Another "Regata" question - Can you save Bridgetown?

[TheBlackKnight]

In the final leg of the Regata, I know this is a partial morality question.

Is it actually possible to save the civilians at Bridgetown from Spanish attack AND still win the Regata?
It seems like a really close call regarding time with direct sail to Harrison Cape (overloaded ship), fight the Spanish patrol ship, and get back into the race.
I did not bother, as I was focused on "the prize".
What is reward for completing this action?
A small reputation drop by declining the governors request is minor, IMHO.

 

[LarryHookins]

I've saved them a couple of times and won the Regatta both times.

If you refuse any of the quests (including buying the spyglass from the girl in town) it makes one opponent (number 4, I think) faster. If you take the quests, it makes all opponents slower. This happens for each quest.

Ok, it doesn't actually make anyone faster or slower, but adds or subtracts from their elapsed time in the race. This has the same effect.

I'm not sure if the enemy ship spawns if you turn down the quest. I don't think you can go to the world map until the enemy ship is destroyed. Maybe refusing the quest is the better option. Let me know if you have Dutch ships attacking you at Curacao if you've turned down the quest. These guys never seem to go away, so I deleted them in my mod; if you're using the mod you won't see them at all.

Hook