William Brand

William stood a long time on the quarterdeck without sending down any orders. Officers of the frigate stood about near and far waiting for a call or cry to come down, but William simply stood, his glass raised. He could not see the unknown ship well, so he focused his attention on the Lucy. "Sah..." Jack prompted at his elbow. William did not answer. "Shall I call the Larboard marines, sah?" Mister Hutchins asked the Sergeant-at-arms. Luc Otkupschikov shook his head very slowly from side to side. "Steeeady...Mister Hutchins." William said slowly, without taking his eye from the glass. "Captain Lasseter has the matter in hand." A long silence passed with no one asking or offering so much as a word. It was probably only minutes, but with only William and Jim passing the glass back and forth between themselves in silence, it seemed much longer. "He's falling off a bit..." Jim observed aloud. "Mister Roberts." William said, still nodding in agreement with the Ship's Master. "Sah!" "Have the men stand ready." "Aye, Sah!" "Not so ready as that, Mister Roberts." William said calmly. "Just pass the word carefully to be alert." Jack relaxed his posture a little and smiled. "Aye, sah." He put on an air of reserve and went from the quarterdeck as casually as a man in a park. "Thank you, Mister Roberts." William received the glass again from Mister Warren and watched the Lucy fall off of her course almost imperceptibly at this distance. "It's a fine night, Mister Warren." "It is that." "Let's save the candles and the oil." Jim smiled. "Aye, Cap'n." Mister Warren sent word for the lamps and lanterns to be doused. Every one.

August 6, 1704 - The Watch Dog The Ward Room aboard the 'Dog was much as it had been, apart from a steady rise in volume as everyone imbibed in drink and conversation. William remained sober, both in spirit and abstinence, as did their new found doctor. Briar was alive with conversation, but like William, Maeve was content to watch,listen and bury herself in deep thought. William had wandered so far from the room in journeys of introspection that he did not here the cry from above, not that anyone else did over the din of voices. In fact, it was not the call which came down from the maintop that stirred William from his thoughts, but rather the gathering quiet of the room, for everyone was turning their eyes and ears upward. John McGinty could just be heard, echoing a sighting that had already stirred the Lucy in full. "Sail ho!" Then they were all moving out the passageway or up the stairs. Every conversation and thought forgotten.

Mary Diamond sold me those very same shoes and they were excellent for the event.

I did a brief, historical write-up on the Mercury years back as a possible template for her past. It involved the finding of the Mercury under another name after she had been swept ashore in a storm or battle by a previous crew. It also explained her alteration from a Bermuda Sloop to a Brig-Sloop. I don't recall the dates specifically, but as Captain Jim proposed the careening crew on December 13 of 2006, we could say that the crew found the sloop on December 13, 1716. As the name Mercury was accepted as the sloop's name on January 29, 2007, we could say that was the day she was reborn as a completed Brig-Sloop in 1717. This time frame would have given the crew a month and a half to make the repairs and alter the rigging of the damaged ship. It would have also given them sufficient time for to cannibalize their own ship for timber, line, canvas, ship's stores and great guns. This also gives us a narrative timeline to place our characters soundly between 1716 and 1720, plus any history of those pirates who knew each other before. So tentative timeline...December 13, 1716 to January 29, 1717 (all dates below coinciding with their respective dates in Pub discussions, i.e. 1716 for 2006, and 1717 for 2007) December 13, 1716 - The Whole Company discovers the damaged remains of a Bermuda Sloop and decides to abandon their own well worn craft in favor of the newer vessel, due to her lighter, quality construction and favorable line. They anchor offshore, using their ship as a defense for the careening of the newer sloop. December 14, 1716 - Work begins on what will become the Mercury. She is properly beached and careened. Line and tackle are set for the removal of her damaged rigging. Men are sent inland to make a survey of materials, to discover fresh water and food, and to assess any possible threats to the Whole Company. December 14-29 1716 - A loose tarp and canvas encampment springs up along the treeline over time as more and more goods and tools are brought ashore. Clothes are swapped, mended and traded among fellow pirates. December 30, 1716 - Having discovered the presence of pirates ashore, the locals begin a tentative and limited trade with the Whole Company (This date specifically coincides with the discussion on the Pub about having women in the crew at PIP). January 9, 1717 - Patrick Hand, pirate son of a printer, suggests that a new name be chosen for the found ship, offering Speedwell as the first of many names to be considered. January 10, 1717 - The longboat is named the Gullah by Harry Smid. January 19, 1717 - The crew first considers changing the ship's rigging from one mast to two. This is debated by the Whole Company over the course of many days and they eventually decide upon a brig-sloop rigging. January 28, 1717 - Dorian Lasseter suggests that the name of the new ship should be Mercury. This name quickly eclipses the popular choices of Morning Star and Solstice. January 29, 1717 - Mercury is accepted by the majority as the new name of the Brig-Sloop and she is launched upon her career of infamy and fortune. From that point on in 2007 we began discussing various details of the Mercury encampment under the thread entitled 'The Mercury, 1720 Careening Camp'. If you haven't read it in awhile, I highly recommend re-reading it now. http://pyracy.com/index.php?showtopic=9815&st=0

I say 'Aye' instead of yes in conversation from time to time. It usually invites a snicker.

We should probably discuss who came aboard when and why at some point, if we ever have to play that out in any way. I always imagined that William Brand came aboard some time in 1716 or 1717, after serving on several different ships between the Watch Dog and the present (or 1720).

That's by far my favorite picture.

This is what the guy in the background is thinking... "Drat...Mister Tignor has a better mug than mine."

No apology necessary. People have just used the phrase some three times this week and personally I don't want it attached to the crew.

I actually don't like the phrase and I cringe a little every time someone uses it. The crew was formed, not by cast-offs of other crews, but in mutual accord to create a long term presence at the Fort Taylor Pirate Fest. That phrase has a 'dregs' sound to it that isn't fair to those individuals that proudly joined together under our standard. While it is true that we accept new recruits that come from other crews or no crews at all, this acceptance is period. Sailors signed aboard for work where and when they could get it, no matter their past service or previous allegiances. We are the crew of the Brig Sloop Mercury. Step up and sign aboard.

When did I say that?

Excellent. A demonstration of such tools and the purposes of them would be a very welcome addition to our crew.

I wasn't so much surprised that they think the firing of cannon might be a safety issue, but that I hadn't given it much thought until now. After all, every other part of the fort has suffered from age and erosion, so why not the ramparts where the cannon have always been. Now that I think of it, with Lawrence's larger and larger cannons year to year the issue was bound to come forward eventually, so I would rather have it now than later. Especially if the safety inspection can prove that the fort can take the weight and vibrations now and for years to come. Besides, we still get to shoot at one another.

Thank you for the concise information. None of these changes come as any surprise to me and many of us here, as they've been anticipated in speculative threads and in discussion about the growing pains of the festival itself, so most of us are already on the same page. The cannon fire on the fort was a bit of surprise, but all other issues seem to stem from legitimate concerns touching safety and management of the park itself. Thank you for keeping us updated.

Aaaaaand...that's the other reason you won't see many people there. Most people don't even know it exists. I'll explain. The Ward Room is not a Pub wide chat application. It was set up as a chat room for the use of the writers of the Watch Dog project. However, it has also been offered as a substitute for the Pub chat on numerous occasions since the Pub's own text-based chat application went down back in 2006. Some people outside the Watch Dog project frequent it, but not many. As always, all are welcome... http://www.the-watchdog.com/Chat/

Done.

That's because people are trying out all of the bells and whistles here.

The New Posts issue is on the list of things to fix. There are a few settings here and there that are being toyed with and examined. Stynky will have it all up and running very soon. In the meantime, let me just say that this interface seems a lot more user friendly. I'm liking it.

I'll take forty...NO SIXTY! NO ONE HUN... (claps hands over mouth and falls over having a fit)

The Count of Monte Cristo. Unabridged.

The most boring potato chips ever.

All kidding aside...well...not all kidding. After all the 'Captain' of the Mercury is a kind of tongue-in-cheek enigma. It was decided a long time ago that there isn't any captain of the Mercury. Or rather, there is a captain but everyone has a different answer about where he is and why he's never about. At PIP, the 'Captain' is always somewhere else. The proverbial ghost captain. Me, I'm the Quartermaster. A few people of the crew have suggested various roles they might play from abs to carpenter. Mission has played his part as the captive doctor as well as it could be played, and has suggested harm to every member of the crew in one form or another under the guise of a healer and with the deadpan of a true re-enactor.

You're who?

Very nice. That is an excellent little table for events.