The Duel Revisited (3): Closing the range

The second firing pass sees HMS Thunderer opening fire on Le Franklin, but sadly (as I am playing the British) missing (see below):

Le Franklin returns fire but she too clean misses her mark. The range though is slowly decreasing to provide a nastier type of fight (see below):

As the ships pull away in search of gaining the "weather gauge", Le Franklin attempts an extreme/long range rake. 

This seems to be the naval fashion of play as the French seem to "want to get lucky" whereas the British inevitably "get lucky" at some point (see below):

The Frenchman shoots but to no avail (see below):

However both ships set themselves on a converging course (see below):

The captains sit it out as their respective broadsides lie "out of arc," well at least for the time (see below):

The Frenchman comes into arc and fires, but misses (see below):

Whereas the English captain holds his nerve and responds at a closer range band for a 'hopefully' better effect (see below):

In the words of Nelson, "This will soon become a hot affair."