SAIL(6) | Games Manual | SAIL(6) |
sail
— multi-user
wooden ships and iron men
sail |
[-bx ] [-s
[-l ]] [num] |
sail
is a computer version of Avalon
Hill's game of fighting sail originally developed by S. Craig Taylor.
Players of sail
take command of an
old-fashioned Man of War and fight other players or the computer. They may
re-enact one of the many historical sea battles recorded in the game, or
they can choose a fictional battle.
As a sea captain in the Sail
Navy, the
player has complete control over the workings of his ship. He must order
every maneuver, change the set of his sails, and judge the right moment to
let loose the terrible destruction of his broadsides. In addition to
fighting the enemy, he must harness the powers of the wind and sea to make
them work for him. The outcome of many battles during the age of sail was
decided by the ability of one captain to hold the ‘weather
gage’.
The flags are:
sail
is a multiplayer game. Each player
runs sail
to either connect to an existing game or
start a new one. The game server (or “driver”) is an extra
fork of the sail
program created when a game is
started. The driver coordinates the game and runs the computer ships.
If a player joins a game in progress, a synchronization process occurs (a rather slow process for everyone), and then the game continues.
Note that while each scenario can be running independently with different players, each scenario can also only be running once at any given time.
To implement a multi-user game in Version 7 UNIX, which was the
operating system sail
was first written under, the
communicating processes must use a common temporary file as a place to read
and write messages. For e.g. scenario 21, this file is
/var/games/sail/#sailsink.21. Corresponding file
names are used for the other scenarios.
In addition, a locking mechanism must be provided to ensure
exclusive access to the shared file. sail
uses a
technique stolen from an old game called “pubcaves” by Jeff
Cohen. Processes do a busy wait in the loop
for (n = 0; link(sync_file, sync_lock) < 0 && n < 30; n++) sleep(2);
When players do something of global interest, such as moving or firing, the driver must coordinate the action with the other ships in the game. For example, if a player wants to move in a certain direction, he writes a message into the temporary file requesting the driver to move his ship. Each “turn”, the driver reads all the messages sent from the players and decides what happened. It then writes back into the temporary file new values of variables, etc.
The most noticeable effect this communication has on the game is the delay in moving. Suppose a player types a move for his ship and hits return. What happens then? The player process saves up messages to be written to the temporary file in a buffer. Every 7 seconds or so, the player process gets exclusive access to the temporary file and writes out its buffer to the file. The driver, running asynchronously, must read in the movement command, process it, and write out the results. This takes two exclusive accesses to the temporary file. Finally, when the player process gets around to doing another 7-second update, the results of the move are displayed on the screen. Hence, every movement requires four exclusive accesses to the temporary file (anywhere from 7 to 21 seconds depending upon asynchrony) before the player sees the results of his moves.
In practice, the delays are not as annoying as they would appear. There is room for “pipelining” in the movement. After the player writes out a first movement message, a second movement command can then be issued. The first message will be in the temporary file waiting for the driver, and the second will be in the file buffer waiting to be written to the file. Thus, by always typing moves a turn ahead of the time, the player can sail around quite quickly.
If the player types several movement commands between two 7-second updates, only the last movement command typed will be seen by the driver. Movement commands within the same update “overwrite” each other, in a sense.
Quite a few.
It should be thrown out and replaced with something socket-based.
Old square-riggers were very maneuverable ships capable of intricate sailing. Their only disadvantage was an inability to sail very close to the wind. The design of a wooden ship allowed for the guns to bear only to the left and right sides. A few guns of small aspect (usually 6 or 9 pounders) could point forward, but their effect was small compared to a 68 gun broadside of 24- or 32-pounders. The guns bear approximately like so:
\ b---------------- ---0 \ \ \ up to a range of ten (for round shot) \ \ \
b 00 ---- Stern rake! a
The period of history covered in sail
is
approximately from the 1770's until the end of Napoleonic France in 1815.
There are many excellent books about the age of sail. (See
REFERENCES).
Fighting ships came in several sizes classed by armament. The mainstays of any fleet were its ships of the line, or line of battle ships. These were so named because in fleet actions they would sail in lines so as to present all broadsides to the enemy at once. The modern terms “ocean liner”, and “battleship” are derived from “ship of the line”.
The pride of the fleet were the “first-rates”. These were huge three decked ships of the line mounting 80 to 136 guns. The guns in the three tiers were usually 18, 24, and 32 pounders in that order from top to bottom.
Lesser ships were known as “second-rates”, “third-rates”, and even “fourth-rates”. The most common size was the 74 gun two-decked ship of the line. The two gun decks usually mounted 18 and 24 pounder guns.
Razees were ships of the line with one deck sawed off. These mounted 40-64 guns and were a poor cross between a frigate and a line of battle ship. They neither had the speed of the former nor the firepower of the latter.
The next class was the frigate. Often called the “eyes of the fleet”, frigates came in many sizes mounting anywhere from 32 to 44 guns. These were very handy vessels. They could outsail anything bigger and outshoot anything smaller. Frigates did not generally fight in lines of battle as the much bigger 74s did. Instead, they were sent on individual missions or in small groups to harass the enemy's rear or capture crippled ships. They were much more useful this way, in missions away from the fleet. They could hit hard and get away fast.
Lastly, there were the corvettes, sloops, and brigs. These were smaller ships mounting typically fewer than 20 guns. A corvette was only slightly smaller than a frigate, so one might have up to 30 guns. Sloops were used for carrying despatches or passengers. Brigs were small vessels typically built for land-locked lakes.
Ships in sail
are represented on the
screen by two characters. One character represents the bow of the ship, and
the other represents the stern. Ships have nationalities and numbers. The
first ship of a nationality is number 0, the second number 1, etc.
Therefore, the first British ship in a game would be printed as
“b0”. The second Brit would be “b1”, and the
fifth Don would be “s4”.
Ships can set normal sails, called Battle Sails, or bend on extra canvas called Full Sails. A ship under full sail is a beautiful sight indeed, and it can move much faster than a ship under battle sails. The only trouble is, with full sails set, there is so much tension on sail and rigging that a well aimed round shot can burst a sail into ribbons where it would only cause a little hole in a loose sail. For this reason, rigging damage is doubled on a ship with full sails set. This does not mean that full sails should never be used; the author recommends keeping them up right into the heat of battle. When a ship has full sails set, the letter for its nationality is capitalized. E.g., a Frog, “f0”, with full sails set would be printed as “F0”.
When a ship is battered into a listing hulk, the last man aboard strikes the colors. This ceremony is the ship's formal surrender. The nationality character of a surrendered ship is printed as ‘!’. E.g., the Frog of our last example would soon be “!0”.
A ship that reaches this point has a chance of catching fire or sinking. A sinking ship has a ‘~’ printed for its nationality, and a ship on fire and about to explode has a ‘#’ printed.
Ships that have struck can be captured; captured ships become the nationality of the prize crew. Therefore, if an American ship captures a British ship, the British ship will thenceforth have an ‘a’ printed for its nationality. In addition, the ship number is changed to one of the characters ‘&'()*+’ corresponding to its original number ‘012345’. E.g., the “b0” captured by an American becomes the “a&”. The “s4” captured by a Frog becomes the “f*”.
The ultimate example is, of course, an exploding Brit captured by an American: “#&”.
Movement is the most confusing part of
sail
to many. Ships can head in 8 directions:
0 0 0 b b b0 b b b 0b b 0 0 0
Movement commands to sail
are a string of
forward moves and turns. An example is “l3”. It will turn a
ship left and then move it ahead 3 spaces. In the drawing above, the
“b0” made 7 successive left turns. When
sail
prompts you for a move, it prints three
characters of import. E.g.,
move (7, 4):
move (7, 4): 7 move (7, 4): 1 move (7, 4): d /* drift, or do nothing */ move (7, 4): 6r move (7, 4): 5r1 move (7, 4): 4r1r move (7, 4): l1r1r2 move (7, 4): 1r1r1r1
Because square riggers performed so poorly sailing into the wind, if at any point in a movement command you turn into the wind, the movement stops there. E.g.,
move (7, 4): l1l4 Movement Error; Helm: l1l
Old sailing captains had to keep an eye constantly on the wind.
Captains in sail
are no different. A ship's ability
to move depends on its attitude to the wind. The best angle possible is to
have the wind off your quarter, that is, just off the stern. The direction
rose on the side of the screen gives the possible movements for your ship at
all positions to the wind. Battle sail speeds are given first, and full sail
speeds are given in parenthesis.
0 1(2) \|/ -^-3(6) /|\ | 4(7) 3(6)
The windspeed and direction is displayed as a weather vane on the side of the screen. The number in the middle of the vane indicates the wind speed, and the + to - indicates the wind direction. The wind blows from the + sign (high pressure) to the - sign (low pressure). E.g.,
| 3 +
The wind speeds are:
If two ships collide, they run the risk of becoming tangled together. This is called fouling. Fouled ships are stuck together, and neither can move. They can unfoul each other if they want to. Boarding parties can only be sent across to ships when the antagonists are either fouled or grappled.
Ships can grapple each other by throwing grapnels into the rigging of the other.
The number of fouls and grapples you have are displayed on the upper right of the screen.
Boarding was a very costly venture in terms of human life.
Boarding parties may be formed in sail
to either
board an enemy ship or to defend your own ship against attack. Men organized
as Defensive Boarding Parties fight twice as hard to save their ship as men
left unorganized.
The boarding strength of a crew depends upon its quality and upon the number of men sent.
The British seaman was world renowned for his sailing abilities. American sailors, however, were actually the best seamen in the world. Because the American Navy offered twice the wages of the Royal Navy, British seamen who liked the sea defected to America by the thousands.
In sail
, crew quality is
quantized into 5 energy levels. Elite crews can outshoot
and outfight all other sailors. Crack crews are next.
Mundane crews are average, and Green and
Mutinous crews
are below average. A good rule of thumb is that Crack or
Elite crews get one extra hit per broadside compared to
Mundane crews. Don't expect too much from
Green crews.
Your two broadsides may be loaded with four kinds of shot: grape, chain, round, and double. You have guns and carronades in both the port and starboard batteries. Carronades only have a range of two, so you have to get in close to be able to fire them. You have the choice of firing at the hull or rigging of another ship. If the range of the ship is greater than 6, then you may only shoot at the rigging.
The types of shot and their advantages are:
On the side of the screen is displayed some vital information about your ship:
Load D! R! Hull 9 Crew 4 4 2 Guns 4 4 Carr 2 2 Rigg 5 5 5 5
It is very dramatic when a ship fires its thunderous broadsides, but the mere opportunity to fire them does not guarantee any hits. Many factors influence the destructive force of a broadside. First of all, and the chief factor, is distance. It is harder to hit a ship at range ten than it is to hit one sloshing alongside. Next is raking. Raking fire, as mentioned before, can sometimes dismast a ship at range ten. Next, crew size and quality affects the damage done by a broadside. The number of guns firing also bears on the point, so to speak. Lastly, weather affects the accuracy of a broadside. If the seas are high (5 or 6), then the lower gunports of ships of the line can't even be opened to run out the guns. This gives frigates and other flush decked vessels an advantage in a storm. The scenario Pellew vs. The Droits de L'Homme takes advantage of this peculiar circumstance.
Repairs may be made to your Hull, Guns, and Rigging at the slow rate of two points per three turns. The message "Repairs Completed" will be printed if no more repairs can be made.
Computer ships in sail
follow all the
rules above with a few exceptions. Computer ships never repair damage. If
they did, the players could never beat them. They play well enough as it is.
As a consolation, the computer ships can fire double shot every turn. That
fluke is a good reason to keep your distance. The driver figures out the
moves of the computer ships. It computes them with a typical A.I. distance
function and a depth first search to find the maximum “score”.
It seems to work fairly well, although I'll be the first to admit it isn't
perfect.
Commands are given to sail
by typing a
single character. You will then be prompted for further input. A brief
summary of the commands follows.
Here is a summary of the scenarios in
sail
:
Wind from the N, blowing a fresh breeze.
(a) Ranger 19 gun Sloop (crack crew) (7 pts) (b) Drake 17 gun Sloop (crack crew) (6 pts)
Wind from the S, blowing a fresh breeze.
This is John Paul Jones' first famous battle. Aboard the Bonhomme Richard, he was able to overcome the Serapis's greater firepower by quickly boarding her.
(a) Bonhomme Rich 42 gun Corvette (crack crew) (11 pts) (b) Serapis 44 gun Frigate (crack crew) (12 pts)
Wind from the N, blowing a gale.
(b) America 64 gun Ship of the Line (crack crew) (20 pts) (b) Befford 74 gun Ship of the Line (crack crew) (26 pts) (b) Adamant 50 gun Ship of the Line (crack crew) (17 pts) (b) London 98 gun 3 Decker SOL (crack crew) (28 pts) (b) Royal Oak 74 gun Ship of the Line (crack crew) (26 pts) (f) Neptune 74 gun Ship of the Line (average crew) (24 pts) (f) Duc de Bourgogne 80 gun 3 Decker SOL (average crew) (27 pts) (f) Conquerant 74 gun Ship of the Line (average crew) (24 pts) (f) Provence 64 gun Ship of the Line (average crew) (18 pts) (f) Romulus 44 gun Ship of the Line (average crew) (10 pts)
Wind from the S, blowing a fresh breeze.
(b) Monmouth 74 gun Ship of the Line (average crew) (24 pts) (b) Hero 74 gun Ship of the Line (crack crew) (26 pts) (b) Isis 50 gun Ship of the Line (crack crew) (17 pts) (b) Superb 74 gun Ship of the Line (crack crew) (27 pts) (b) Burford 74 gun Ship of the Line (average crew) (24 pts) (f) Flamband 50 gun Ship of the Line (average crew) (14 pts) (f) Annibal 74 gun Ship of the Line (average crew) (24 pts) (f) Severe 64 gun Ship of the Line (average crew) (18 pts) (f) Brilliant 80 gun Ship of the Line (crack crew) (31 pts) (f) Sphinx 80 gun Ship of the Line (average crew) (27 pts)
Wind from the S, blowing a fresh breeze.
(b) Nymphe 36 gun Frigate (crack crew) (11 pts) (f) Cleopatre 36 gun Frigate (average crew) (10 pts)
Wind from the S, blowing a fresh breeze.
(b) Mars 74 gun Ship of the Line (crack crew) (26 pts) (f) Hercule 74 gun Ship of the Line (average crew) (23 pts)
Wind from the N, blowing a fresh breeze.
(b) Ambuscade 32 gun Frigate (average crew) (9 pts) (f) Baionnaise 24 gun Corvette (average crew) (9 pts)
Wind from the S, blowing a gale.
(a) Constellation 38 gun Corvette (elite crew) (17 pts) (f) Insurgent 36 gun Corvette (average crew) (11 pts)
Wind from the S, blowing a fresh breeze.
(a) Constellation 38 gun Corvette (elite crew) (17 pts) (f) Vengeance 40 gun Frigate (average crew) (15 pts)
Wind from the S, blowing a fresh breeze.
(b) Amphion 32 gun Frigate (elite crew) (13 pts) (b) Active 38 gun Frigate (elite crew) (18 pts) (b) Volage 22 gun Frigate (elite crew) (11 pts) (b) Cerberus 32 gun Frigate (elite crew) (13 pts) (f) Favorite 40 gun Frigate (average crew) (15 pts) (f) Flore 40 gun Frigate (average crew) (15 pts) (f) Danae 40 gun Frigate (crack crew) (17 pts) (f) Bellona 32 gun Frigate (green crew) (9 pts) (f) Corona 40 gun Frigate (green crew) (12 pts) (f) Carolina 32 gun Frigate (green crew) (7 pts)
Wind from the SW, blowing a gale.
(a) Constitution 44 gun Corvette (elite crew) (24 pts) (b) Guerriere 38 gun Frigate (crack crew) (15 pts)
Wind from the S, blowing a fresh breeze.
(a) United States 44 gun Frigate (elite crew) (24 pts) (b) Macedonian 38 gun Frigate (crack crew) (16 pts)
Wind from the S, blowing a fresh breeze.
(a) Constitution 44 gun Corvette (elite crew) (24 pts) (b) Java 38 gun Corvette (crack crew) (19 pts)
Wind from the S, blowing a fresh breeze.
(a) Chesapeake 38 gun Frigate (average crew) (14 pts) (b) Shannon 38 gun Frigate (elite crew) (17 pts)
Wind from the S, blowing a light breeze.
(a) Lawrence 20 gun Sloop (crack crew) (9 pts) (a) Niagara 20 gun Sloop (elite crew) (12 pts) (b) Lady Prevost 13 gun Brig (crack crew) (5 pts) (b) Detroit 19 gun Sloop (crack crew) (7 pts) (b) Q. Charlotte 17 gun Sloop (crack crew) (6 pts)
Wind from the S, blowing a light breeze.
(a) Wasp 20 gun Sloop (elite crew) (12 pts) (b) Reindeer 18 gun Sloop (elite crew) (9 pts)
Wind from the S, blowing a moderate breeze.
(a) Constitution 44 gun Corvette (elite crew) (24 pts) (b) Cyane 24 gun Sloop (crack crew) (11 pts) (b) Levant 20 gun Sloop (crack crew) (10 pts)
Wind from the N, blowing a gale.
(b) Indefatigable 44 gun Frigate (elite crew) (14 pts) (b) Amazon 36 gun Frigate (crack crew) (14 pts) (f) Droits L'Hom 74 gun Ship of the Line (average crew) (24 pts)
Wind from the SW, blowing a moderate breeze.
(b) Caesar 80 gun Ship of the Line (crack crew) (31 pts) (b) Pompee 74 gun Ship of the Line (crack crew) (27 pts) (b) Spencer 74 gun Ship of the Line (crack crew) (26 pts) (b) Hannibal 98 gun 3 Decker SOL (crack crew) (28 pts) (s) Real-Carlos 112 gun 3 Decker SOL (green crew) (27 pts) (s) San Fernando 96 gun 3 Decker SOL (green crew) (24 pts) (s) Argonauta 80 gun Ship of the Line (green crew) (23 pts) (s) San Augustine 74 gun Ship of the Line (green crew) (20 pts) (f) Indomptable 80 gun Ship of the Line (average crew) (27 pts) (f) Desaix 74 gun Ship of the Line (average crew) (24 pts)
Wind from the N, blowing a fresh breeze.
(a) Saratoga 26 gun Sloop (crack crew) (12 pts) (a) Eagle 20 gun Sloop (crack crew) (11 pts) (a) Ticonderoga 17 gun Sloop (crack crew) (9 pts) (a) Preble 7 gun Brig (crack crew) (4 pts) (b) Confiance 37 gun Frigate (crack crew) (14 pts) (b) Linnet 16 gun Sloop (elite crew) (10 pts) (b) Chubb 11 gun Brig (crack crew) (5 pts)
Wind from the N, blowing a fresh breeze.
(a) President 44 gun Frigate (elite crew) (24 pts) (b) Endymion 40 gun Frigate (crack crew) (17 pts) (b) Pomone 44 gun Frigate (crack crew) (20 pts) (b) Tenedos 38 gun Frigate (crack crew) (15 pts)
Wind from the E, blowing a gale.
A scenario for you Horny fans. Remember, he sank the Natividad against heavy odds and winds. Hint: don't try to board the Natividad; her crew is much bigger, albeit green.
(b) Lydia 36 gun Frigate (elite crew) (13 pts) (s) Natividad 50 gun Ship of the Line (green crew) (14 pts)
Wind from the S, blowing a fresh breeze.
Just for fun, take the Piece of cake.
(s) Piece of Cake 24 gun Corvette (average crew) (9 pts) (f) Flying Dutchy 120 gun 3 Decker SOL (elite crew) (43 pts)
Wind from the S, blowing a strong breeze.
(a) USS Scurvy 136 gun 3 Decker SOL (mutinous crew) (27 pts) (b) HMS Tahiti 120 gun 3 Decker SOL (elite crew) (43 pts) (s) Australian 32 gun Frigate (average crew) (9 pts) (f) Bikini Atoll 7 gun Brig (crack crew) (4 pts)
Wind from the E, blowing a fresh breeze.
The only battle Hornblower ever lost. He was able to dismast one ship and stern rake the others though. See if you can do as well.
(b) Sutherland 74 gun Ship of the Line (crack crew) (26 pts) (f) Turenne 80 gun 3 Decker SOL (average crew) (27 pts) (f) Nightmare 74 gun Ship of the Line (average crew) (24 pts) (f) Paris 112 gun 3 Decker SOL (green crew) (27 pts) (f) Napoleon 74 gun Ship of the Line (green crew) (20 pts)
Wind from the NE, blowing a strong breeze.
(a) Concord 80 gun Ship of the Line (average crew) (27 pts) (a) Berkeley 98 gun 3 Decker SOL (crack crew) (28 pts) (b) Thames 120 gun 3 Decker SOL (elite crew) (43 pts) (s) Madrid 112 gun 3 Decker SOL (green crew) (27 pts) (f) Musket 80 gun 3 Decker SOL (average crew) (27 pts)
Wind from the SE, blowing a fresh breeze.
Watch that little Cypress go!
(a) Alligator 120 gun 3 Decker SOL (elite crew) (43 pts) (b) Firefly 74 gun Ship of the Line (crack crew) (27 pts) (b) Cypress 44 gun Frigate (elite crew) (14 pts)
Wind from the N, blowing a fresh breeze.
(b) Shark 64 gun Ship of the Line (average crew) (18 pts) (f) Coral Snake 44 gun Corvette (elite crew) (24 pts) (f) Sea Lion 44 gun Frigate (elite crew) (24 pts)
Wind from the NW, blowing a fresh breeze.
This one is dedicated to Richard Basehart and David Hedison.
(a) Seaview 120 gun 3 Decker SOL (elite crew) (43 pts) (a) Flying Sub 40 gun Frigate (crack crew) (17 pts) (b) Mermaid 136 gun 3 Decker SOL (mutinous crew) (27 pts) (s) Giant Squid 112 gun 3 Decker SOL (green crew) (27 pts)
Wind from the E, blowing a fresh breeze.
(a) Killdeer 40 gun Frigate (average crew) (15 pts) (b) Sandpiper 40 gun Frigate (average crew) (15 pts) (s) Curlew 38 gun Frigate (crack crew) (16 pts)
Wind from the E, blowing a moderate breeze.
(a) Enterprise 80 gun Ship of the Line (crack crew) (31 pts) (a) Yorktown 80 gun Ship of the Line (average crew) (27 pts) (a) Hornet 74 gun Ship of the Line (average crew) (24 pts) (j) Akagi 112 gun 3 Decker SOL (green crew) (27 pts) (j) Kaga 96 gun 3 Decker SOL (green crew) (24 pts) (j) Soryu 80 gun Ship of the Line (green crew) (23 pts)
Wind from the S, blowing a fresh breeze.
(a) Enterprise 450 gun Ship of the Line (elite crew) (75 pts) (a) Yorktown 450 gun Ship of the Line (elite crew) (75 pts) (a) Reliant 450 gun Ship of the Line (elite crew) (75 pts) (a) Galileo 450 gun Ship of the Line (elite crew) (75 pts) (k) Kobayashi Maru 450 gun Ship of the Line (elite crew) (75 pts) (k) Klingon II 450 gun Ship of the Line (elite crew) (75 pts) (o) Red Orion 450 gun Ship of the Line (elite crew) (75 pts) (o) Blue Orion 450 gun Ship of the Line (elite crew) (75 pts)
Dave Riggle wrote the first version of
sail
on a PDP-11/70 in the fall of 1980. Needless to
say, the code was horrendous, not portable in any sense of the word, and
didn't work. The program was not very modular and had
fseek(3) and
fwrite(3) calls every few
lines. After a tremendous rewrite from the top down, the first working
version was up and running by 1981. There were several annoying bugs
concerning firing broadsides and finding angles.
Ed Wang rewrote the angle
() routine in
1981 to be more correct. He also added code to let a player select which
ship he wanted at the start of the game, instead of always taking the first
one available.
Captain Happy (Craig Leres) is responsible for making
sail
portable for the first time. This was no easy
task. Constants like 2 and 10 were very frequent in the code. The
sail
code was also notorious for the use of
“Riggle Memorial Structures”. Many structure references were
so long that they ran off the line printer page. Here is an example, if you
promise not to laugh:
specs[scene[flog.fgamenum].ship[flog.fshipnum].shipnum].pts
sail
received its fourth and most thorough
rewrite in the summer and fall of 1983. Ed Wang rewrote and modularized the
code (a monumental feat) almost from scratch. Although he introduced many
new bugs, the final result was very much cleaner and (?) faster. He added
window movement commands and find ship commands.
At some currently unknown time, sail
was
imported into BSD.
sail
has been a group effort.
Dave Riggle
Ed Wang
Craig Leres
and many valiant others...
Avalon Hill, Wooden Ships & Iron Men.
Patrick O'Brian, Master and Commander, and 20 more volumes.
C.S. Forester, Captain Horatio Hornblower Novels, (13 of them).
Alexander Kent, Captain Richard Bolitho Novels, (12 of them).
The Complete Works of Captain Frederick Marryat, (about 20).
Of these, consider especially
March 2, 2009 | NetBSD 10.99 |