Except anyone with brains would not send an entire fleet after a galley.
How to get around the AI's Psychic Navys?
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Under the right conditions, you could do this without sacrificing anything. Usually the OpFor (opposing force) navy is in port until someone calls their admiral's cell phone to tell them that your ships have sailed. Yes, the whole premise is unfair, since ships move faster than any contemporary methods of communication.
If you know what port the OpFor is returning to, you can roughly know their travel time to get to your sea zone. This is where your tireless diplomacy (military access) can help you. You need to see the OpFor coming, so pick out a nation bordering a strategically crucial sea zone - one that the OpFor has to sail through to get to you. [If you're talking about England and France, that's an example where this doesn't work so well...] Then take advantage of military access to place a regiment, or a ship in that province. That unit is now your scout. If an ally controls such a province, that is even better. Since you're only trying to link up your ships into a larger navy, you need not do that all at once. So long as you have adequate military access, you should be able to "leapfrog" between ports. In each sea zone, there is going to be one port that is the quickest to dock at - it is usually closest to the center of the zone. If you have enough lead time before the OpFor comes to stomp on you, get to the next seazone and make port immediately. Once you are in port, the stupid AI will turn around and return to its port. ALWAYS make sure that you give the OpFor enough time to return and dock before you attempt to leave port again - or you will waste the very precious lead time that you have gained from moving a single sea zone. Continue as necessary until you rendezvous with the fleet, or get so cocky that the OpFor catches you.
Yeah, I've done this as well.
If you want to get creative, and the enemy fleet isn't overwhelming, you can also explore the option of spawning privateers via spies. They will block enemy ports without you having to go to war, impede enemy ship movement without impeding yours, and might even divert a fleet if say you spawn it in a colony far from you. They can even block troop movement if placed in a strait (ie: the bosphorous or baltic). Just remember the size of the pirate fleet is a function of the base tax of the province its spawned in, so richer provinces will yield bigger pirate fleets (and cost more money to raise). Pirates that form in the Gulf of Venice can be terrifying.
I think it is ok for AI to know where your fleets are. After all AI can compensate general lunatism with extended spy network.
The real problem is that English AI sends whole 40-ship fleet after 2 galleys in mediterranian, while there are >10 transports in port of Normandie.
In reality, since AI knows so much about player fleets - it should send as many ships as needed to the mediterranean and leave as many as needed in the Channel. I would say 10 ships go after galleys and 30 patrol from Kent to Cornwall.
The real problem is that English AI sends whole 40-ship fleet after 2 galleys in mediterranian, while there are >10 transports in port of Normandie.
In reality, since AI knows so much about player fleets - it should send as many ships as needed to the mediterranean and leave as many as needed in the Channel. I would say 10 ships go after galleys and 30 patrol from Kent to Cornwall.
Seriously, the AI not having the fog of war on sea is a far bigger exploit than using tactis to lure his fleet away.