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Fort Zachary Taylor update for PIP 2007


William Brand

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Not too long ago, Harry mentioned that Fort Zachary Taylor was seeking funding to repair the barracks and walls of the fort. The fort has recieved the 2.4 million necessary to repair the large portions of the fort necessary to extend the life of this historical landmark. This money will be used to stabalize the structure and correct the ravages of time which have rendered some of the fort unusable. It is excellent news for the fort and those of us who want to see her repaired and fully restored for our long term use.

What does this mean to those of us who are attending Pirates in Paradise? I shall explain the conversation I just had today with Harry.

In order to repair the barracks, a construction fence will be placed along the parade grounds inside the fort itself. This means that the portion of the field from the cannon to the flagpole will be blocked off all along the Easterly and Northern side. We will still have access to the West wall of the fort by way of the circular stairs there, so that firing on the fort and cannon fire from the fort will still take place as part of the festival.

However, all camps will be outside of the fort this year. The 1680 Port Royal, Sutler and 1720 Careening camps will all be situated in the trees just south of the fort in what is known as the 'picnic area'. This allows us to camp in the open very near the water and it furthers the necessary construction on the fort that will allow us more opportunities to camp within the walls of the fort the following year.

Those of us who have enjoyed fort Zachary Taylor so far understand how very necessary these repairs will be. It will be possible to house even more redcoats and pirates without the need for tents in 2008. It is possible that we might double the number of attendees again in 2008.

Harry and I also discussed scheduling and he has restated that participants in the festival camps can attend for free. There will be no camping fees or festival fees at the fort. Attendees may arrive as early as Tuesday, November 27th and stay through Monday, December 3rd.

Campfires will be allowed at the various camps. There will be two campfires per camp and perhaps more depending on the population of each camp as the event draws near.

For those who have asked about portraying redcoats at the event, there will be a redcoat encampment in addition to the 1680 Port Royal, sutler and 1720 Careening camps. That's four beautiful period camps...for those of you at home who are keeping track.

It is our hope that your attendance and participation at this year's Pirates in Paradise will mark the largest pirate gathering in the history of the festival. If you have any questions regarding the fort and camps in general, you may ask them here, or you may contact those individuals working on each specific encampment. Please see the appropriate threads for each camping group.

 

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So basically, it's where it was in 2004, before it moved inside the fort. If so -- woohoo! That's a great place to play pirate, other in the wooded groves near the upper part of the beach.

To clarify then, the merchants (sutlers) and the encampments will all be in the same place, as will the entertainment and the all the activities. Also the part above the beach is ideal for cannon fire, far better than the fort if we're all over there anyway.

-- Hurricane

-- Hurricane

______________________________________________________________________

http://piratesofthecoast.com/images/pyracy-logo1.jpg

  • Captain of The Pyrates of the Coast
  • Author of "Memoirs of a Buccaneer: 30 Year Before the Mast" (Published in Fall 2011)
  • Scurrilous Rogue
  • Stirrer of Pots
  • Fomenter of Mutiny
  • Bon Vivant & Roustabout
  • Part-time Carnival Barker
  • Certified Ex-Wife Collector
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"I was screwed. I readied my confession and the sobbing pleas not to tell my wife. But as I turned, no one was in the bed. The room was empty. The naked girl was gone, like magic."

"Memoirs of a Buccaneer: 30 Years Before the Mast" - Amazon.com

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So basically, it's where it was in 2004, before it moved inside the fort. If so -- woohoo! That's a great place to play pirate, other in the wooded groves near the upper part of the beach.

To clarify then, the merchants (sutlers) and the encampments will all be in the same place, as will the entertainment and the all the activities. Also the part above the beach is ideal for cannon fire, far better than the fort if we're all over there anyway.

-- Hurricane

Aye. We will all be in the same general area. Harry is going to begin mapping out that part of the park for our encampments. Then a week before the festival he will rope off all of the areas we'll have to choose from and we can set up as we see fit.

When I told Harry how many people had already delcared a desire to attend PIP he nearly choked. He is very excited.

 

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If everyone shows up it's going to be absolutely incredible. I'm excited about the area. If you weren't there in 2004, that's the area we used then and in 03. You couldn't help but have the period feel there.

Looking forward to it and the days are just counting by.

-- Hurricane

-- Hurricane

______________________________________________________________________

http://piratesofthecoast.com/images/pyracy-logo1.jpg

  • Captain of The Pyrates of the Coast
  • Author of "Memoirs of a Buccaneer: 30 Year Before the Mast" (Published in Fall 2011)
  • Scurrilous Rogue
  • Stirrer of Pots
  • Fomenter of Mutiny
  • Bon Vivant & Roustabout
  • Part-time Carnival Barker
  • Certified Ex-Wife Collector
  • Experienced Drinking Companion

"I was screwed. I readied my confession and the sobbing pleas not to tell my wife. But as I turned, no one was in the bed. The room was empty. The naked girl was gone, like magic."

"Memoirs of a Buccaneer: 30 Years Before the Mast" - Amazon.com

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on this i have to totally agree with hurricane the area over to the south of the fort is wonderful and it does have a much more period feel to what we have in mind with the encampments etc.

will the pub be outside with us or will that area still be inside the fort under those trees is actually pretty cool compared to the open ground inside the fort :ph34r::ph34r::ph34r::ph34r:

:ph34r:B)B)B)

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in the trees just south of the fort in what is known as the 'picnic area'.

Aye good news indeed! That sandy grove is a pyrates paradise for sure. In Fact, might like to stay even when the fort is finished

:ph34r::ph34r::ph34r::ph34r::ph34r:B)B)B):ph34r::ph34r::ph34r::ph34r:B)

uhm can we tie tarps and maybe hammocks to the trees?

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will the pub be outside with us or will that area still be inside the fort  under those trees is actually pretty cool compared to the open ground inside the fort

The pub and food vendors will probably be outside with us as well, but some of these details are still in the planning stages. I am unsure about the hammocks, but I imagine it won't be a problem.

Still, I will pass all of these questions on to Harry tomorrow and report back. Are there any other specific questions that I can pass on at that time?

 

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Just to clarify, we will have access to the fort... Only not in certain areas??

Any pics of the area we're to be situated in??

(just interested for logistics and planning photo ops)

rats

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No rest for the wicked! Wait a minute... that's me?!

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Here's a few that I just grabbed out of iPhoto this morning for ya...

kw04-1.jpg

kw04-2.jpg

kw04-3.jpg

kw04-4.jpg

kw04-5.jpg

Hurricane

-- Hurricane

______________________________________________________________________

http://piratesofthecoast.com/images/pyracy-logo1.jpg

  • Captain of The Pyrates of the Coast
  • Author of "Memoirs of a Buccaneer: 30 Year Before the Mast" (Published in Fall 2011)
  • Scurrilous Rogue
  • Stirrer of Pots
  • Fomenter of Mutiny
  • Bon Vivant & Roustabout
  • Part-time Carnival Barker
  • Certified Ex-Wife Collector
  • Experienced Drinking Companion

"I was screwed. I readied my confession and the sobbing pleas not to tell my wife. But as I turned, no one was in the bed. The room was empty. The naked girl was gone, like magic."

"Memoirs of a Buccaneer: 30 Years Before the Mast" - Amazon.com

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Just to clarify, we will have access to the fort... Only not in certain areas??

Any pics of the area we're to be situated in??

(just interested for logistics and planning photo ops)

rats

As you enter the fort you will be able to move along the Southern and Western part of the parade grounds. There will probably be limited access to the arched area on the Northern end, but the spiral stairs leading to the top of the fort should be open for our use.

The contruction work is currently out on bid and the construction work should begin in July. By then, the areas open to us should be fully apparent and the construction will not limit our access to any other part of the park.

 

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My only question is how does the change in camping location change our material needs for camping, ie, tent stakes?

I know it was mentioned that inside the fort the ground is hard & necessitates iron stakes. What is it like in "the grove"? Is it sandy enough that we'll need to punch down further to keep things upright?

Also the ability to use some of those lovely trees for support in place of tent poles would be especially wonderful.

"If part of the goods be plundered by a pirate the proprietor or shipmaster is not entitled to any contribution." An introduction to merchandize, Robert Hamilton, 1777

Slightly Obsessed, an 18th Century reenacting blog

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We used the trees and some normal stakes. The ground is more dirt than sand there. We have no problems with the ground...

-- Hurricane

-- Hurricane

______________________________________________________________________

http://piratesofthecoast.com/images/pyracy-logo1.jpg

  • Captain of The Pyrates of the Coast
  • Author of "Memoirs of a Buccaneer: 30 Year Before the Mast" (Published in Fall 2011)
  • Scurrilous Rogue
  • Stirrer of Pots
  • Fomenter of Mutiny
  • Bon Vivant & Roustabout
  • Part-time Carnival Barker
  • Certified Ex-Wife Collector
  • Experienced Drinking Companion

"I was screwed. I readied my confession and the sobbing pleas not to tell my wife. But as I turned, no one was in the bed. The room was empty. The naked girl was gone, like magic."

"Memoirs of a Buccaneer: 30 Years Before the Mast" - Amazon.com

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We will still have access to the West wall of the fort by way of the circular stairs there, so that firing on the fort and cannon fire from the fort will still take place as part of the festival.

Not having seen the Fort, would this wall be facing the water to possibly include The Wolf in a gun battle with the Redcoats in the Fort??


"I being shot through the left cheek, the bullet striking away great part of my upper jaw, and several teeth which dropt down the deck where I fell... I was forced to write what I would say to prevent the loss of blood, and because of the pain I suffered by speaking."~ Woodes Rogers

Crewe of the Archangel

http://jcsterlingcptarchang.wix.com/creweofthearchangel#

http://creweofthearchangel.wordpress.com/

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We will still have access to the West wall of the fort by way of the circular stairs there, so that firing on the fort and cannon fire from the fort will still take place as part of the festival. 

Not having seen the Fort, would this wall be facing the water to possibly include The Wolf in a gun battle with the Redcoats in the Fort??

Aye, the Western wall of the fort is featured in all of the battle pictures where it shows the cannon on the top of the fort walls pointed out to sea. I will include some more pictures tomorrow to illustrate this point.

 

image.jpeg.6e5f24495b9d06c08a6a4e051c2bcc99.jpeg

 

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Thank you, most grateful


"I being shot through the left cheek, the bullet striking away great part of my upper jaw, and several teeth which dropt down the deck where I fell... I was forced to write what I would say to prevent the loss of blood, and because of the pain I suffered by speaking."~ Woodes Rogers

Crewe of the Archangel

http://jcsterlingcptarchang.wix.com/creweofthearchangel#

http://creweofthearchangel.wordpress.com/

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I just realilzed it IS tomorrow...so here you go.

:blink:;););)


"I being shot through the left cheek, the bullet striking away great part of my upper jaw, and several teeth which dropt down the deck where I fell... I was forced to write what I would say to prevent the loss of blood, and because of the pain I suffered by speaking."~ Woodes Rogers

Crewe of the Archangel

http://jcsterlingcptarchang.wix.com/creweofthearchangel#

http://creweofthearchangel.wordpress.com/

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Brilliant thank you! :blink:;)


"I being shot through the left cheek, the bullet striking away great part of my upper jaw, and several teeth which dropt down the deck where I fell... I was forced to write what I would say to prevent the loss of blood, and because of the pain I suffered by speaking."~ Woodes Rogers

Crewe of the Archangel

http://jcsterlingcptarchang.wix.com/creweofthearchangel#

http://creweofthearchangel.wordpress.com/

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The water in this picture is in the moat that lies between the fort and the parade ground that in turn lies between the moat and the Gulf of Mexico.

ebf47aaf.jpg

That same water is 25-30 feet down and just beyond William's toes in this picture.

9d8b0aa5.jpg

3ff66f1f.jpg

My occupational hazard bein' my occupation's just not around...

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8-9113.jpg

A view from above. We'll be camping in the trees at the bottom of the picture. North is located toward the upper left corner, not straight up.

3ff66f1f.jpg

My occupational hazard bein' my occupation's just not around...

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This helps thank you all... will get things laid out and then get back to you, need to make an emergency trip to NY for my dad... I will most likely be out of touch until Thursday or Friday...


"I being shot through the left cheek, the bullet striking away great part of my upper jaw, and several teeth which dropt down the deck where I fell... I was forced to write what I would say to prevent the loss of blood, and because of the pain I suffered by speaking."~ Woodes Rogers

Crewe of the Archangel

http://jcsterlingcptarchang.wix.com/creweofthearchangel#

http://creweofthearchangel.wordpress.com/

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