Drepana

 This year's ancient naval game is the battle of Drepana: consul Publius Pulcher is skirting the south coast of Sicily sailing into Drepana (behind the hill) when he realizes that the carthaginians under Adherbal have sallied out of the harbour and are readying themselves for battle. The consul, frustrated with the sacred chicken (who were too seasick to eat the ritual grain) threw them overboard, purportedly incurring the wrath of the gods and defeat.

 GALLOS IACTOS, CONSUL PUGNAVIT

 Roman fleet

 Adherbal in his hexres

 The carthaginians have the first turn and turn around while their rear moves behind the battleline

 The romans move in diagonal

 The light vanguard ships aim for the enemy monoremes

 Both lines begin to close in

 The punic rear is swiflty boarded and sunk

 However the romans have advanced too eagerly, and the punics turn around and begin to ram the vulnerable sides of the galleys

 crunch!

 The enemy van is still sailing ahead of the romans

 The last quinquereme in the line is swamped by foes

 A roman ship launches a boarding action with help of the Corvus

 Badly damaged by a ram, a roman five grapples her enemy with the assault bridge 

 The flagship of Pulcher is sunk by the hexres, sending the consul to swim with the chicken

The foremost five sunks a defenceless trireme

 Fire is no obstacle for roman assaults

 In the rear the badly damaged romans try to strike back in close quarters

 The haughty Adherbal is set upon by two roman ships intent on vengeance

 In the center a galley has been devastated by a ram to the side but her compatriots come to the rescue

 One of the galleys in the rear burns out her last damage and sinks

 After several rounds of combat, a battered punic flees

 Adherbal and his elite bodyguards are undaunted by the atackers and win one round of combat, sending a monoreme to the bottom

 Whenever they can the roman ships nail the enemy with their corvi

 A monoreme catches the fleeing ship and finishes off her crew

 The slow grind of combat takes its toll and the carthaginians begin to lose ships

 One after the other

 Seeing her chance a monoreme attacks a bigger but decimated five

 Destroying her thanks to superior combat skill

 The punics aren't out of the picture however, and a side ram...

 ... sinks a roman five

 The lone survivor from the roman rear battles on

 As the last defenders are slain, the eagles fly over the enemy decks

 Adherbal is sentenced when his overbearing ship is attacked by no less than four romans

 A lone monoreme sinks as a burning hulk

 The romans have conquered right and center while losing their own left flank

 The final chapter of the battle is written by Adherbal who sinks with his burning ship

The battle ends then in a decisive roman victory 36 to 28 that has changed history.

The roman gods where against me in the first encounters of the battle, but once the impious Pulcher had been slain, their wrath abated and the gradual grind of boarding tipped the battle in my favour.

GALLOS VINDICATOS, DII VICTORAM AD NOS CONCESSERUNT