Battle of Dover scenario: I command the English

As part of my continued program of experiments, I ran the Battle off Dover scenario in Privateers Bounty. I commanded the English and set the difficulty to "Hard". When I shut the game down, the English had been reduced to 50% while the Dutch still had 84% of their fleet. I had set the English sails to "full", and had brought the two squadrons together, as well as Anthony Young's division. Anthony Young's flagship, the President had surrendered, and had slowed down the Dutch fleet (under AI control). The remaining English were proceeding at full sail to the southeast, fleeing the scene. The Dutch had taken control of the sea off Dover, with fairly minimal casualties.

It still seems to be the case that if you maneuver your fleet as a unit, the opposing fleet, maneuvering individual ships under AI control is stronger, especially if the difficulty is set to "Hard". The Battle off Dover is difficult, anyway, as the English were outnumbered almost 2-to-1. In the real battle, the Dutch were handled quite timidly, and did not maneuver as a unit (apparently). The larger English ships broke the Dutch into smaller groups, and severely damaged two ships that were taken (one being later abandoned and retaken by the Dutch). I am tempted to try this again. Perhaps if the English kept their distance and fought at longer range, they might do better.