Coastie04

Heck with the fancy names, wasn't the schooner in Jack London's Sea Wolf called 'Ghost'? Other possible names I thought of during class: Minnow Shark Bite Stolen Merchant Panama's Flagship Morgan's Rum Barge Captain's Coffin Captain's Daughter 'till next time, Coastie04

A little more on the swivels...I've heard of them mounted in the fighting tops before. Imagine a large shotgun firing down on a crowded deck, into the Marines in a fighting top, or into men climbing up the shrouds. Death and destruction galore! Another nice advantage is that, since the guns were mounted on a swivel (hence the name) and could be easily aimed as mentioned before, they could also be used to suppress mutinies. Often swivel guns would be stored out of the weather, as they were relatively light weight and easy to mount in the approach of battle. However, a few could be left rigged around the quarterdeck, or at least kept loaded and in easy access to the officers. Once rigged, they could be turned inboard on the crew to emphasize that mutiny would not be allowed. The pictures of linstocks are very nice, though I'm more used to a cut-off wooden broomstick with a hole drilled through it, and maybe some wire to help keep the slowmatch in place. Coastie04

I would suggest both the Patrick O'Brien series, as well as the Hornblower series. They're not necessarily piratical, but nautical enough that they should be considered on the must read list. Without a good understanding of seamanship and that dreaded Navy, then ye be not a pirate for long. Coastie04

Lots of those Irish drinking songs could well pass for sea shanties. I know classics, such as the Old Dun Cow and Highland Laddie are common on ships. However, I've got a few sites for ye here. http://www.acronet.net/~robokopp/shanty.html http://www.jsward.com/shanty/ http://gamgee.acad.emich.edu/~tomlewis/alphalist.html http://www.chivalry.com/cantaria/ http://www.thebilgepumps.com/songs.htm http://www.theshantyman.com/SongLyrics.htm I hope this helps. Coastie04

If exlplaining extinction did it for Barney, then for the pink you have to explain that the 80's are long gone, and their styles are extinct. It's been more than a decade, and there's no excuse to be living that far in the past. Hope it helps Coastie04

Ok, here's some more... For a three ship fleet: 'Bud', 'Wei', and 'Ser' The Great Royal Grand (no reason not to pump up your own reputation) Dead Man's Ship Mary Celeste (unsure of spelling) Friday's Whistling Pig (tempt the fates? never...) Floating Brothel Blazin' Cannons CIA Worst Nightmare Trafalgar's Ghost Belching Flame Swift Death Regulations (another name to scare the naval forces) Red Tape (to scare the lubbers) Elephant's Ass (for the politicians) Murdered Albatross Dog Pound Satan's Toy Boat That's all for tonight. I'm not sure if I'll be able to get any more than that, but stranger things have happened. Coastie04 :angry:

Isn't that frog off of 'Larinda' (or something of the likes)? I think she has an orca whale on her transom. Coastie04 :angry:

This is one to take the gold fer ye modern pyrate flags. http://www.naughtyjollyroger.com/ Wouldn't mind flying this thing while sailing under Eagle's stern, or hoistin' it up her gaff, either. Coastie04 :angry:

I really think that would depend on the circumstances, and no one way can really be pinpointed. Sometimes the sea condition will not allow boardings, sometimes the pirates do want to sink vessels that are bigger and containing a higher level of available force(ie...the "oh shit" factor), and sometimes the shot used depends on the shot available. As demonstrated in POTC, in the right circumstances, anything could be used. The classic is broken glass from a swivel gun. Another good tactic is bar or chain at the rigging to disable, and then being able to rake with grape or canister, and board at leisure. If anyone played AOSII online, I've employed the dismast and rake tactic often. Coastie04 :angry:

If I were forced to put a barkentine into a category, I'd have to say she's square-rigged simply because she has her fore completely square-rigged. Just as a hermaphrodite brig is considered a square-rigger, though one mast is gaff-rigged, a barquentine should be given that description as well. Granted, this is personal opinion. Furthermore, I just don't believe that a barkentine could sail well without her squares set. Therefore, you would always see squares set except for special circumstances (getting underway, etc.). Then again, I'm rather generous about labeling things square-rigged, as I consider square tops'l schooners square-rigged as well. Yes, I know that they're primarily gaff rigged (usually), but they have a square sail. Therefore, they're both gaff and square rigged. Why not overlap terms? Coastie04 :angry:

Heated shot was definitely a shore vs ship tactic. Heating shot on a wooden ship with open powder would have been suicide. However, it did do quite a bit of damage to these ship when they were hit by the heated shot. Fire was the most feared disaster on a ship, as it was hard to control, spread quickly, and could lead to sudden death for all hands (some 'fertilizer' ships found this out). As for small arms, I fired a .60 cal smoothbore this summer and had about a 5" diameter spread at 50 feet. I'd say that an average combatant of the day would be able to at least hit a chest sized target at 100 feet. With a volley (as done on land), then 200 feet would easily do considerable damage, even with many misses. With a rifled barrel, the effective range increases considerably. Depending on what size cannons you're looking for, I found a couple sites: http://www.cannon-mania.com/Arsenal%20Store.htm http://www.cannonsonline.com/barrels.asp

A few suggestions here (some actually serious): The Good Ship Venus Swamped Prairie Schooner Silent Wake (kind of a pun there) The Black Spot Bonney Wench Yellow Submarine Whydah Lady Washington (hell, why not?) [Enter Pirate's Name Here]'s Revenge Chase Hall (That be terrifying to all CGA grads) Bancroft Hall (Same to all USNA grads-those whiners) I might have some later if I get my paper done. Coastie04 :angry:

Thanks for the great story. I look forward to your next installment. Coastie04

After a preliminary search on yahoo, I've come to find that only comics, RPGs and the Princess Bride ever come up. I'd say that the Princess Bride was the first to coin the term. Coastie04 :angry:

I'd say in addition to the cake, he's got all the pasta products as well.

Hat's off, bottles up, rum down.

I be a volunteer crew member of the brig Lady Washington, as well as a former volunteer on the schooner Adventuress. I've sailed the Coast Guard's training barque Eagle as a cadet, and the Ukranian schooner Bat'kivshchyna, and the schooner Western Union as an 'active passenger'. In addition to that resume, I've sailed some o' them funky modern racing rigs, though their only good to catch up to prey in the middle o' the night. One musket shot below the waterline would send those snot-built fiberglass hulls down to the bottom. If ye all e'er need a crew in the CT area (at least for another two years), then think o' me an' ye won't be regrettin' it. Coastie04

There's a piratical version of "Spanish Ladies" on one of the Bilge Pumps CDs, as well as "The Derelict". As a bonus track, they have an...I'll say interesting...song called "Buckaneer City" On their newest CD, the Bilge Pumps have "A Smuggler's Song", "Pirating the Seas", "Mrs. McGrath", and a great ballad called "The Dark Lady". I know I have some other good ones, but this is a start. For general nautical songs, with piratical songs in the mix, I'd suggest three groups: The Bilge Pumps (which just happened to be in my CD player at the time I was writing this), The Corsairs, and the Jolly Rogers. I know their websites are on the ports o' call page of www.noquartergiven.net Coastie04

Can't forget Sadie "the Goat". She was quite a character... Coastie04

I would suggest www.schoonerman.com for links to various ships. They don't really describe differences much, but have such a large collection of tall ships (steel included) that by looking at the pictures many differences can become quite obvious. Coastie04

Pictures of the schooner Amistad being built: http://www.amistadamerica.org/new/main/pho...llery/index.htm Coastie04

My bad, I knew that...That's what happens after a long weekend of a toga party and celebrating two friends' 21st birthdays, I guess. Yes, it was his Letter of Marque. Cool looking nonetheless, but no articles. As for articles, didn't this pub produce some fine articles a while back? I can't be sure if it was this site or another nautical one I'm a member of. It's hard to tell anything right now, as I was recently on a reception for the Indian Naval training ship. She's about a 170' barque, sister ship to the Lord Nelson. Nice boat, great crew, and outstanding hors d'oeuvre. Plus beer and wine. Unfortunately, they didn't have any crew articles to bring in as an example, but they're naval folk anyway. Coastie04

Picture of Kidd's articles (yes, I realize that some don't consider him a pirate, but privateers are close enough). I actually managed to use this on the cover of a report last year! Coastie04

For those interested in the rigging of tall ships, I would suggest two books...the Sailmaker's Apprentice and the Rigger's Apprentice. They tell more than you'd probably ever need to know about the superstructure of these fine wooden ships. On a different note, since it seems that many of you out there have more shipbuilding experience than me, how much would you say it would cost to rig a 30'-40' gaff-rigged schooner, especially if I do the work myself? Coastie04

Another one I've heard; tossing money overboard will bring on the wind (paying King Neptune, or the likes). Apparently, during the war of 1812, a privateering captain was being chased by a larger frigate in a dead calm. The captain tossed a silver dollar overboard and suddenly the wind blew hard and allowed the privateer to escape under reefed sails. The captain made a comment that he should have asked for change. As for the whistling, a BMC on a Coast Guard Cutter I was on this summer said that boatswain mates were the only ones allowed to whistle on a boat. This made sense to me, what with the bo's'un's pipe and all. Whistling was supposed to bring foul winds, whereas tossing money overboard were supposed to bring fair winds. Coastie04