I have the honour to report HM Post Ship Ariel ready for sea in all respects. She has been moved to the outer warp at Priddy's Hard fully Stored for her voyage to Nassau in the Bahamas. The Muster book is copied to this request. The vessel has a full complement with several exceptions.
Lt Whitemoore has transferred from Fearless with me, but he is newly raised to the rank. A Senior Lieutenant would be required to fill my complement. Ariel also lacks a Sailing Master, although we retained Master's Mate Drinkwater from Fearless.
Lastly my Marine detachment lacks a Lieutenant. A suitable man will be needed before Ariel can proceed to sea.
If you could supply me the names of any deserving Officers I would be forever in your debt Sirs.
In addition it would appear that Ariel has only one Midshipman, and can carry several more young gentlemen. If any of your lordships have relatives that would benefit from a life at sea be pleased to send me their particulars.
Your Servant
Harry Farthingdale, Post Captain RN
The Complement - Muster and Punishment Book
Captain Farthingdale has been made post following his successful cruise down the Biscay coast. He has retained much of his crew from Fearless, and recruited and pressed to almost complete the Complement.
He lacks only a Lieutenant, a Master and several Midshipmen.
Commissioned Officers
Commanding: Captain Harry Farthingdale
(Prudish third son of a minor Northern aristocrat, skilled with dueling pistols and an experienced sailor and navigator)
First Lieutenant Claude Balls. Sallow and Twitchy but a demon in a fight.
First Lieutenant Claude Balls. Sallow and Twitchy but a demon in a fight.
Lieutenant Young Quentin Whitemoore (Slightly deaf, Lucky, Old Naval family, Patronage) (1 Month in the rank)
Marine Lieutenant A.P. "Eager" Tredegar. Enormous non-regulation sideburns
Sailing Master Hepzibah Mott aka "The Unsinkable Mott". Long but not entirely distinguished career in HM navy
Midshipmen
Lucky Jack Quilp (Cocksure, Parson's son)
Tibulus Hathershaw. Very young, very queezy.
Benjamin "Blondie" Fredriksen. Pale and wan. Unnervingly still.
Elias Bulge (of the Shropshire Bulges) Enthusiastic and spotty.
Benjamin "Blondie" Fredriksen. Pale and wan. Unnervingly still.
Elias Bulge (of the Shropshire Bulges) Enthusiastic and spotty.
Warrant Officers
Pilot (Masters Mate) Drinkwater (Over Clever, Merchants son, former Trinity Brethren Skipper)
Gunner, Ancient Nell McTurk (A loud deaf fellow, Pressed in Hartlepool)
Carpenter Willie Wood (Dimwit, thick as a plank)
Surgeon Sam Saw (Lovie, over expressive. Loves a good trepanning)
Petty Officers
Sail maker Simon Stitch
Rope maker Henry Hemp
Clerk: Preserved Catchmole "Which it is."
Quartermaster Walter Wheel
Quatermaster's Mate Sammy Spoke
Bosun's mate Kev Kosh
Coxswain Larry Launch
Marine Sergeant, Rod Ram,
Corporals Sid Shout, Barry Bawl
and Sixteen men.
Seamen
Able Seamen x 20 (3 ready for promotion to Petty Officer)
Ordinary Seamen x 40 (3 Drunkards)
Landsmen x 50 (3 King's Bad Bargains)
Ariel has a crew of 140. Four mixed crew parties of thirty with one of these as a deck group for sail trim, one Marine party, three Officers, The Captain and two Lieutenants. Unlike other Sphinx class post ships Ariel was given an initial armament of 12 pdr long guns, although during her long service she had variations in armament. Captain Farthingdale has shifted two guns forward as bow chasers. Under battle Sail Ariel is a fast 8 knots. At full sail she is a sprinter at 13 knots. She is Regular.
The naval side of the American War of Independence was of immense strategic importance. The American colonies were utterly reliant on the import of weapons, powder, and other war materials in order to stay in the fight, while Britain depended on shipping to supply her armies in the Americas, and for her own prosperity.
Both sides were strategically vulnerable, due to their dependence on ships, trade, and the maintenance of the sea lanes. The rebellious American colonists relied upon commerce raiding. The small newly fledged Continental Navy, State raised small fleets and individual captains taking leters if Marque as Privateers, all functioned against British commerce.
From 1778 the French navy challenged British naval supremacy in American waters, from Newfoundland down to the West Indies. The picture becomes further complicated since dozens of Loyalist privateers also put to sea, and preyed on the shipping of their rebel countrymen.
My Bahamas Station game will focus on the British naval station in the Bahamas, as far south as the windward passage. Between March 1st and 10th, 1776, the new Continental United States Navy raided and temporarily occupied Nassau, the Spanish attacked the Bahamas in 1782, and the Americans again took Nassau in 1783. HMS Ariel will have a lot of enemies to deal with.
The Enemy
The idea is that the game runs on encounter cards. Two cards are drawn per day, and these can be events on board ship, political events offstage, weather, or other vessels. As in other games I've done using this system it establishes a strong narrative thread.
The principal enemies, each of whom must be defeated for Ariel to win the game, are:
French Royal Navy
- The Brig Brie under La Compte Completé.
French Privateers
Spanish Navy- Capitaine Rathboné de Mayonnaise and the Corvette Pont L'Evec
- San Pepe, Brig under Capitaine Guardiola
- The Yankee Brig Fortunate Son under Captain Credence Clearwater
- The gunboats of Marcel Marceau, revolting slave and mime artiste
- The Inglorious Trompe 18, under Pieter van Trompe of Amsterdam
Native American Caribs and Seminole
Allies
- Captain Cary Grunt and the Sloop Curious George.
The RN
- RN Lieutenant Norman Pitkin and the Topsail cutter Pickle
- The Rumtown Militia and their sloop Nancy
Background
His Majesty, King George III, requires and commands his humble servant Harry Farthingdale, to go aboard and take command of his ship, HMS Ariel, this Year of 1775. Proceed with all alacrity to Nassau on the Bahamas station and prosecute His Majesty's Enemies in accordance with Instructions issued by the Lords of Admiralty,
Judas Ebeneezer Quilp, Naval Secretary
The corrupt Governor of the Bahamas is double dealing with Pirates, Revolting Americans and French Privateers. They have island bases scattered across the archipelago. HMS Ariel must search for and destroy them. But the American War means that missions in the form of sealed Orders from the Rear Admiral at Jamaica are also imperative as trade must continue.
Divide chart into Lat and Long boxes.
Random Encounter grid but with greater odds of encounters in the shipping passages.
Programmed encounters assigned to boxes.
A search mechanism for islands. Assigned Missions cards, encounter cards.
Grid Search table
At Sea Events table
Sealed orders for a location
Entering a grid square triggers a flowchart of events if a scenario card is linked to that square.
At Sea Events are weather, shipboard incidents and random sightings
The War will have 3 phases and three different sets of Scenarios.
1 The Navy Defends
2. The Saints
3. Jamaica Station
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| The campaign map |
Narrative strands/Event cards
The Mysterious Arch-enemy Privateer narrative, the Fortunate Son
The Prize Monies Victory points, reputation calculator
The double dealing Governor's demise
The feckless gouty Commodore ashore
The Rumtown Militia in trouble
The Imminent US Invasion, Semper Fi suckers
The Great Hurricane Season
A sub strand concerning Captain Farthingdale collecting/trying every type of Caribbean rum.
Dabears Ltd Counting House, shares on the London Exchange.
The Marceau Slave Revolt. Prelude to the Toussaint revolt on Haiti but also pirates and smugglers.
The Whig view, comment, as well as the tory comment
The Naval Gazette column detailing HMS Ariel's career
Stocks and shares on Dabears of London Exchange
Classified ads that probably amuse only me!
HMS Ariel
| HMS Ariel Class and type: | 20-gun Sphinx-class sixth-rate post ship |
| Displacement: | 650 tons (French) |
| Tons burthen: | 43519⁄94 (bm) |
| Length: |
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| Beam: | 30 ft 3 in (9.2 m) |
| Depth of hold: | 9 ft 71⁄2 in (2.9 m) |
| Sail plan: | Full-rigged ship |
| Complement: |
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| Armament: |
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Land Forces
In 10mm my FIW / 18th Century collection will fit most of the forces needed. (But the 28mm are on the way!)
Naval figures, Marines and Pirates
British Redcoats
French or Spanish White coats
American blue coats
Native Americans
Irregular land forces, Canadians or Rangers.
The Rumtown Militia and their Privateer Sloop Nancy.
Terrain.
My Peninsular war Timecast buildings will work really well for 10mm, and my Peninsular War 28mm for larger games. Perhaps more Irregular Palm trees are in order.
At least one "desert" island with single palm tree for 1:700 Naval games
Warlord black seas map board (day and night)
Links
The charts
Dropbox link
The planning document
Dropbox link
Missions
Sealed orders
Encounter missions
Senior officer on station orders
Encounters.
5th rate Frigates
6th rate Sloop
Brigs, numerous
Privateer Sloops
Schooners Merchant and Privateer
Topsail cutter, Naval dispatches
Gunboats.
Native canoes.
Weather
Sea states
Mission encounters
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Encounter off the Matamilla reef. The waters north of the reef were long considered to be an extension of the rocky outcrop due to the extensive breakers north of Matamilla island. By the time of the revolutionary war it had been recognised that this was due to colliding currents between the Bahamas Bank and the Atlantic proper. In any event the seas here are rough in the best of weathers and Ariel has a SW force five blowing straight into this.
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An American Privateer brig sloop, Savannah of eighteen guns, Captain Otis B Driftwood of Charlestown. Otis is reckless, driven by profits and has had a poor cruise, mainly because Savannah has bilge weed reducing her speed to a crawl. The sight of a British ship overcomes his caution, until he realises that this enemy is a 20 gun 6th rate, and she is a sprinter...
It sets up an interesting tactical problem for Otis, and an enemy with a similar number of guns for Ariel.
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