Shay of the Keys

Ahh, Chrispy, you said it beautifully. I am so indebted to my pirate family; thanks to so many of you for such a memorably glorious time: Mama and Lily, you were above and beyond the call of duty, from the pre-dawn rescuing of Mission's bicycle to stays instruction through the weeks. You worked so diligently and it showed! Bawdy Be, thanks for the generous gift of P.C. dishes and visit to your emminently Keysey emporium. A special thanks to Brig for lustily joining me in singing during the parade, Commodore Poppycock being a good sport when we dropped you at the Pegasus, and a certain battlefield angel who appeared like all good Christmas angels in the nick of time with GOODIES, my first taste of Wobble Juice (dang, it IS good stuff!)... but most of all Mission and madPete who unabashedly spoiled me with trips to the Liquor Laudromat, Blue Moon, and Cafe Sole, not to mention helping with parade decor which we forgot to put on the car, adventuring in the kitchen with shears and caviar, but most of all to Mission who put up with Parade Prologue Policemen Prevarications and an 82-year old vehicle who gave you more unexpected exasperations than yours truly. I love my pirate family. Thanks, mates.

Finish sewing the lace on my new shift Find some decent leeks (alas, naut nautical ones; 'tis for a specialty supper) Knap 2 more flints for Arvel and Ducky Finish the It's the Most Blunderbuss Time of the Year song Kidnap Mission from MIA so he won't be M.I.A. for PIP Roll the Nutlogs (don't even dare respond to this one, Animal!) Fix the rumble seat latch and throw everything in; tie down what's left oh, and finish 2 more performances and 23 more piano and tennis lessons before I go Other than that, I'm ready!

Most Excellent! (but i be need'n me eyeglass to be readn this here post) mP I was posting sotto voce. It's an old performing trick, used by no less than Popeye the Sailor. Oui, Monsieur, as Shay, oops Chez Crevettes must be kept a solemn secret de Polichinelle:

Patrick, I am at the moment without wheels, but will be going to Searle's come heck or high water. If I don't find another vehicle by that time I'll rent something able to carry my musket, and your doglock is welcome to ride along with us up to St. Augustine. Just ship it to my home address here in the Keys, and we 3 will meet you up north. Whatever I can do to help... -Shay

I'll be there; wouldn't miss it for the world. Buccaneer Camp, if you please; 'twas such a delight to harass dear Patrick, and I mightily look forward to the opportunity to do it again in 2010!

Woah... best smelling fire... not the best smelling Camp...... If ye gots sensitive nostrils like that flea bitten Pyrate Hunter Sturlin'.... ye wanna be way up wind from me.....(an' that's before I start fartin' the 1812 oviture......) Never fear, Fearless Leader Hand! Your 1812 Overture will be happily upstaged by the delectably fresh flyblown drying pigskin just upwind of your noble establishment. (I have it on excellent authority that you like to be close to your re-enactment projects round -the-clock for true authenticity). uh, Patrick, could this be a clue as to why we're down to only two buccaneers? Woe is me, as the powers that be have just determined the ignoble pigskin will not be participating in PIP. A vainglorious end thwarted with only 5 days to go...a moment of silence dedicated to all porcines of yesteryears in their brief lives rooting amongst the wilds... Sorry, Patrick.

Nay from Shay--- the pig's hide is still awaiting defrosting and I have boards to peg it out and describe the finer arts of boucan-eering as told by primary sources from Benerson Little's Buccaneer' Realm. I've been planning and prepping so please, please let me know if you DON'T want the pighide and accompanying living history demo (I promise to keep a close check on the prevailing winds!)

Captain: My apologies, as I thought my tent dimensions submitted a while back were confirmed, and my computer has been non-operational for several weeks. My footprint is an 11' frontage with app. 10' depth. I'll be with both the buccaneers and Hurricane's group, in a period tarp/tent held up momentarily by a centuries-old oar. Put me wherever onlookers need comic relief. -Shay

Woah... best smelling fire... not the best smelling Camp...... If ye gots sensitive nostrils like that flea bitten Pyrate Hunter Sturlin'.... ye wanna be way up wind from me.....(an' that's before I start fartin' the 1812 oviture......) Never fear, Fearless Leader Hand! Your 1812 Overture will be happily upstaged by the delectably fresh flyblown drying pigskin just upwind of your noble establishment. (I have it on excellent authority that you like to be close to your re-enactment projects round -the-clock for true authenticity). uh, Patrick, could this be a clue as to why we're down to only two buccaneers?

AH HA! I'm back; my computer has been behaving nastily for several weeks and I've not had the patience or time to troubleshoot it out. My apologies to all. Patrick, I am securing more firewood as of this morn; native seasoned buttonwood in 4' chunks 10-14" in diameter. I know you are crazy busy, but please advise ASAP as to how large the firewood logs can be. I am at present securing a chainsaw to buck them, but down here in the Keys, no one's has a bar large enough for serious firewood cutting, so I have been scrambling. I'm trying to secure as much as possible, between pallets and non-glued wood so we can share with all; at present, I am unloading the trailer to haul it all down. -Shay

Haunting Lily, Please sign me up for the following: Shay of the Keys/ Buccaneers/ Trash Detail Thurs. 1900 and Fri. 0900 Shay of the Keys/ Buccaneer/ Tour Guide Fri. 10:30-12 Shay of the Keys/ Buccaneer/ Town Crier Fri. 12-13:30 and Shay of the Keys/ Buccaneer/ Bathroom Detail Sat. Beach (W) prior to 0900 Thank-you kindly!

OK... Buccaneers this is something we gotta work on....... The Buccaneer Camp kinda sorta needs a fire..... not a huge fire.... but a fire anyway..... Shay... can you make this happen... (heck I'm flying in... so fire wood isn't something I can take care of....)(hey...Animal is going to be driving down if he can make it.... and... well you're like the closest...Post if it is doable....) From wot I can figgure right now, there are going to be maybe three of us camping there ... that is still cool... three years ago that was the entire authentic Pyrate Camp...... so this stuff grows...... .. We are doing a period that most people have no idea wot it is......they think Pyrates sacked th' Spanish Main... nawh... that's wot we (the Buccaneers ) did................ SO we gots ter tell the story...... . No problem; I'll start scrounging the wood for our fire ASAP -Shay

Update from Treva Shay: During the day I be a swaggering sassy buccaneer, of which parts the musket and knives are further along than be my clothes (I be finding that Snaphaunce locks are more fun to play with than than making buttonholes... sigh), but I will have a small tarp for my footprint (along the same lines as yeself's) and able to furnish for the general buccaneer camp native foilage and the raw pigskin, if and when needed. Nighttimes I be stashing the weapons, donning female garb and transforming into Shay of the Keys on the harpsichord. P.S. Patrick, Please advise if ye wants me to keep the pigskin au natural and bring it as is, or if I can thaw, prep and use it now for part of my kit, thereby granting me back half of my freezer space.

Happy, Happy Birthday, Silkie!!

'Twould be a pleasure to bestow upon ye all a dessert, and I'll have the harpsichord along, too.

Patrick and Hurricane, Just got back early this morn from an emergency weeklong trip to CA. I've brought some intruiging items back for the buccaneer camp, as I helped butcher a cow and got a fresh pigskin for the camp while there. If advisability and legalities prohibits its usage in the Park, I can go ahead thaw, scrape, and stretch and cure it beforehand, and use it for clothing or shoes. I don't want to rock the boat w/ the new administration, so will await Capt. Spike's and you guys' go-ahead. It would be superb authenticity, however, if we get the okay, and we can prep it onsite (and Downwind!). Finished Benerson Little's Buccaneers Realm while enroute. Great read; I hated to see it end. -Treva

Heartiest Welcome Aboard, Asolfr! -Treva

Animal, Omigosh, PLEASE try to make it; you and Patrick have been planning this for so long! Thank you for the heads up on the 1669 timeline frame of reference; also, hides would be wonderful!

My thanks to you, Sir William!

Can anyone advise as to how appropriate a tarp overlaid with palm fronds would be for the 1669 Buccaneers Camp? I'm still searching primary resources, but would appreciate any advice. I'm traveling light, but would like to be able to haul some native fronds in, and later remove them when PIP is done. Is it PC? Is it allowed in a State Park? - Treva

William, I have cleared with Patrick and am thrilled to announce I shall be with the Buccaneer Encampment on the Beach, sans harpsichord which shall reside at The Hide, available for evening entertainment. I will be period camping. Please add my name to the list.

Hurricane, if you need help securing green wood and forked posts for the boucan, brochettes for eating, or lianas I can probably help you. I live in the Upper Keys on a heavily forested natural lot with native species for the most part. I'm planning to haul the harpsichord in my SUV for PIP, and can also bring foilage if needed. I have everything from palm fronds to lignumvitae (although the lignumvitae can't travel, as it's on the potential endangered species list). Be sure the locale for the boucan is on appropriate soil so one can actually drive stakes into the ground far enough to support the weight of the cooking meat, as most of our ground is coral rock (State Parks generally frown upon the presence of jack hammers). I'd be happy to help in any possible way.

Patrick- How do the other camps answer queries from the public concerning their activities? Is there an unobtrusive "guide" explaining as events unfold, or discreet plaques outlining the everyday activities? Do the reenactors stay in true character throughout and disregard the public, or is there interaction between PIP participants and the public? My experience is knock their socks off with a truly as PC as possible portrayal and the curiousity and questions will follow; the public will WANT to know what the heck is going on and will be grateful for the info (relayed in an appropriately buccaneer style) and not feel that they are being force-fed info. Boucans: the Tailgate Parties of Yesteryears!! Doglock Muskets (the commonality in both the filibusters and boucaniers) were the trademark, as were a lack of metal implements other than knives...no plates, just leaves...closest thing to a mug was a calabash (gourd)...WOW, portray it accurately, with the focus on something like, "How it all Began" as a simple intro with crude signs directing the observers to the encampment areas, and the public's curiousity will take over. I mean , I was fascinated to find that the boucaniers and filibusters "used an expedient method of loading, which gave them on average three shots to the Spanish one", not to mention finding that most of the mulatto women of Petit Goave (boucanier santuary since at least 1659, on the southwest peninsula of Hispaniola) were "nude, except for a linen skirt". No confining stays for those wenches! The encampment could actually be split into thirds: the first with emphasis on hunting, importance of target shooting, difference between filibusters and boucaniers, where they came from, the art of matelotage (partnership)... an area with taxidermy mounts of hopefully a steer and/or pig, hunting dogs, skins pegged out, an enigmatic trail with bits of gore leading to the abattoir... The second section could be the cooking area in all its fragrant glory, pit staked out showing the proper boucan ( wonderful description in Benerson Little's The Buccaneer's Realm in Appendix E; all quotes in this posting are from his book, w/ bilbliographical references.) Lastly, the third area could be the leisure area with mending, games of gambling, leatherworking, whatever... Please forgive the length of these ramblings; the buccaneer period was so crucial as it was the place Where It All Started, and I get pretty excited. Yes, I realize taxidermied critters are hard to come by, but not impossible to borrow, even if it's just a head poking out of the mangroves tangle... Just some ramblings of my own from the peanut gallery.... Oh, and I vote rum punch after sunup, brandy after sundown.

Patrick, ye be a gem of gems! Many thanks for the choice; my heart still is for the buccaneer camp, however. My weapons will match the 1669 era nicely. I be currently perusing Benerson Little's The Buccaneer's Realm, Charles Boxer's The Portuguese Seabourne Empire: 1415-1825, and Russell-Wood's The Portuguese Empire 1415-1808. If you have any other good reads offhand to recommend, please let me know as I will be near several favorite bookstores in Northern Calif. in one week. Meantime, again my thanks and good luck on Burning Man. P.S. If you need a place to ship the doglock or any other kit, you can ship it to my address here in the Upper Keys. Will catch you later, and I'll keep my eyes peeled for future postings. -Shay