Patrician 2/3 naval battles are fine. However, the system in original Port Royale (not the sequel) would be a better comparison.

Face it: A wargame is incomplete without naval battles.
Port Royale 1 would work great because it allows large fleet actions. I think most people would like these types of naval battles because they are short(5minutes max), decisive, and fun.

I have doubts on how well a naval battle might work on a RTW battle map. It might look cool, but it would be hard to program the ai to know when to raise/lower sails, get the weather gauge, and when to switch shot types.

If the programming could be done, a naval battle on a RTW battle map would be a great addition, but the battle might take too long even on 3x speed. Thats why I think CA should use somthing thats more short and sweet.