MarkG

Related questions - a snaphaunce has a disk on the end of the pan that acts as a flash guard. It also makes it impossible to add additional flashguard. Is this sufficient? Mark

In my little head i was hoping for the puritan style clothing of earlier in the century....the really fancy stuff actually scares me.......like a picture of petticoat breeches i once saw(so that would be a noooooo Captain Sterling!) Thanks alot Hawkyns, great resource, though i believe i shall research how poorer people handled all this extravagance......i doubt somehow i could afford too much fabric....i also believe a trip to colonial williamsburgs book store is in order! Whats you guys opinion in the notion that you wouldnt exactly wear whats in fashion if you grew up earlier? lets say i was born in the 1620s and came of age wearing puritain style garb...is it reasonable that id sort of keep a bit of that old style? good lord o think im going off topic......mabey.... Most Puritans didn't wear "puritan" style clothing. For example, this guy was one of the Puritan leaders - Lord Say and Sele. He's wearing as much lace as a Cavalier. In New England they did outlaw slashes in the body of a doublet and limit sleeves to a single slash. This law was on the books until the 1980s. People kept up with current styles as their budget allowed. There was a thriving used clothing business in England, much more so than in other countries, so it was possible to see poor English wearing out-dated styles. Mark

Pretty close to what you find today.

Pretty good. . . . but (you knew this was coming), it is a full-size copy of Columbus's ship, not a scale copy as you say on the last page (which proves that I read the whole thing). Mark Really? I wonder where I got that idea? I could swear one of the guides said it was 2/3. I will most certainly fix that error. The Nina and Pinta were 2/3s the size of the Santa Maria. You probably heard that. Mark

Pretty good. . . . but (you knew this was coming), it is a full-size copy of Columbus's ship, not a scale copy as you say on the last page (which proves that I read the whole thing). Mark

I7th century flasks were made of horn, among other things, but did not take the same form as the 18th century common american horn. The 17th c horn ones were generally flattened and had a spring loaded cover to the opening. The trapezoidal flask was also very popular in the first half of the century Horns were also frequently made from stag or elk horn. Hawkyns Notice that a couple of these have two levers. You would turn it upside down while holding the first lever and shake the flask a bit. Then you would release the first lever and push the second one. This would release a measured charge. I've seen this arrangement on several 17th century flasks. The alternative was to pour powder into a separate measure. Neither of these is suitable for warfare. Fancy flasks lie these would normally be reserved for hunting. Musketeers normally used a bandoleer (in the 19th or 20th century they started calling this a band of apostles but this was not a period term). These were drilled so that they would hold a measured charge. They are very quick to load from and the wood bottles do a good job of protecting the powder. I've seen people people have a priming flask go up in their hand with none of the main charges going off. Bandoleers were too difficult to use from horseback so cavalry and dragoons carried cartridge boxes with paper charges. From long experience I can say that each has advantages and disadvantages. It takes longer to make paper cartridges and they go through a lot of paper - a big consideration in an age when paper was rarer than today. It is also slightly faster to load from a bandoleer although this goes down as you use up charges since you have to double check that the bottle you selected is full. On the other hand, it is much quicker to distribute paper charges. Once they started including the bullet in the cartridge the paper cartridge was faster. At the same time, paper became easier to come by. By the end of the 17th century, most armies were using paper cartridges instead of bandoleers. You can make a case for pirates continuing to use bandoleers later than Europeans armies since they were a long way from a source of paper. Buccaneers (cow killers) probably used flasks since they started out as hunters and bandoleers rattle. Mark

Yeah, but I'm hardcore, you know that Mark. I play from 1580 to 1780, 5 major periods, 5 different sets of kit, including weapons. BUT it's taken me 30 years to get to that point, and my kit still changes as new information and sources become available. If they are young and have limited resources, then concentrate on the one period and don't try crossing periods until you can get the kit to match the venue. I guess I hark back to one of the first times we met, back at Plimoth, what '88 or so?. I've been using their ideas as a base for my standard since then. Took me 10 years to get to that point, and the progression has continued since then. So yeah, I'm harsh when I look at other kit, especially when they are cross timing. They're young, no great hurry. Take it slow, concentrate on one thing and get it right, before starting the next, and then put the same effort in before you take it into the field. Hawkyns Steve, Let's face it - this event was not Plimoth. We were in a modern park and outnumbered around 10,000 to 1 by visitors. The event needed people. They came and did a good job of interacting with the public and doing drills. It would have been that much busier for the rest of us if they hadn't come. Mark

That's pretty harsh. I left before the lamppost on Sunday but there was nothing in their portrayal on Saturday that suggested pirate. I was camped next to them so I know how they were presenting themselves. Yes, their gear was off for the time period but I can't see doing new costumes for a one-day event and they did make an effort to look earlier. They left off the obvious 18th century gear. If anything, they looked a bit earlier than the 17th century. Sidenote - when they are at circa-1700 events they look great. Also, they provided the pike drills. Mark

Does anyone have a problem with the ship using some of the pictures that have been posted here for future publicity releases? Mark

A peer-reviewed article just published in Britain says that most of the recent observe warming is due to a multi-decadal currents. These were only recognized in the 1990s. If you factor that out then global warming is in the 0-1 degree range instead of the 5-10 degree range. The Register covered this. Mark

I think the fact that all three pairs of those boots are depicted with stirrups speaks volumes about the use of boots in our period.... And to be honest, the second and third image in that set looks more like shoes and gaitors than boots in my opinion anyways... Oh, exactly. And as I said, a type of period half-chaps. Still, I know I fancy the idea of these rather than cumbersome boots. When no need for the boots, remove the half-chaps. Protects the fine stockings I'm sure. Or at least used by the smugglers on horseback perhaps. And Dogge has a point there. Footwear depending upon what you did on board. Course, was researched that during the Rev War, some people went barefoot even when they had shoes to save their said footwear from wear and tear to use them for a more necessary situation that required the footwear. ~Lady B That was also the origin of bucket topped boots. You pulled them up when riding then folded them down when dismounted. These became stylish, even without a horse, during the 2nd quarter of the 17th century. A buccaneer who wanted to look stylish might pull these on for walking around town but they were not associated with sailors at all. Cavalry started using heavy knee-length boots during this same period. These were heavy enough to deflect a sword stroke so they stopped wearing armor below the knee. The armor from that period is referred to as a 3/4 suit since it does not cover the lower leg. There was also the coachman's boot. The coachman would ride on one of the horses, controlling them. He wore an extra heavy boot on the leg that was in-between the horses to protect his leg. It looks like a bucket top boot but is much heavier and was not worn in pairs. Mark

The event went great. Weather was perfect on Saturday. We had two battles where pirates in two boats attacked the ship. Everyone had fun. This was the ships second-highest attendance of the year (right after the last pirate weekend). There was a (pirate-themed) wedding on the ship after hours so we moved the event to the R Bar (Arrrh Bar) where Mickey held a couple of successful fundraisers. Saturday had some light rain so we skipped the battles and just let people fire small arms to their hearts' content. It never rained hard, just enough to get things damp. We are on for next year with one event in mid-May and a second one on Talk Like A Pirate Day weekend. Thanks to everyone who was there. You were all great.

Remember that there is a wedding rehearsal going on between 7 and 9. I'm not sure when I'll get down there but it will be before the rehearsal ends since I have to arrange to kidnap the bride. Mark

From The Register: A rookie police officer suffered scratches and bites to his hands and arms after being asked to escort a celebrity parrot to a Dover police station, the Telegraph reports. The owner of the 3ft wingspan macaw was pulled at Dover ferry dock after an officer spotted the bird loose in her vehicle. She was cuffed after checks showed she was banned from driving, and PC Martn Dadd, being "the officer with the least length of service", was "volunteered" to drive the car to "a more appropriate location". Chief Superintendent Steve Masters, of the Port of Dover Police, explained: "A very nervous probationary officer then proceeded to drive the vehicle to the police station with great difficulty and an equal amount of dexterity as the macaw perched itself on the steering wheel pecking at his fingers throughout the journey." Police later discovered the disgruntled bird was an A-list avian who appeared in Pirates of the Caribbean: The Curse of the Black Pearl (see pic). Masters said: "A relative of the lady came to pick up the macaw and told us that it had been used in the Pirates of the Caribbean movie. It was a bit of surprise I must admit to end up with a celebrity on our hands." The cantankerous macaw's owner was bailed on a charge of driving while disqualified, and will appear before magistrates at a later date. ®

Of course I am. I'll be at the Half Moon the 26th when it hits Albany. Mark

No, I was at Jamestown this weekend, the Santa Maria next weekend, and the Half Moon the weekend after that when it is in Albany. Mark

One bit that I really liked was that they heated the rammer before shooting it into a barrel of gunpowder. Just shooting a ball into a barrel of powder is unlikely to set it off (sorry Captain Jack). The flashbacks become more important later in the series when some English show up on the island. Mark

The Half Moon will be in Albany on Saturday, Sep. 26 (corrected date) with a colonal camp set up nearby (I'll be one of the colonists). The Barges are supposed to arrive at Albany on Sunday the 20th. The barges' full schedule is here. Mark

There is Kate Souris (my wife), and Mark G and Jennie G as well as Ben Fridley all of whom work together regularly are in Ohio (Columbus Area). There are a few people in Indiana and Kentucky just over the respective borders in the not too far from Cincy area, Fayma and a few of the Sacred Heart fall into that category, and there may be some others as well. I know some people from the Ohio Renn Fest that are not on this forum that also fall into that category, although I haven't been in close touch with that scene in a couple of years, but I could probably given some time put you in touch if you were so interested. If you are not doing anything on the Sept 19 or 20th weekend, we'd love to have you up in Columbus for this event, feel free to stop by as a spectator or a participant or straddle the line between the two if you wish. It would be good to meet you. Hope this helps, Cheers! Don't forget Thomas who doesn't post but shows up for pirate events. There are also some SCA-related pirates in the Cincinnati/Covington area. The made it to a couple of Santa Maria events last year.

I checked the rope ladder over the weekend. It is plenty long enough but anyone trying it will want to practice ahead of time. Also, wear gloves. It's sisal which leaves splinters. I got one just checking it out. It's this style of ladder. Mark

One solution was to wear a knitted cap - either a stocking cap or a fitted monmoth caps or leather caps. See Gentlemen of Fortune for some more information about caps and headgear. Mark

I saw this lock today at the Faire At New Boston and asked the seller about it. It is meant to be mounted on a cannon with a side vent. It has not been drilled. She said that normally it would either have the side of the pan drilled as with a normal lock or it would be used with a quill. The quill would be bent down slightly. She also confirmed that it was made for Master and Commander. Mark

Could it have something to do with Phrenology?

That's what they all say - just before the judge orders them hung. Mark