Both vessels initially used false colors: Wessel's ship flew Dutch colors while the apparent British frigate concealed a Swedish-hired privateer. Olbing Galley had been purchased in England, was captained by the Irishman Samuel Blackman, and was crewed largely by non-Swedes, showing how Sweden supplemented its wartime strength with outside ships and personnel. Once the disguises fell away, Løvendals Galley and the 28-gun Olbing Galley fought for hours, paused in darkness, and resumed the action the next morning. Damage and nearly twelve hours of combat left both ships short of ammunition. Wessel thanked Blackman for a good duel and asked him to supply ammunition so they could continue; Blackman declined, and the opponents toasted one another before separating. The episode shows both the blurred line between naval and privateer practice and the highly personal character of early eighteenth-century single-ship combat.
Chapter · 9:10-14:02
The marathon duel with Olbing Galley
Løvendals Galley fights the Swedish privateer Olbing Galley through hours of combat before the captains toast and separate when Wessel runs short of ammunition.