Two small points to clarify things. Both on postings by TSC.
TSC, Torquemada only holds sway over the 3 ships sailing together. The Utopia has been separated from the others for quite a few days, and hasn't been involved in Torq's mischief.
I wasn't paying close enough attention to realize that William Kid's posts and your posts were contradicting each other. My fault.
Also, remember that Utopia is really a private ship, not Spanish. It sails under the Spanish flag for protection, not military reasons. The real control on Utopia is the Insurance agents, who are fiercely loyal to only one thing, the insurance company. (I liken them to the old time Pinkerton agents. Ruthless, viscous, highly skilled, but incorruptible to their cause. These agents won't be swayed by Torquemada. They know that the French ships in New Orleans are really their allies.)
Secondly, TSC, in your last post, are the two hired pirate ships supposed to attack the Spanish warship that has just left port (Havana) in order to clear the route of pirates, or are the two pirate ships supposed to attack the other Spanish ships that are still in the harbor loading thier cargo and waiting for all of the other ships in the fleet to arrive? (Just for clarification, since either way, it will change the outcome of the story.)
Note:
I have been trying to only post in order to keep the story moving in a logical progression. I am the time keeper as the weeks go by. But, it seems that we are getting about 6 posts from the "evil" side for every post from the "good" side, so sometimes I may have to jump in to even out the score, otherwise evil will win before the story is really ended. (You guys posting for evil seem to be intent on destroying the fleet before they can all meet up with the other ships in Havana. Not saying that can't or won't happen, but it would end the story before all the pirates in Tortuga could get a chance to raid the fleet.)
I just don't want anyone upset with me if I post something and say that the score has changed in favor of good. We just don't have as many "good" players as we do "evil" ones. I will rermain neutral, even if I have to add points back to the "Good" score.
Edit: Anyone who wants to catch up on this story/game: The OP tells the basic rules, but Post #106 is the first post in this story line, and gives more guidelines to how to post. Also, If anyone wants it,
http://www.sunkentreasurebooks.com/shipwrecks.htm
This is one of the references that I used to come up with some of the ship and place names that I have used. I also am referencing maps of the Caribbean and the Gulf of Mexico in order to keep the ships on proper course.