hitman

And pray you don't meet any privateer. Todays pirates use zodiacs and Aks not brigs and flintlocks. Some of the worst atrocites commited by the pirates of old would be the s.o.p. for todays pirates most of whom base themselves in the east china sea region. As an aside the bbc recently ran an articale that murders by pirates have picked up recently. This link will take you to the article, http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/world/asia-paci...fic/3925277.stm If I recall correctly we covered this topic a while back in the thread "So what" started by milamber, in witch some of our mates discused their experince hunting pirates there while in the millitary.

You gotta love that.

Aye that is a loaded question. First off one mans pirate is another mans naval hero. (I.E. John Paul Jones or Sir Francis Drake) Beyond that what you make of whom is your call as pirates run the gammit of time and location like virtualy no other group. Although we think of them as the sea dogs west of the line bringing war to the poweful in square rigged vessels would we think of a Chinesse whore as a pirate? (Ching Shih possibly the worlds most successful pirate was just that.) So do we paint these people with one broad brush as heros or villians or do we enjoy revaling in our dreams of the past. I don't know what the correct answer is but I do know that as for me I'll stick to the dream.

Just to let you know mates The new game (Pirates) is coming out in the third quarter or early fourth. The original is a classic and the reviews of this one indicate it will be even better. Also just downloaded the sim and like it already. For links to the Pirates game see my earlier post.

There is a tradition or right of passage for sailors crossing the equator for the first time. This is a tradition that is carried out today onboard ship in our own navy. Sailors who have never crossed the line go through a series of trials (some have reffered to this as hazing) and after passage they are no longer newubie's I have forgotten the terms applied to each but that is the gist of it. So yes it is a cermony held aboard ship with a sailor playing the part of Neptune.

SINK HER what have you mates lost your mind that vessel will bring a fortune. I say we board her and sell her at port ebay.

Just a quick thougth for the sails ye might wana consider poly sails ( egads I have said something untraditonal ) They be in my plans for pickup as I can't afford anything else. Cost for they're white sails kit was $150 last I checked. Wanted Egyptian cotton but ain't got the dough.

Captian Jack Sparrow This be me "sometimes"

Well done Pyrate! I must commend you I got the plans for my pram Pickup 6 months ago and haven't started construction yet. A ? mate how much epoxy you think ya gonna need this has been one of the key factor's in my delay. That and I gotta fix up my powerboat. (Sometimes winning that church raffle is a blessing and a curse!)

R/C Chinese treasure Junk would be awesome. 9 masts would probaply be a little hard on the controls though. I better stop now other wise I'll never get me pram built little on re building the chapparal's interior.

Yeah the golden age of pyracy in the med didn't end till pretty recently. Greeks, Romans, carthage, vikings, various other europeans, the moors, pretty much since man discovered the waves there has been pirates in the med. Hey they even got a mention in The Marine Corp. hymn, Course for that matter the Corsairs of the Med. are pretty much the reason we have a permanet navy today. Quess piracy has what one might call timeless appeal mates!

Not 100% on target but the doc's of the time would diagnose mental disorders by using facial expressions, I.E. Your cousin with the wierd leer of a smile would be in the insane asylum now. They even published books on the topic with pic's of the faces of insane. Just thought I'd contribute this as it has been a useful device in a couple of my short stories.

To the best of my knowledge(i.e. historical accounts not actual sea fareing) it's correct but as to it's practical spec's(who what when where why) I can not speak with the authority of an old salt however my understanding is it was for light airs.

Now that is cool. Hope they find them.

Uh oh desertpyrate is a geek! You use a program for the boot screen or do the old school reg hack mate? Also quite frankly being a pirate I don't care but swabin up after you install the theme is slightly illegal. Beyond that spybot/adaware should strip that gunk off faster mates.

I've been off the boards for a while but incase u mates didn't know one of the worlds greatest computer games and the first computer game about pirates (called oddly enough PIRATES) Has been remade and is coming out soon. For those of you who rember the commodore 64 this will bring back meomories for those of you who don't this will cause to loose sleep,miss work,talk in a lanquages no one understands and in general make you act just like that 16 year old ever crack addict who mows your lawn in between raids. The game is rated awsome by the reviewers who cared at e3 and besides Rome Total war it looks to be the only game I'm gonna pre order this year. A link mates http://www.atari.com/pirates/pirates/home.php?lg=1

I gotta learn how to scubba that and a private pilots license will pertty much complete most of my goals.......So far! If you ever get into cell nav ( not what you need for this project but...) at sailing.about.com there is a link to a downloadble copy of The Practical American Navigator (1995) The book that took cell nav out of the hands of the rich and put into anyones grasp. ( I say that but I still ain't quite sure half the time)

Ok mates got a question for you does anyone publish a book on common piratical arms from the small arms to the cannon and conversley one about the weapons of the royal navy from the same time frame. I should proably know this but .........

Ahh the so called experts strike agian Don't ya love it?

Just checked The secret voyage out from the library and picked up confederate raider from osprey. Man I need more money the book bill around here is so bad its pathetic!

WHAT DIDN'T THINK YOU'D SEE ME HERE MATE I'M IN FOR A GOLDEN CHAIN OR A WOODEN LEG ( and yes I know I'm shouting.)

Bravo Deacon Yes the raiders were fitted out all over the world but they were public ships. My intrest in the privateers kinda stems from the lack of info I could find on them. The Confederate Privateers is the first (and to date the only) good source I've found. Also I must apologize I had ment to put this thread in Capt. Twill but lack of caffine caught up with me.

Ok this this thread is a continuation of one I started in plunder. Deacon the reason Her Majesties degree prevented privateers from fitting out in England was two fold. 1 It not only prevented them from bringing in their prizes but also had provisions against outfitting privateers so crossing the sea to get weapons was a mute point if you had to sail home to bring in your prizes. 2 The confederate laws for the issuing of letters of mark required that they be inspect by a person authorized to issue said letters of mark and that they be already fully equipped. For these reason confederate privateers did not at any time fit out in Europe. They were only effectively fit out in the Southern ports of Charleston, New Orleans, and Savannah.. After the year 1861 few if any applications were made for letters of mark and reprisal and by the end 1862 the lure of blockade running was so strong that no more successful cruises were made. As to the confusion about this we are making the distinction here between the privateers and the Confederate navy. Although they considered themselves a separate country the confederate states were considered by the Union merely rebellious states. Hence they described even the naval vessels of the South as pirates (Yes pirates not privateers as a foot note it was only the threat of reprisals by the Confederacy that kept captured privateers from the pirates fate of the nose). So even though ships like the C.S.S. Alabama and Florida outfitted in Europe the privateers did not. It is interesting to note that both the Hunnley and the Manassas were both originally fitted out for privateering. It is the conclusion of most historians that privateering was by April of 1861 an idea past its prime. The failure of it during The war between the states seems to confirm this. As I was looking for information to reenact these last of the breed I was not disappointed. It appears that many went to see rich in small arms but poor in main artillery. A description of arms from one of these vessels would be similar to the following, Rifles converted to percussion from flintlock (presumably as this was all that was available) Revolvers and single shot pistols of various type and caliber Sawed of shotguns And of course the predominant cutlass ( in at least one case these were made for the vessel by a local black smith) As to clothing it was a mess of local sailor attire. The early cruises of some vessels were quite successful and even the issuance of the letters of marque and reprisal were a huge scare to the Union merchant marine. As an example of this it appears that nothing but a few unsuccessful attempt were made in the pacific but there were multiple reports of black painted crafted tormenting packet and whale ships all along the coast of California. In a more personal note I grew up near the ogechee river and was surprised to find that the Confederate States Privately Armed Ship Rattle Snake was sunk at the mouth of this river by Union vessels……Took the stupid Yankees three tries with an IRONCLAD I might add.

Sorry to bring such an old post up but if any of you were intrested I found one definitive source on the confederate privateers. Called (duh) The Confederate Privateers by William Morrison Robinson Jr.. It's currently published by theUniversity of South carolinia orgiganilly published by Yale university press 1928. So far it seems some of the things we had assumed to date about the privateers were wrong. (When I say we I mean here on the board) Chief among them the assumtion that the privateers fitted out chiefly over seas, not so due to the neutrality laws england laid down forbidding the condeming of prizes in her waters thus makeing cruising far abroad too dangerous and unprofitable for these private men of war. Belive this book may lead to more discoveries if ya'll be intrested I think I'll start a new thread in Capt. Twill as I am drifting away from the primary purpose of plunder.....We shall see.