Francois

Why thank you kindly Studly. They are quit the boot water proof and very comfortable. They started out as a Dunham work boot that had an ankle high cowboy boot style. I took off the top half got some nice heavy leather cut them into the shape I wanted and sewed them into the lower half, then matched the color. I couldn't match the two leathers the way I wanted because I couldn't find the exact type. After wearing them for two and a half years and letting them age on there own they look just fine now. Unfortunately I don't think they are making that style boot anymore. When I bought it was on sale from $180.00 down to $50.00. They also work well when I do Elizabethan caviler or musketeer as you can see in this photo. All I do is flip them up and add on my spurs with the spur stirrup protector and there you have it. François

Its not a great shot but, My coat was custom made. The color and the brocade is all from a early 1700's type pattern. pockets are functional it has a nice lining and is very comfortable. I even wear it at times on nights out around town with jeans and a dress shirt when the weather cools down. If anybody has interest I can give you the makers name. He commissions work from his house. He has some stock available in most pre rev war and rev war clothing. Including militia uniforms and the kings army uniforms. All his stuff is patterned after authentic clothing from the period. François [/img]

Ill be there too. Ill be camping 2 blocks up the hill from BO8 right behind the Romans. Are camp is called Archers Glenn. You will also see me on the cannons With me mate Hawkyns. For those of you who do fencing Id be glad to cross blades with you. For those of you who drink I will have my Private Stock Rum and ale so stop in for a drink . See ya there middle week Friday till end. François

Ok its my turn. My compliments to all ya Pyrates that posted photos its good to put a face to some of the names. Its even better when your in your pyrate cloths. We all look so much better. I'm not sure which period that I do that I like better. So I will put in a couple. enjoy François

Me and me mate Hawkyns have found a new home. We are gunners on the 1600s merchant ships the Half Moon. So far we were able to live on the ship in period kit for days at a time. We are her gun crew firing deck cannons and cannons below (so far we have done 3 at once) what a feeling. We were also demonstrating musketry off the weather deck. I was trained and went aloft any time I wanted to. We will also be doing sword demonstrations as time goes on. When we are in between our demonstrations we help out with the guided tours. In the future we were asked to do a week long shake down sail out to sea and get the full experience of what we do at port. I cant wait. I admit I am bragging only because it was a fantastic experience and I'm looking forward to more like it. My question is. How many of you have had this experience? Can this be as close to the real thing as we can get or can we and to what we do to make this a more realistic experiance? François

Thank you mates for for all the wonderful compliments. I might add I have seen a lot of other banners on this site that inspired me to do one. Francois

I finally figured out how to blend a nice photo for my signature. Then it took me another 2 days to figure out how to post it. What do ya mates think?

Not sure If any of us can make it yet. Will let you know. Francois

Sailor's did not begin to wear persceibed uniforms until the late 17th century. While officers wore uniforms, seamen often did not. One item of clothing that many many seamen had was a kerchief. It was a useful item to wipe away the sweat in the cramped quarters, especially among the gun crew in men-of-war. The kerchiefs worn by these sailors were highly varied. Tradition has it that British seamen began wearing black kneckerchiefs as a mourning badge when Admiral Nelson was killed at Trafalgur. This British Naval hero was revered on both sides of the water, and even though the flegling American Navy was separated from the British Navy and in fact, in conflict with it, the American Navy continued the use of this to use this folded scarfe. The Americans even adopted the black silk. Made as it is of tough silk of very light weight, this kerchief has been found to be of great value as a first aid appliance to stop hemorrhage, sling a fractured arm or bind up a broken head. And so its continued use in the modern Naval uniform has the support of both tradition and custom, and of the medical authorities who see in it a first aid appliance of the very highest emergency and greatest utility. Some women did not hide the fact that they were women. This is why you see photos with thier breasts showing and thier hair is down. Understand there were also whole families that were pirates including women children aunts uncles and so on. It made sense for the family to stay together and protect each other and work together to share there bounty. The pants you see her wearing could have been a venetian breeches or dutch slops. they may have been too long for her this could be why they are down to her ancles. It was typical for them to have button flys and a tie in the back to allow for growth so that you could get more years out of them. The cap is similar to a Smeerenburg cap, knitted of white (actually slightly off-white) wool, this type of cap was found at a Scandinavian burial site dating to the early to mid 17th century. It's the equivalent of the Monmouth cap. The shoes could have been a type of gentalmen shoe with the open top and large gold buckle. They had differant types and hight heels. BTW for those of you looking for a cheep similar style go to the store Bon Ton. womens shoe. It looks almost exactly like a period shoe the only differance is it is a flat shoe and you and the buckle as it could fit to the shoe. $45.00 if they still carry them. In my opinion I do not belive that the photo is artistic license or sensationalized. The artists back then (if the print is in period) wanted to capture the true person as did the person being painted. This was the only form of preseving time so the person being painted wanted a true portrait of themselves. Francois

Ahoy Hawkyns, As for me I think you know were I stand on these questions. For all the rest of you. I strive to be as authentic as I possibly can. Whether it be a rev war pirate or an earlier period pirate. I also try to educate myself so that I could pass on the history of what I portry. I am always adding to my collection of piratical props too. I try to get items that are authentic or close to authentic. Boy Mate it seems you ruffled some feathers (parott) feathers. Which brings up the question if you have a parott would the bird have a choice of being authentic too? I read through all 13 pages and now I got a bloody headache from all the reading and some of the big words that were used. Would someone please pass the rum. Bottom line I have a lot of fun with a bunch of great people who have become very good friends. Francois

Arianne Your garb would depend on a few things before you decide. First thing to consider is. Do you want to be authentic and look period or be a ren fair pirate. Second, you should pick I time period. A pirate from the late 1500's dressed different from a pirate in the late 1700's and so on. Remember if you do a period pirate most women dressed as men to hide the fact they were women. Of course with the exception of Anne Bonny, Mary Read , and many other women you can find on this link. http://blindkat.hegewisch.net/pirates/wome...menpirates.html I do an elizabethan (1540) Pirate and a rev war (1775) pirate. I also do a French cavalier (1620 musketeer). I try to be as authentic as I possibly can in each period. If your interested I can send some photos. From my point of view a wench is a wench, a pirate is a pirate. François

I have been in the SCA for 3 years. I originally wanted to fight broad sword with live steel and do a knight persona. When I went to my first SCA practice the fencing caught my attention. I think because the were using real blade and not sticks. the only thing I didn't like was the fact that they wore masks (I do understand why and accept it). Although I don't study from any specific manual I try to learn from those who I know fight period style. It is easer for me to learn by watching than reading it out of a book. My style of fighting is Italian and French. I use a 32" Del Tin rapier mounted on a sweep hilt I also use a 40" Schlager blade mounted on a sweep hilt. I have a Achlem dagger on a Spanish hilt. I also fight case of rapier I also fight cutlass without any amour as Hawkyns describes. This is the live steel play I was looking for when I first joined the SCA. I use a Baggett cutlass for now. I am fortunate to have meet Hawkyns and be able to practice with him once a week. He has taught me a great deal on sword play and history . The man is a walking encyclopedia. I just started to play with the LHA (Living History Association). They are a break off of the SCA. We fight rapier almost the same. The difference is we hit harder and can have physical contact including grappling except for the masks it looks more real than the SCA fighting. The next thing I am about to try is wasters. I have a friend who picked up a set and wants to try them out. François

You might be a Pirate If you have a full size deck cannon (6 lb) on a ship carriage in your garage. With 5 lbs of black powder ready to go at any time. If the jolly roger is hanging outside your house. If your cutlass is slung on the back of a chair in your living room with your tricorn sitting on the chair. If you have 20 gallon wooden kegs in your living room. If your sea service pistols are hanging on the wall in your living room. If you teach your children to use a deck knife to eat with instead of a fork. If your son asked santa for a cutlass instead of a baseball bat. If you changed all your cash on hand to dollar gold coins. Francois

Not sure yet . We spent too much money for X-Mass and dont have enough yet to meet the gas bill let alone any other expenesses. Francois

I found a great site with over 500 links. It is a wealth of info from one site. For those of you who have not seen it enjoy. For those of you who want to learn more about piracy this is the perfect site. http://www.blackfoxdesigns.com/pyrate/links.html Francois

Perkeo, Like Dorian said no worries, its a whole different game we play with live steel. Myself and a few others do Rev War re-enactments as Privateer or Pirates along with guns, cannons, black powder, and sometimes schooners at full sail. Its a blast. We have our set of safety parameters. Taking in consideration we fight without armour. Anyway I will take you up on the offer for a drink down at the Bog. If we cant find you just come visit us at the cannons on the hill. Looking forward to crossing blades at sometime in the future. François

Yes Dorian now I recall. Get yar blade ready. Plus Id like to meet ya on the field for pick-ups. That is mostly what I would rather do is pick-ups. I'm not much of a mêlée fighter. I would rather fight 1 on 1 or 2 on 1. BTW. I found some brass and made a bunch of vent-picks like the one you had. I was toying with the idea of having a fleur de lei on the top side. François

Ahoy Dorian, Which hangers are you talking about. I dont recall. I will bring my cutlass next year. There is no reason we cant go off site and fight cutlass for a while. Looking forward to crossing blades at Pennsic. Hurricane We too fight full contact cutlass when we do the later stuff. With the SCA we fight rapire. Although I have seen some period cutlass blades from the mid 1500's the SCA will not pemit it (their rules not mine). Thats why I do stuff outside of the SCA. If you want to know more about the SCA go to the SCA.org. You will find out all the facts you need to know what they do and dont do. Francois

No its not that I have a problem with it. You should know better then that. It would be kinda like being dressed as a Yankee walking into a World War one battle. As it is, a lot of the SCA people that do the early stuff still don't like use fencers. Although I was told fencing dates back as early as the 1400's in Italy. So we fall well with in there parameters. Black powder as you know dates back to the early Chinese and that also falls under 1600 including early flintlocks. François

I am a pirate that attends Pennsic and Im a member of the SCA. There are many of us that do the SCA thing and do different periods of piracy. You will find many of us pirates are fencers as I am. I also am part of the cannon crew. One thing you must understand. The SCA cut off date is 1600. If your garb is over 1600 or Rev war period or the same as The Pirates of the Caribbean it will be wrong. You can do Elizabethan or still wear slops. I would suggest you do some research as what to wear. Such as NO tri corn hats or NO captains coats from a later period and so on. François

Hey Mates, Sorry for not making it last night . Had to do some family stuff. How did things go? Do tell. Francois

Hey Mates We still on for tonight? Its still up in the air for us. I wont know till the last minute if we are going. Francois

OOOOOh Food 2 warm henies and a hot tub very tempting. Is the hot tub filled with something more than water Francois

Ahhhh so many choices for one pirate to make. I'm so great my crew be wanting me in there company in so many different places at such colorful events. What should one do? Think, Think, Think. François

Not sure if me and Antoine will be there mates. Being so close to the holidays and so much stuff to get done I cant commit to that date yet. Ill let ya know when the date gets close François