The adventures of Commordore John Rodgers Pt4 - The Jamaica convoy

Now, exactly what have I got myself into here.
The British force as per this extract from James consists of two ships.
"The first object of Commodore Rodgers was to get possession of a fleet of about 100 sail of homeward-bound Jamaica-men, known to be not far from the coast, under the protection of so comparatively small a force as the British 18-pounder 36-gun frigate Thalia, Captain James G. Vashon, and 18-gun brig-sloop Reindeer, Captain William Manners. This fleet had sailed from Negril bay, Jamaica, on the 20th of May, under the additional convoy, as far as Cape Antonio, of the 64-gun ship Polyphemus, Captain Cornelius Quinton, and had passed Havana on the 4th of June. On the 23d, at 3 a.m., the commodore spoke an American brig, bound from Madeira to New York, and was informed by her that, four days before, in latitude 36°, longitude 67°, she had passed the Jamaica fleet, steering to the eastward. In that direction the American commodore immediately steered."
The American squadron as it sailed has six.

• President
• United States
• Congress
• Hornet
• Argus
• Constitution

So there is doubt of American victory in terms of defeating the two British ships. What will make it interesting as a game is can the Americans avoid getting distracted into fighting the British and can the British buy enough time for the convoy to escape.
Now for the set-up. The original idea for the campaign was to be a solitaire game and I think this than can also work as a solitaire game as the British to defending the convoy.
The Americans should have the wind gauge as the action is taking place in gulf stream and they are in pursuit of the convoy.
You should play this down the length of your playing area. The convoy starts about a third of the way down the table and they are at full sail. The two thirds mark should be the point where the Americans will reach the convoy. This should be adjusted according to the rules you play with and your experience.
The British warships start between the convoy and the American edge just outside extreme cannon range off the table edge. At this stage the British have pretty much their only strategic choice in the game and that is where the Americans will intercept them. Up close to edge or as far away as possible. For myself I am going to try the long chase first up.
Roll a d6 for each American ship to signify on which turn it will arrive. It being assumed that the squadron has put on full sail for the pursuit, otherwise you can arrive as a squadron when it is the time for the last ship to arrive.
Now it is time to drag out my naval rules and see if this works.

The adventures of Commordore John Rodgers Pt3 - Run through

This article will be a combination of playtest and campaign outcome as I go through what I outlined in part 2.
I will be navigating through the paragraphs with the assistance of a D6. Now rather than weigh each decision equally I will initially test to see if we follow the historical path on a roll of 1-5 or deviate from history on a 6. Then I will roll to figure out which direction the squadron sails towards.
Now as this is a playtest so I if I get stuck I may edit part 2 to get around my obstacle. So do not be surprised if there are changes happening.
So onto our little voyage.
Naturally we start at Paragraph 1 and check to see if the fleet is ready for sea. With some good rolling only the Essex is not ready for sea. So its off to sea and Paragraph 2 we go.
So we set sail from New York and seatime goes upto 1. It is time find out what is going on. So it is off Paragraph 6.
Questioning merchants lets us know that the Jamaica convoy has just sailed past, but before we can react a sail is spotted on the horizon. Now feeling aggressive Rodgers sets sail towards the sail and enters hull range and observes a merchant. Hoping for an easy prize, it unfortunately turns out to be a neutral merchant. Back to the business of war, seatime is now 2 and we are off to Paragraph 11.
Realizing that the convoy is not far away, Rodgers set off in pursuit to Paragraph 13.
Sailing across the Atlantic is quiet and uneventful as seatime goes upto 3. At the end of this round sails are sighted on the horizon. It is the Jamaica convoy at Paragraph 9 and your author is caught unawares as this part needs more work.
So stay tuned to Part 4 as your intrepid author attempts to dig himself out of his hole.