From the publisher's website:

Merchants, pirates, and navy ships sail the seas. You have a small fleet of ships at your disposal to allow you to amass a fortune. The merchants deliver goods from port to port, and the pirates try to intercept them, before burying their ill-gotten booty. The pirates try to avoid the navy ships, controlled by all players, which intend to sink them. A card played at the beginning of the turn gives the movement for all of your ships. Each turn is fast and any action is instantaneous. The fortune cards and the abilities of your fleet allow you to create powerful and varied combinations each game. Pay the Governor’s daughter’s ransom to win! Players continue to make deliveries and launch boarding parties at a frenzied pace to win ever more doubloons and develop their fleets through new powers. When all these developments have been acquired, it’s time to free the Governor’s daughter and trigger the end of the game.