Excellent post Ilpalazzo - and I don't know if they are looking for feedback on features, etc or just looking for bugs. I figure it can't hurt to throw a well reasoned and well explained option or idea out there though.
As for your question of can a naval game be realitime? Yes - it can - but it still needs a "pause" button so you can get a feel for whats happening. Otherwise there is too much to do and keep up with. A perfect example is the classic Fleet Command. Another is Naval Gunnery Campaign , a game which I am proud to say I had a very minor hand in making a reality. Dangerous Waters, when your just the dd and a whirlybird or 2 still requires an occasional pause to properly assess the tactical situation.
If your one ship and your role is to handle just that one ship - then real time is great. If your tasked to fight from multiple platforms, you simply cant give enough attention to each one to make it fight at 100% effectiveness. This is why even in today's modern navy, the admiral isnt telling the ASW commander what "possibles" to pursue, the CAG how to fly his aircraft, etc. Each level of command has its own level of authority. The group commander tells the ASW commodore where the threat axis is, he tells the CAG when to expect a raid, or what to strike - but the "specialists" decide the general how - and then the ship captains or pilots carry out the task.
I think this is one reason why we were not given the choice of "where" to target an enemy. Not to mention - given the premise of warfare at the time - calling your shots was an unknown really. You aimed for the target only. With differences in the quality of powder, shot weight, and even each gun itself, there would have been no "lets aim for ________ spot". The guns of the era, due to the quality control of manufacturing - just didnt make that kind of thing possible in a life or death battle.
The game's damage model, as explained by TR, is actually fairly robust it seems. I hope that we get more info on how this relates morale, etc - and what steps can be taken during a fight to insure we are most effective.