave, I have just the thing to set you up. Although it may not help your sea legs you won't notice anymore.:drinks:
Rob.
Hope you guys have a fantastic time this weekend. I'm absolutely gutted that I can't be there this year, although I'm sure many are heaving a sigh of relief (and the pharmacy at Asda is cursing) with not having to worry about whatever strain of lurgy I would have been bringing along :happy:
Enjoy it guys. Take lots of pics to share.
The Battle Of Trafalgar.
Collingwood's action (Neil) first.
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The combined Fleet.
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The two Fleets approach each other.
The battle progresses. Collingwood's action (Neil) first.
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Collingwood approaches the rear division and comes under fire.
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Royal Sovereign, supported by Bellisle and Mars ayttempt to cut the line between Santa Anna and Indomptable lying off downwind and slightly to the east.
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Santa Anna turns to Port and collides with Belleisle.
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Meanwhile the line is cut by Collingwood and Sovereign sets Indomptable on fire.
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Shortly after this Indomptable strikes,
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as does Santa Anna to a combination of Bellisle, Tonnant and Mars.
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The action now becomes general as more British ships enter the fight and it is not long before Neptune also on fire strikes.
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Meanwhile Indomptable has burnt down to a hulk.
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The Combined Fleet are now assailed from all sides.
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The line is cut further South by Colossus.
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She then delivers a raking broadside on Algesiras.
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Tonnant takes a second prize.
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Some hasty calculations are don by both Collingwood and Villeneuve and the battle continues with the British steadily eroding the fighting capability of the rear units of the Combined fleet.
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Meanwhile what of Nelson's attack upon the Van?
To be continued.
Bligh.
Nelson's division.
What came to pass here?
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Victory, (Captain Kiwi) and Neptune(Yours truly) lead the van into a murderous fire from Heros and Santisima Trinidad.
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They finally cut the line to fore and aft of the Santisima.
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Neptune rakes Heros and Santissima concurrently with first volley double shot, and Heros strikes immediately.
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Victory joins in the onslaught and Santissima strikes.
Not bad for an opening broadside my Lord. Two ducks down.
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As more support arrives Neptune and Victory move on down the line disrupting the combined fleets orderly progress and forcing the off course.
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As with the lee column fighting becomes general as Nelson orders General chase.
Shortly after this he falls to the deck mortally wounded.
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The duel between Temeraire and Bucentaure now escalates.
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Neptune is fighting for her life.
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Bucentaure eventually strikes.
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Gradually the fighting dies down and the remnants of the Combined Fleet draw off.
To the victors the prizes.
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Ruth.
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Andy.
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Dave.
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and Lex.
Rob.
Just after I left Collingwood was forced to heave to and refrain from further combat, down to 1 crew box, Royal Sovereign had led the way to Victory.
Who said Nelson won Trafalgar, pah!, Collingwood was the real hero of Trafalgar.
A wonderful photo report. It had to have been a very interesting game.
Thanks Julián.
I hope to post the pictures for Nelson's Windward division tomorrow.
Rob.
Meanwhile here are pictures of the most successful Captains receiving their prizes.
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Unfortunate Captain Collingwood was busy taking over command of the fleet after Lord Nelson fell.
His prize will be forwarded later.
Rob.
Great pictures!
Looks like a lot of fun!
Can't see them on PC & mobile phone. :question:
The battle looks spectacular ! It must have been great fun (and a great deal of work for the organizers). :hatsoff::clap::salute:
Thanks for sharing. Wow what a scenario to setup! Lots of hard work there.
How many players did you have?
Was that enought?
How long did it take?
(Just wondering if I could get enough players here in Sweden to do this, too.)
Nine of us all day plus Neil in the morning. Started at 9.00 and finished about 3.46 when the last gun was fired. Could have taken a few more French ships, but we were all bushed by then.
Chris (Captain Duff) ran the whole event and provided all the ships.
On reflection a few more players say 12 would have been useful, but many more would just have got in each others way. Another adjudicator to help with damage allocation would have been more help as the time between moves when a lot of action was on was what took up the time.
Rob.
Hi Jonas, as Rob has said we started around 0930, actually starting play, first 30 mins was spent sorting a few things.
First off let me say this was not a re-enactment of Trafalgar so things were not pre ordained it was played as a game.
I controlled the Franco Spanish fleet which remained static for the majority of the time. When firing at long range they fired high and did not get a first fire bonus and only fired ball. When a british ship broke the line the immediate engaged ships could manauvre and engage as normal, I also allowed ships in the immediate vacinity to move and engage, say next ship or two in the line, remainder remained in place.
The British fleet had 5 players and we took one column at a time, in the morning session the British players controlled Collingwoods Line and had one ship each.
As they moved we moved all other ships not player controlled, in a line following those that were controlled. Once engaged each player then chose another ship to move further down the line until engaged, then when they were also engaged another ship in the line.
At the same time Nelsons column was moved in line until they came into long range and then left alone.
Collingwoods action lasted until 1200 when we stopped the action pretty much coming to an end. The rear most part of the fleet of around 10 ships deemed to have withdrawn, leaving the score at 1 British ship struck to 5 French and Spanish struck.
The afternoon session starting at 1300 moved to Nelsons column and followed the same format, each of the 5 British players took a lead ship in the colums while the others followed until a player was ready to take command.
Play started at the point where they had reached long range of the Franco Spanish fleet and then we played as normal, The allied fleet remained static but could fire , until the British broke the line and could then react. Only those in the immediate vacinity or within range could move and fight.
This session lasted until 15:45 when it was deemed the fighting had reached a natural conclusion with the head of the fleet being moved ahead and would have sailed off.
If players had wanted to go into a third session I would have had the rear ships move to engage Collingwood and moved the head around to come back as they did historically. But we felt it was time to finish.
Final score in total, four British ships struck and 10 Allied struck with each fleet having other ships damaged.
Victory went to the British on this count up and had enough to counter the Allied front and rear divisions.
I will give all the rules and set up etc in the project Trafalgar thread for discussions, but feel free if you have any questions.
Just to clarify each session was played with 6 players one controlling the Allied fleet and five British captains, the afternoon session were the same people with one dropping out and another coming in for the afternoon session
Trafalgar part two is now up.
Rob.
To answer another question from Jonas
We found that it would have been helpful, especiall once action started that someone to bookeep would have been helpful on each side and possibly another one or two players on the British side would have worked but no more , without getting in each others way
Thank you very much for the information!
Perhaps it could be done here on a convention then. Six players is within the possibility to gather.
By dividing the battle I could manage it that way.
And Finally Friday evenings action.
Cochrane's attack on Valdivia.
Attachment 39947
The Chilean Flotilla headed by the O'Higgins force the narrows under fire from both forts.
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They veer away from fort Niebla toward fort Amargos which furiously opens fire with heated shot, thus restricting its fire to every three moves due to the handling difficulties of red hot shot.
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View of the Harbour with the Isla Mancera and fort San Pedro in the centre background sheltering the Spanish ships.
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Still under fire, Cochrane closes the Fort in order to land Sailors. marines and soldiers.
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Ships boats are launched and the Squadron hugs the coast to get inside the ability of the Forts guns depression.
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Several landings are achieved in the bay.
Spanish troops withdraw within the Fort.
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The fort comes under attack, whilst still being harried from the seaward side.
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After serious fighting the Fort surrenders.
I now reveal the outcome to Lord Cochrane, who had to decide on landing and wasting time and crew at the outset of the game, or braving the fire of all the forts and pressing on to attack the anchored Spanish ships.
He behaved historically, and with the fall of fort Amargos its garrison flees down the coast to fort Corral with tales of a huge Chilean Army rampaging along the coast road. actually only about the size of the few marines sailors and soldiers which were landed in our game.
Panic set in, and the Forts Governor ships the entire garrison across the estuary to Fort Niebla.
As the O'Higgins is sighted, This Governor in turn evacuates and retreats up river to the town of Valdivia. With the only route to the sea and supplies now blocked, and General Bernardo O'higgins Chilean army closing from the North. He surrenders to Chochrane two days later.
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The surrender of fort Niebla.
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In our game the Squadron is now free to rampage amongst the Spanish warships and transports.
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They set about this as the Spanish hurriedly make sail.
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Only fort San Pedro remains manned to show any backbone and this is soon bypassed by the Chilean ships.
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all hands on deck as battle is joined.
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The last Spanish frigate fails to make it to the sea, as fog closes in.
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A resounding victory for the Chilean Independence cause, because our Admiral Chocrane for the day made the right choice with no prior knowlege of the historical facts.
My own apologies for tweaking one or two of those facts to give us a better game. In reality the initial landing took a much smaller fort higher out toward the sea, but the chain of events that followed were fairly accurate except for the fact that the real Chochrane did it with only two ships.
Below you see the Captains relaxing after the battle with friends from the other games.
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Bligh.
Don't know why but all I see is a note that there is an image but no images at all. Shame as I would have liked to have seen Nelsons action and Valdivia.
Neil
PS: I have been into my settings and viewing attached pictures is on.
Sorry Neil.
I can't find anything either.
Can you view any other pictures?
Rob.
I see all the pictures of the beautiful game! (...and happy gamers drinking beer.)
Yup agree with Dobbs, works for me too, not a clue why, not that i had any problems this time though
When you log out the cookies are cleared. I think one of them may be the problem.
During the Trafalgar battle game above the Temeraire did what it is famous for. Most people know of the painting 'The Fighting Temeraire' but not so many know of the poem with the same name written by Sir Henry Newbolt..
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The Fighting Temeraire.
It was eight bells ringing,
For the morning watch was done,
And the gunner's lads were singing
As they polished every gun.
It was eight bells ringing,
And the gunner's lads were singing,
For the ship she rode a-swinging,
As they polished every gun.
Oh! to see the linstock lighting,
Téméraire! Téméraire!
Oh! to hear the round shot biting,
Téméraire! Téméraire!
Oh! to see the linstock lighting,
And to hear the round shot biting,
For we're all in love with fighting
On the fighting Téméraire.
It was noontide ringing,
And the battle just begun,
When the ship her way was winging,
As they loaded every gun.
It was noontide ringing,
When the ship her way was winging,
And the gunner's lads were singing
As they loaded every gun.
There'll be many grim and gory,
Téméraire! Téméraire!
There'll be few to tell the story,
Téméraire! Téméraire!
There'll be many grim and gory,
There'll be few to tell the story,
But we'll all be one in glory
With the Fighting Téméraire.
There's a far bell ringing
At the setting of the sun,
And a phantom voice is singing
Of the great days done.
There's a far bell ringing,
And a phantom voice is singing
Of renown for ever clinging
To the great days done.
Now the sunset breezes shiver,
Téméraire! Téméraire!
And she's fading down the river,
Téméraire! Téméraire!
Now the sunset's breezes shiver,
And she's fading down the river,
But in England's song for ever
She's the Fighting Téméraire.
Sir Henry Newbolt
You may listen to a dramatic reading of this poem at https://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/p019pxhc
Herman Melville (the author of 'Moby Dick') also wrote a poem about the Temeraire.
The Temeraire
[Supposed to have been suggested to an Englishman of the old order by the fight of the Monitor and Merrimac.]
The gloomy hulls, in armor grim,
Like clouds o'er moors have met,
And prove that oak, and iron, and man
Are tough in fibre yet.
But Splendors wane. The sea-fight yields
No front of old display;
The garniture, emblazonment,
And heraldry all decay.
Towering afar in parting light,
The fleets like Albion's forelands shine--
The full-sailed fleets, the shrouded show
Of Ships-of-the-Line.
The fighting Temeraire,
Built of a thousand trees,
Lunging out her lightnings,
And beetling o'er the seas--
O Ship, how brave and fair,
That fought so oft and well,
On open decks you manned the gun
Armorial.*
What cheering did you share,
Impulsive in the van,
When down upon leagued France and Spain
We English ran--
The freshet at your bowsprit
Like the foam upon the can.
Bickering, your colors
Licked up the Spanish air,
You flapped with flames of battle-flags--
Your challenge, Temeraire!
The rear ones of our fleet
They yearned to share your place,
Still vying with the Victory
Throughout that earnest race--
The Victory, whose Admiral,
With orders nobly won,
Shone in the globe of the battle glow--
The angel in that sun.
Parallel in story,
Lo, the stately pair,
As late in grapple ranging,
The foe between them there--
When four great hulls lay tiered,
And the fiery tempest cleared,
And your prizes twain appeared,
Temeraire!
But Trafalgar' is over now,
The quarter-deck undone;
The carved and castled navies fire
Their evening-gun.
O, Tital Temeraire,
Your stern-lights fade away;
Your bulwarks to the years must yield,
And heart-of-oak decay.
A pigmy steam-tug tows you,
Gigantic, to the shore--
Dismantled of your guns and spars,
And sweeping wings of war.
The rivets clinch the iron-clads,
Men learn a deadlier lore;
But Fame has nailed your battle-flags--
Your ghost it sails before:
O, the navies old and oaken,
O, the Temeraire no more!