This is actually a pretty good strategy as long as you can avoid a close in night time fight with the British fleet elements. They will come after a lone BC. I've been using a similar strategy in the channel only using predreds. They don't seem too interested in coming out after a lone...
My take on this, poor coordination on the part of the British led to the battle the Germans dreamed of, taking on only a small number of the Brit BCs at a time. The Brits effectively neutralized their numerical superiority by dividing their forces.
Try a raid of light forces into the Bight. I did this and after sinking four small DDs and three old CLs I got two quick Room 40 reports of large enemy forces prepairing to sail. The first one was certainly the scouting group as my 5th CL squadron had to fight them off and ran out of...
Ah, you discovered why I leave Angara at Port Arthur for a few days before sending her around the east coast of Japan to Vladivostok. Yes it is normal for any ship that is at rest and can lay mines (most of the Tzar's navy can lay mines) to drop a few in the local waters every midnight.
I do something similar with some success. I've had problems with Adzuma and Yakumo showing up off the east coast of Japan threatening Angara and Lyena. I got lucky in that they engaged in the late afternoon, allowing my pirate ships to escape. I sent my 18 knotters to Vlad, split them into...
When you consider that historically Boyarin hit a Russian mine just laid by a minelayer she was with (the minelayer also sunk by her own mines), you might say she's unlucky. :)