I cannot get enough of John Paul Jones. I think I’m developing another history crush. Well you can never have too many!

This is actually based on a real incident. HMS Drake was pretty much a sitting duck when Jones came across it. The plan was to come around her bow, grapple on, and then board her; one of the key parts of the plan was dropping anchor at PRECISELY the right moment. But, the mate in charge of the anchor was drunk, dropped it late, and Jones’s ship sailed right past! This kind of unlucky incident seemed to happen a lot to him; I hate to admit it, but it gets a bit funny after a while.