A Line Upon the Wind @alineuponthewind - Tumblr Blog

Nelson's Flagship, HMS Victory, firing a salute as she approaches the fleet before Trafalgar, Michael Zeno Diemer (1867-1939)

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La frégate l'Herminie, by Auguste Étienne François Mayer (1805–1890)

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Swedish ship of the line Öland fighting a British squadron in 1704, by Jacob Hägg, 1914

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A Mediterranean Brigantine drifting onto a Rocky Coast in a Storm, by Willem van de Velde II (1633–1707)

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Cutting out

Cutting out is an attack with small boats, preferably at night and against an unsuspecting ship at anchor, which could not be larger than a frigate with 28 guns - because anything else would be almost impossible with such an attack and would be more like a suicide command.

Cutting out La Chevrette, 21 July 1801, by John Christian Schetky (x)

Now this tactic became popular in the late 18th century and was used extensively during the Napoleonic Wars. This heralded the emphasis on stealth and surprise that would dominate boarding tactics in the future.

Two examples are the successful cutting out of HMS Hermione which took place on 25 October 1799 in Puerto Cabello, Venezuela and the cutting out of La Chevrette which took place on 21 July 1801 in Brest Harbour, Brittany.

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HMS Investigator, by Ian Hansen (1948-)

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Storm at Sea, oil on canvas. — Martin Snape (English, 1853-1930)

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The newly commissioned Newcastle barques Favourite and Majestic passing in the approaches to South Shields, with the ruins of Tynemouth Priory atop the cliff beyond, by John Wilson Carmichael (1800-1868)

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Captain Sir Philip Bowes Vere Broke, by Samuel Lane. During his lifetime, he was often referred to as "Broke of the Shannon", a reference to his notable command of HMS Shannon in the War of 1812. His most famous military achievement was defeating and capturing the American frigate, USS Chesapeake.

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Hornblower and the Indefatigable, by Robert Taylor (1946-)

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Nelson’s Santa Cruz Squadron, Derek George Montague Gardner (1914-2007)

Nelson’s Santa Cruz fleet consisted of his flagship H.M.S. Theseus, H.M.S. Culloden and H.M.S. Zealous, all ships with 74 guns, the frigates H.M.S. Seahorse, H.M.S. Emerald and H.M.S. Terpsichore as well as the cutter H.M.S. Fox and the gunboat H.M.S. Ray. The expedition numbered 400 guns and nearly 4,000 men. They arrived near Santa Cruz on 17 July 1797.

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A flagship of the White entering the Hamoaze and approaching Plymouth Dock with Drake’s Island off her port quarter, by John Thomas Serres (1759-1825)