Again crew skill is important. Ships may also be taken in tow by others. In the next segment artillery fire is resolved. High quality crews may fire more often per game turn and get favourable modifiers on their die rolls. If a ship manages to fire into the stern of another ship it also receives a bonus for raking fire reflecting the worse protection of hind quarters.
Damage is recorded as hull and mast hits.
Each mast hit reduces a ships speed and each hull hit reduces its combat power. After 3 mast hits a ship is dead in water and will not receive any more movement points. Ships which have suffered more than 6 hits of any type may sink or explode. Boarding is possible but strongly discouraged by the rules since a boarding attempt can easily result in a hard collision and heavy damage to both ships. Wind strength is divided into flat calm, light, brisk and strong wind and storm.