HMS Aphrodite (Sea Command Book 1) Read Online Free Page A

Captain Mullins elected to escort the prize to the nearby port of Livorno.
    The British consul there took matters in hand and assured Mullins the prize would be sent to Gibraltar with the next British warship or fleet sailing in that direction. Mullins, concerned about his crew’s lack of training at the guns, proposed to purchase, with his own funds, a quantity of the captured powder for use in training up the crew.
    Normally, the captured powder would be sent to a British powder mill, where it would be re-manufactured to British specifications. The Royal Navy would never supply undocumented, captured powder to its warships, but if a ship’s captain wished to supplement his own ammunition with captured materiel, at his own expense, little would be said from official sources.
    The purchase depleted Mullin’s store of guineas, but now the brig had a well-stocked magazine. The gunner’s mate and his crew were kept busy filling cartridges for practice. While the brig had been well stocked with ammunition for combat, only a trifling quantity was allowed for practice.
    No sooner had Havoc left port when the crew was put to work assembling targets which they might bombard. Some of the captured powder casks, emptied now of their powder, were rolled over the side for this use.
    Out at sea now, with a long line of casks bobbing in the sea behind her, Havoc put about and sailed down the line, addressing each cask. After a few days, her gunnery practice had greatly improved, loading speed halved and accuracy much better. Mullins finally had to call a halt to the practice. While she did still have plenty of the extra powder on board, she was forced to use the ball originally issued to her and these were becoming few. Somehow, Mullins would need to replace these, or at least find a way to account for their loss.
    It was in this state she encountered a fleet of merchants sailing eastward toward Italy. This was another French supply fleet for the invasion of Liguria, but this was no privateer escort. Indeed, it was guarded by a twenty-eight gun frigate, rather old now, but a frigate for all that. This sole escort stood right out on the windward flank where she could come down upon any predator threatening her flock like an avenging angel.
    Mullins considered it his mission to interfere with the shipping rather than run up scores with escort ships. Nevertheless, he was not quite certain how he wanted to accomplish this. Unlike many convoys he had encountered, this one was well spaced, with plenty of room for the frigate to dash through her charges to repel any attacker. He knew very well this one would fall upon him like a load of bricks, if he interfered with that convoy at all.
    In doubt if he could accomplish anything against this convoy with just his lone brig, he nevertheless decided Admiral Jervis would at least expect him to make an attempt.
    The wind was in the enemy’s favor, meaning he must work against the wind to close any ship in the convoy. Sure that he was making a major mistake, Mullins gave his orders and Havoc closed the convoy. There was confusion among the closer merchants, with each ship’s master attempting to escape this ravening predator.
    . Clouds of smoke drifted away in Havoc’s lee as the brig closed on the convoy, her guns pounding the nearby merchants. Every gun captain had been warned to fire at any enemy ship within range that his gun bore on. As Mullins was about to give the order to go about, thinking he might just survive this impetuous foray, two merchants on his starboard beam separated and there was the frigate, all sail set, coming right at him.
    Her commander obviously intended to close to pistol shot range, come around on his beam, and deliver a devastating broadside, which would likely finish the little brig. Havoc’s men, already jubilant with their success so far, did not hesitate. Having been ordered to fire at any ship within range, they did just that. The starboard twenty-four pounder in