In a league game, in game 743635, I was playing FIER in England vs. France. As is often the case, FIE ran into the lead English ship EXE on turn 4.

I felt I had the better position, with FIE lying across EXE nose and blocking her path. Moreover, my ship had less damage and I was somewhat confident that I would come out of this with some points even if eventually destroyed.

We were not grappled or fouled, but the nearest English ship transferred 5 crew to Exeter.

On turn 5, we were grappled and EXE captured my boat with an attack of 9 men.

According to the melee table, the odds were 3-1 but
the men involved were 9-6 which should have been 3-2. In addition, the total men remaining seem to exceed those available.

As you might expect, I was quite surprised to go from a superior position to being wiped out in one turn.

Can somebody explain how this type of thing can happen so that I might better understand how 9 vs. 6 equals 3-1?