Badger

Me weaselous thoughts an' stealthy prayers be yers, Merrydeath! Hopefully, ye'll be 'cuffin' th' lads right soundly, soon enough!

Patrick, bein' that multi-talented just aint fair.... I dont have 'heroes', but if'n I did, ye would be them.... Love th' comic, an' will be servin' th' Cannibal Chrispy bars tae me friends fer thanksgivin'! heheheheheheh

Hey, if'n ye gots t'gether say 3 or 4 strong 'bretheren', an' rolled it like over a slot or two ev'ry 2 weeks, would that count as "movin' it"?

Patrick, I heartily second th' opinions o' Rhumba an' th' Quartermaster. As short a time as I have been on' th' pub, yer amazin' quest fer th' true gold o' th' buccaneer has informed an' inspired me like no other thing since me young 'viking' costume days. Bought items is great, an' greatly appreciated, but something handmade is special. Come in, or stay away as ye choose, but I thinks everyone would be baskin' in th' 'won-th'-lottery' bliss of a chance at somethin' ye made. I meself am thinkin' ta make me gift, (if th' person I draws seems apt t' what I can do) an' I can only hope it gives someone th' joy ye gave Duchess.

I knows whot I'D be tryin' tae catch.......SYRE-ahem-er-MERMAIDS! I gots this big, solid gold fishhook (dont worry, loves. Its blunt!) which I had custom made like, on which I hangs big ol' gemstones. I calls her "Mermaid-Bait", on accounts o' ye cant catch a mermaid on a stinky ol' wurm. Heheheheheh. "Squeaky-cheeks!" Harharharr! (We HAD two on 'em, but one got pirated outta our ship in home port whilst we were away at Valhalla last year). (Not my joke originally, got th' idea from a nice joolery seller at Southern a few years back).

Yuuurrhh, have a great one, 'Cutterrrr (what a shiney name! ).

Ah, that was wonnerful, Bright. I speak fer no others, but ye have gi'en me much joy this morn, matey! .......I'm not sure those count as "words o' encouragement", though!

Ooooo, I can think o' so MANY "obviouses"! Heheheheh

Hows about th' 'bicorne'? Ye know, William's original question? Anyone? Ye obviously dont wanna be trustin' my words on this stuff! (Now ask me about vikings...please? Please? No? Okay! ).

Thank ye, 'Master James. I laughed so hard I nigh tae choked...it do look like a "Steve Irwin" special! (Hats off, lads, to a wonnerful guy now gone.... ). I gots one a lot like it, but somehow I dont see meself wearin' it t' a pirate gatherin'..... Like ta get sweated about th' deck, if'n I be so foolish! Keepin' an open mind, but I thinks I be tendin' towards th' "flotsam n' gack" school o' thought on it, anyway. Guess its felt fer me agin'. Sigh. Anyone want a battered leather bi/tri-corne, size extry large?

I been wearin' a 'bicorne' meself. It looks good, an' does protect yer neck...a very good thing fer Europeans in th' tropics, no? It does, however, tend ta get 'involved' wi' anything ye wants ta carry over yer shoulder or on yer back...pertic'larly if'n ye also has a plume! Just a word ta th' wise! I saw a couple of 'tricornes' with th' back left flat out, so as to be a 'bicorne' on Captain Twill awhile back (period illustrations)... I will try tae find th' link fer ye. I am sure Hawkyns or another of our fine "sages" can beat me to it, do they read this. Bye th' bye, me hat is leather. Aahre there ANY examples o' a leather tricorne from GAoP or th' Morgan buccaneering era? All I am seein' is felt an' beaver... I bought this nice hat at Ojai, replacing a cheapo felt tricorne, spent some consid'rable amount o' time dressin' an distressin' it, an' I hate ta think I was led astray, an' wasted me time an' me pesos...I looked on Captain Twill fer a thread, but had ta give it up. Just goes ta show... do th' research FIRST, an' then proceed... Maybe I will launch another thread..sigh.

Awwww, Syren, they snakes is only lil' livin' belts o' leather...smooth an scaley, like...like...like Syrens (mermaid-types, right?), as it happens! An they gots really neat tongues, too!

I posted a longer reply, but th' pub ate it.

Yurrh, that sux, Silent. Good luck in th' keys, or where'er ye settle!

Yuurrhh, ye lads on th' starboard coast has all th' luck!

Yuurrrh , I dint like th' 'X' too good, but I do like leather hats, so I picked it out, an' 'rigged' me hat wi' waxed cords an' a nice early 18th century onyx portrait cameo on th' larboard side ta cover th' holes. In order ta attatch feathers an such more firmly, just take a bit o' waxed string, or hemp beading thread, an' make a stitch from th' inside o' th' brim. then tie th' loose ends o' th' string tight around th' feathers or suchlike, an' th' brim will hide th' knot nicely. All anyone can see is one tiny subtle stitch from th' outside, which if colored th' same as yer hat will be almost invisible, like. I gots considerable gold joolry, medallions, an' feathers on me hat, an' with this rig I dont fear ta throw it to a mate if necessary (or fun)! Nothin' comes off. I hopes this helps.

I cant be o' too much help to ye, sein' as how I sail outta Port o' Los Angeles, but yer crew sounds like fun ta hang wi....( )...I mean chum around with! Just wanted ta say, good luck wi' th' search, an' I hopes ye sign a right rum crew on th' account!

An fer th' sake O' Georgia, keep us posted as t' th' lads progress, Black Syren! Pretty please wi' a oyster on top? ...errh, hows about a big fat rosey pearl?

Signs, signs everywhere th' signs, blockin' out th' scenery, breakin' my mind, "Do this! Dont do that! Can'tchu read th' SIIIGGNNNSSS!" Hey, I once lived several months in a sleepin' bag in th' bushes around th' back of th' local public library, an' I didnt feel homeless.....it was a LIBRARY! Books, O'Joy, Joy! Home is where th' heart is, matey, an' th' County can take a leap at itself!

Yurrr, Marie, all th' good advice has a'ready been gi'ye by those salty seadogs above, so all I can do is gi' ye me own sad story tae gi' ye a smile.....yer not alone! Now Ive been sailin' smallcraft since weaned, but am long aground here in sunny dry L.A. California. So when me best mate (we will call him 'Weasel'...its his self-given nickname ) went back ta visit me folks in florida, I was rarin' ta' get out on th' water in me old Sunfish. Now, if any o' ye dont ken 'Sunfish', its a lugsail flyer what looks like a big surfboard wi' a rudder, an a tiny footwell towards th' stern. About as small as a sailboat can get, except them sailboard jobbies. Me weaselous friend professed willingness, but only after much coaxin', an' glowin' reports by me of th' serene joys o' such activity....., so somewhat after dawn o' th' 2nd day, th' wind bein' about 5 knots an' th' sun to be bright all day, we convened in th' shelter o' our canal fer a lesson afore venturin' out. He SEEMED ta' take to it like a mariner born, an as he is a fair bit smarter nor me I thought it all good. Sad illusion, an' overconfidence all 'round, 'twas! After a couple hours o' tackin', raisin' an lowerin th' centerboard, (Th' only job I were thinkin' ta require o' him that day), off we went out on th' calm Banana river lagoon. All was good, 'till we entered th' boat-channel through th' sand-flats. Here comes a wind, a spankin' wind, such as was not forecasted. Straight in our faces it veered an blew, an' perforce I must tack out o' irons ta starboard! Th' channel not made fer sailin'... (a wee bit narrow, so ta speak), that means runnin' th' flats...not a problem in a craft as draws about six inches, righty? Oh, no! "Haul up th' daggerboard, weasel!" I yells. He dont move....Me ol' cully is frozen in fear! Seems he was always too ashamed ta tell me of his caution o' deep water (I have since learned he dont swim very well, or gladly), an' ta do him justice this sudden emergency would'a flummoxed even hardy souls, if green ta' th' ways o' th' boat! So somehow I gets a spare hand on th' dagger, an' wi a heave up it comes about halfway. Hisssss! Goes th' daggertip in th' sand as we shoot out into 12 inches o' water. WHOOOM! goes th' sail as I swing her around before th' wind, and we lean over at a 60 degree angle, clingin' like limpets, Weasel still frozen ON TH" DOWNWIND SIDE wi' his bum now in th' water an stingrays shootin' out in all directions for their meagre lives....fortunately I outweighs him by a hunnerd'n ten pounds or so, so we dont QUITE go over....whew! A then th' halliard, sunrotted an' strained past bearin, snaps. I will never know just what crazy angle we attained, but sure an' thats th' closest IVE ever come ta' layin' her down unwilling, an at about 11 knots, an' in a stingray oysterbed, at that. Yaaaarrrhhhh, me shivers a'thinkin' of it yet. I'd'a landed on im, see.... Weasel ended up in me lap, th' sail crashed down on both o' us, an we ground ta a hault wi' th' dagger in th' sand. Sat there shakin' an' pretendin' ta jolly me buddy fer about 15 minutes, an' then began th' long, long, LONG paddle back ta th' canal against a 20 knot wind, with 1 little plastic kids paddle.... ended up haulin' her back by hand most o' th' way against th' oystery seawalls. Took about 31/2 hours ta go a half mile, an' Weasel said not a word ta me th' whole time....only time ta this day I think he was mad enough ta bite me head off an' chew me eyeballs... He sails a bit with his wife now, on her parents 22 footer, strictly as supercargo. We're still best mates. Never has offered ta go sunfishin wif me again though.......wonder why? If'n HE got back on, I knows ye can too!

Does sound a blast! Hey, I love th' dolphins, too. Used tae ride right out on th' bow o' me fathers schooner in th' Banana River inlet in florida, an' reach me foot down tae pet th' bow-ridin' beasties on th' backs....they'd arch like a cat, an' come back fer more...dolphins got no taste. Even me beloved WIFE wont let me pet 'er with me calloused ol' sea-dogs! Swam with em' too, on many moonlit nights when WHOOOOSH they'd go in th' canal, chasin' mullet. Ya gotta love 'em....

Yaarh, whilst i lack th' tall-ships experience some o' ye fine lads an' lasses can boast of, I be a 'water rat' from me earliest puphood. I love "messing around, messing around in boats!" Me father is an old sea-dog, navy in th' W.W.2, an' has sailed most o' his life. Taught celestial navigation after retirement, up to a couple o' years agone. I hae sailed as 'crew' on his 14 foot Whistler from about age 4 on, then Sunfished an' crewed on our 23 foot custom cabin schooner 'Sea Haze' , (an' captained 'er, too) thru me teens an' earliest 20's. Meanwhile, I pratically LIVED on th' water in th' 2 man canvas an' wood flatwater kayak dad n' I built in th' kitchen when I was 9, an' in our 12' john-boat, fishin' an playin' "pirates' wi' me mates. Me mom was a good sailor, too! We sailed on lakes in New York upstate, Missouri, an' Alabama before reaching salt water in Florida in 1976. Whoo, sailin' a 11 foot Sunfish on blue water is a hairy an' exhiliratin' experience! (Dont tell dad....)! Hey D.B. Couper, I spent years sailin' an' rowin' an' paddlin' around Merritt Island! Oysters are hard on a canvas kayak, though... Th' ICW was me own private seaway as a lad! Me folks still live there, on Banana River Drive not more'n a mile south o' th' Barge Canal, right on th' Banana 'river' inlet...I used tae walk up tae th' 'Canal an park there, or sail from our dock, an' fish pratically every day in all weathers! Hey, "Homey"! ahh, Kelley park.... Sadly, I be stranded here these 24 years, high an' dry in Los Angeles, me timbers warpin' in th' sun....ah well.

What Rumba said.

Aye, welcome tae th' pub, nathaniel. We always need more 'doctors' tae stick our parts back on, an' dispense th' healing draft (rum, o' course)!