Mick, make sure you group your ships (ctrl+1(or whatever number you want to assign to them)). Then just drive them around with fire at will on (don't click to attack individual ships).

Then you can move them as a formation to perform that move. Unfortunately raking fire into the bow doesn't do the extra damage it ought to and half the shot seems to miss altogether. In the demo I found maintaining the line formation, keeping the weather gauge and establishing a figure eight pattern is devastating to the French fleet. They can be killed without loss every time.