Remember that minefields aren't solid walls of mines. There's only a chance that ships will hit a mine on entering a mined area. I've even had friendly ships (accidentally) sail into permanent minefields in the Bight, and not hit any mines for 10-15 minutes. More often than not, however, they do hit something eventually, but even when they do, I find that mine damage in the game is pretty underwhelming. I've had ships hit 3-4 mines and, at worst, lose a couple of knots of speed. The only way I've seen ships be lost to mines is on the strategic map, not in tactical battle.
__________________
There are only forty people in the world and five of them are hamburgers.
-Don Van Vliet (aka Captain Beefheart)
|