MarkG

It's easier to get thin brick facings to add to walls. Our kitchen has some of those.

The Gervase Markham quote in your original link is probably the best description you are likely to find: Jamestown Glasshouse sells bottles like this although I don't know if they are up to holding pressurized contents. They turn them out fast and they are encouraged to make them look handmade. The onion bottles are the closest to Markham's description.

Right. At sea the wind tends to come from the same direction. You cannot sail into the wind so you either have to take a different route back or tack (sail back and forth at an angle). The Columbus route is still the best way to sail between Europe and America. You sail south until you are even with the Canary Islands (off of Africa) then turn west and you end up in the Caribbean. From there you can either return by sailing north to Florida and catching the Gulf Stream or you can sail up the American coast most of the way. To go to Asia from Europe, you take nearly the same route but bare south until the wind shifts from the north. By this time you are near Brazil. From there the wind will take you south and east to the tip of Africa. This was the Portuguese route. One of their ships got blown off course and made landfall on South America which is why Brazil speaks Portuguese. This was important during the GAoP. The Spanish were downwind from Tortuga and the other pirate haunts. They were on what it known as the Windward Islands. When the wind is behind you, it makes it easier to chase down your prey. It also made reprisals harder since the Spanish would have to keep a fleet together on a long, round-about trip.

The wind was the main propulsion but currents were important. The quickest way from the Caribbean to Europe is to take the Gulf Stream. There, the wind and currents both go the same way. There is a theory that Ponce de Leon was trying to reach the Yucatan Peninsula and set sail directly for it but was pushed north by the currents and hit Florida instead. I have a book written in the 1990s that followed his log and that is how the current carries you. Unfortunately you end up a long way south of St. Augustine. In clear water navigators tried to estimate currents by dropping a weighted line and seeing how far out it bowed. This was an art rather than a science.

That is better than the one I have. I will forward it to Linda.

It needs to be cooking on the ship. It would have to be an earlier year. Last year we cooked on shore. I have some nice pictures of that but it isn't what Linda needs.

Does anyone have a picture of someone cooking on the Santa Maria from a previous pirate weekend? The ship's director needs one.

There are all sorts of paintings and woodcuts from the 30 Years War of former soldiers with wooden legs. If you have any links to them.....Please post. I would love to see them......as a guide. Here is a beggar with a wooden leg and crutches by Jacques Callot.

There are all sorts of paintings and woodcuts from the 30 Years War of former soldiers with wooden legs.

Already gone. The stock looks like it is based on the ones from Littlecote House but without the carving. That is what my carbine is based on.

It took Columbus around six weeks to sail from Spain to the Caribbean. The trip back was a little shorter - 28 days from the Spanish Main to Palos, Spain. The expedition to outfit Jamestown had less favorable weather. It took them four and a half months to get from London to Virginia. That included six weeks of winter storms in the English Channel and some time spent trying to find fresh water in the Caribbean. It took the Pilgrims a bit over to months two sail from Plymouth England to Cape Cod.

A lot of sutlers use tents from Panther Primitives.

The ratchet or pawl on a windlass is called a dog. Some of those were large and heavy enough to cause damage when dropped from a height. I don't know why one would be loose. The were a vital part of the windlass. That's the only "dog" I know of on a ship. I checked definitions and didn't see any other likely meanings.

These spoons look like ones from around 1840. The style is very similar to ones in use for centuries. The main difference is the round bowl. The way to be certain is the touchmark. There should be a letter stamped on the bottom. If you look up the letter and font you will know what year it was made. They turn up occasionally. I got four for $40 a few years ago from a dealer who should have looked up what he had.

Obviously you didn't lose power. Ours went out around 4 am. It finally came back around 4:30 pm.

I would put the swivel closer to the stock to make it easier to aim. I've shot a heavy matchlock with a rest and it works best with the rest foot or so forward of the touch hole. Any further and you have to move your entire body to adjust your aim. I did a bit of quick research for this message and found a nice example from a Lewis and Clark recreation.

My daughter lives in Brighton and has used both Gatwick and Heathrow. She says to avoid Heathrow at all costs. She also advises against JFK. I think that we went to Gatwick via Atlanta last year. Be sure to set aside at least a day for the HMS Victory and the rest of the museums at Portsmouth.

A low-cost, period substitute is to use wooden beads.

Question - do you mean on a regular ship or on a pirate ship? Pirate crews were a collection of equals where the officers could be voted out of office if the crew didn't like them. Captain Kidd's crew is an interesting case. Officially he was a pirate hunter but his crew was continually mutinous. One crewman insulted Kidd for refusing to attack a Dutch ship so Kidd hit him with a bucket. He later claimed that he hadn't realized that it was an iron bound bucket. The crewman died from the injury, contributing a charge of murder to Kidd and a verse to the song about him "I murdered William Moore and I left him in his gore..." Anyway, it shows that crewmen felt comfortable talking back to the captain.

You know, Blackbeard was not on Queen Anne's Revenge when he died. I expect that he transferred his personal effects including his weapons to the smaller ship when Queen Anne's Revenge ran aground. Mark

I so wanted to say "Bore-y Lyndon" after I saw Cascabel's response because that is exactly what it made me think of, but it seemed inappropriate. I should really see that movie instead of just relying on the satire to inform me. It may be a bit boring by today's standards, with not a whole lot of explosions, car chases, etc., but great costuming, a good story line, and some well researched period battle sequences, along with most scenes filmed using natural light. >>>>> Cascabel It really is more of a series of narrated illustrations than a regular movie. It looks great but very little happens in any scene.

Some guns were repaired. This does not look like one of those. There is a thriving industry in making entirely new guns using bits and pieces from old guns, mixed with new parts. They are meant as wall hangers although they would look good in someone belt, as well. I bought a pair of these years ago for the locks. They were snaphaunce locks. I managed to replace the missing parts on one ang get it firing. Then I threw away the rest of the guns and made an entirely new piece to put it on. This pistol is probably one of these. I suspect that its pieces were ever part of the same gun until a few years ago. That means that it does not have much value. I would not try firing it, or even in the area if someone else fired it. If the barrel is original then it could be pitted. If someone is interested in it then base your price on comparable non-firing repros.

Personally I thought that #3 was better than #2. Dead Man's Chest had too many set pieces that didn't really advance the plot. Three was actually heading somewhere. This was complicated by Disney insisting that they start filming both movies at once before either script was finished. My biggest complaint with #2 and #3 is that the stopped being pirates. By World's End, they morphed into freedom fighters. I'm hoping that with Blackbeard they will add in some plundering. My assumption is that the studio executives saw a rough cut of #4 and started signing people for two more.

We are thinking of making a few changes in the way visitors are handled. Last time the weekend was so popular that the tours were too large. With PoTC coming out a few days after our event, I expect this to be a big weekend. We will probably let visitors wonder around the ship at their own pace instead of being part of a big groups. This gives the reenactors more chances to interact with the public a few at a time (too bad pirates are notoriously shy). I assume that we can coax Mission to set up his surgeon display. If anyone else would like to set up a display, let me know and we can reserve some space for you. Mark Also, if anyone wants to help present my displays of weapons and navigational equipment instead of bringing their own, that would also be appreciated.

Just the thing for luring prey close. It looks like it is sinking but it is not. http://www.gizmag.com/love-love-part-boat-artwork/16928/picture/124339/