Phase 1 consists of Captain Brineybeard pulling out a pink octopus that fires projectiles. All but one can be parried. Meanwhile, a barrel moves (at the top of the screen, suspended by a rope) across the arena, and when it squints, will try to crush the player, after which it will be hoisted to the top of the screen.
After taking enough damage, Captain Brineybeard will start summoning sea creatures, starting the second phase. There are a total of three sea creatures that he can summon:
- Squid: The Squid pops up flinging around blogs of ink. They do not damage you, but they will darken the screen. It can shot to evade the attack early.
- Shark: The Shark takes up about half the dock, attempting to damage the player(s). Before it attacks, you can see it swimming in the background.
- Dogfish: A periscope pops up in front of his ship, then descends back into the water. One by one, Dogfishes will move across the dock. The player can choose to either shoot them or jump over them as they slide across the dock.
After taking even more damage, Phase 3 starts and the Ship starts swishing its mouth, after a short delay, it will spit out a cannonball that flies across the dock.
After taking enough damage, the Ship will rage, turning it into a narwhal like creature while Captain Brineybeard will be sent flying, plunging into the water. In Simple Mode, the battle will end there with a disappointed Captain Brineybeard.