Battle of Cape Spartel 1782

The battle of Cape Spartel in 1782 was an indecive battle between a British fleet & a combined French & Spanish fleet suggested as a scenario by Peter in Canberra.  The British had already suceeded in escorting transports to supply Gibraltar which was under seige so neither side was very intersted in a serious fight.  We scaled the number of ships down to make a scenario we could do in an evening.
The battle took place in the straits of Gibraltar so the far long table edge is Spain & the near one Africa.

The British fleet is in the foreground with 2 1st rates & 6 3rd rates.  
The French lead the allies with 2 1st rates & 6 3rd rates with the Spanish behind with 1 1st rate & 4 3rd rates. 
The wind is blowing from the north across the table so the allies have the weather gauge.

The Brits have tacked & turned back close hauled to close with the the enemy.

The Brits & Spanish exchange long range fire as they pass on opposite tacks as the French turn around the British rear.

The lead Spanish ship is seriously damaged, but the rear British ship is being raked by the French & even though at long range is being really pounded.  The 2nd Brit squadron has passed the Spanish & is tacking again

The 1st British squadron has got away from the French apart from the rear ship which struck it colours & drifting waiting for a prize crew to board.  The rest of the 1st squdron is now tacking as the Spanish break up to concentrate fire on the now end ship.    The original lead Spanish ship has a lot of hull damage, but the sails are still good & it has broken off & is sailing to the left towards Cadiz.

The 2nd British squadron is masked from the action by the 1st which is taking a lot of punishment but also dishing a bit out to the Spanish.
The French are in typical fashion lurking in the rear with minimal damage.
The Spanish & Brits are about to pass out of each other's fire & the will Brits continue on into the Atlantic rather than go into action with the mostly undamaged French.