EventAcross the pillars
The Worm in the Hull
The carpenters have brought Target Leader grim news: the warm waters of the Indies have done their slow work, and shipworms have bored deep into the planking below the waterline. Left unchecked, the hulls will grow soft and the boats sluggish, and a fleet that cannot outrun an enemy is a fleet that will one day be caught.
A sheltered cay lies within reach where the ships might be careened — hove down on their sides, the fouled bottoms scraped, burned, and tarred — but the work leaves them helpless on the sand for weeks.
Fired by
Flota de Nueva EspañaExpeditionFrom on monthly · right away
Triggered by 1
- Flota de Nueva EspañaEach month
Scripting 2
Grants 2
- gf_careen_doneAs soon as it happens
- Danger LevelOption 2
type = country_event
title = gold_fleet_nueva_espana_events.17.title The Worm in the Hull
desc = gold_fleet_nueva_espana_events.17.desc The carpenters have brought Target Leader grim news: the warm waters of the Indies have done their slow work, and shipworms have bored deep into the planking below the waterline. Left unchecked, the hulls will grow soft and the boats sluggish, and a fleet that cannot outrun an enemy is a fleet that will one day be caught.
A sheltered cay lies within reach where the ships might be careened — hove down on their sides, the fouled bottoms scraped, burned, and tarred — but the work leaves them helpless on the sand for weeks.
A sheltered cay lies within reach where the ships might be careened — hove down on their sides, the fouled bottoms scraped, burned, and tarred — but the work leaves them helpless on the sand for weeks.
outcome = neutral
location_backdrop = {
backdrop_preset = backdrop_at_sea
}
immediate = {
scope:expedition = {
expedition_leader = {
save_scope_as = target_leader
}
pause_expedition = 5
}
}
historical_info = gold_fleet_nueva_espana_events.17.historical_info In tropical waters, the shipworm Teredo navalis — in truth a mollusk, not a worm — riddled unprotected hulls within months. They were among the most persistent threats to any fleet operating in the Caribbean. The remedy was careening: running the ship aground or hauling it down at a sheltered beach to expose the hull, then scraping off the growth, charring the timber, and paying it with tallow and pitch. The work was slow and left a squadron defenseless, so commanders often gambled on postponing it, at the cost of ships that steered like barges and leaked in every seam.