William Brand

I was so very sorry to learn the Mike Ameling died a few years back. I had no idea. The man was an amazing artist when it came to blacksmithing.

Chris Wills pointed me to this link for Jeff Pavlik, a Boulanger and historian out of Michigan. Jeff's site has some excellent descriptions, images and recipes for baking bread and other food of Colonial North America. http://colonialbaker.net/ The site even contains a write-up about the 'sea biscuit'. http://colonialbaker.net/english_sea_biscuit.html

None at my finger tips for convalescents, but the high mortality rate aboard ships in general due to poor living conditions and scurvy made your quote stand out to me. I remember reading (I think it was in "Batavia's Graveyard") that the Dutch masters would over hire a crew for any given ship expecting to lose as much as a third of the men before reaching the tropics.

Too Vaudeville.

We have many good men and women who number themselves among us, having never attended an event with us. Proximity is not requisite, only favored. What we should do is bring the better part of the crew to you for an event.

To lose so few is impressive, especially in the face of such significant losses in earlier years.

I found a cribbage board for $2 and this nifty little tic-tac-toe game for my ditty bag. Cost me 50 cents.

Okay, things are moving forward on the pirates tried during the King's men trial wherein we are tried for our crimes as pirates before the English. I will most likely be tried as a 'leader', but we need a number of volunteers in chains to be standing in waiting for their turn at trial. If you're willing to be a tried man please volunteer.

Welcome back to the Pub. Congratulations on the birth of your son.

All kidding aside, we have a strong push for 'Richard' as a first name, so shall we vote between Gunnage and Southard as a surname?

When Harry left Fort Taylor to be with family, we though that we'd have trouble getting the new guy to see the event our way. Not so. While he was rigid on many points we broke him and he went pirate.

Well, since were talking all things Captain Whoever, I say we have him born in Virginia in either Norfolk or Hampton, because of all the history we have access to from the Chesapeake Bay. Then we place his family roots in Southampton, England, since so many people embarked from there to the New World. EDIT: There is a Thomas Southard who came to the Americas in the early 1600s out of Amsterdam and settled in the Long Island area. There is also a Southard family line that comes from Lancashire. Damn. Southard is really growing on me. From the book "The Streets of Key West" Southard Street was named after Samuel Southard, the Governer and Senator of New Jersey, Secretary of the Navy, and interim secretary of both war and the treasury. Southard Street was called 'Calle Curteles' (Barracks Street) by Spanish-speaking islanders because it ran from Fort Taylor on one side of the island to the army barracks on the other.

Well it didn't for me until now! EDIT: Back when we were naming the Mercury, the first name proposed was Speedwell (Which is also the name of the ship which brought the Pilgrims to Southampton to connect with the Mayflower). Since we've already borrowed the name 'Speedwell' for the ship we sailed on before transferring to the Mercury, we could draw from the passenger list of that historic ship, such as the Captain's name 'John Thomas Chappell'. Thomas Chappell is a good name, but even if we don't use it, Southampton is a good port city for our own Captain's ancestry.

I prefer Richard for two reasons. First, as a away of avoiding too many more Johns (since we have a few good men of that name in the company already), and second, because the name Richard is crazy popular on so many early passenger and colony lists.

Pyrate? I think you mean Privateer, with all of the proper paperwork and backing of any given government of the moment. Pyrate is such an unforgiving word. I say we make the man Colonial born, since the whole business of this Mercury crew began here, but give him strong family roots to a named English port town. Then I say we pick another port city of the day in the colonies for his nativity and go from there. Make him a true old salt.

As the Mercury was 'born' in Key West, we could pay tribute to an early European tied to the history of the place. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Key_West John Simonton John Geddes John Mountain John Whitehead John Flemming Pardon Greene Mathew Perry David Porter (Commodore and anti-pirate)

The name is more academic and for purposes of having a Captain by name when asked, but I think he should be someone well spoken of when spoken of, and given a certain dignity. The use of the absent Captain is also beneficial when describing the absent 'numbers' of crew members to any given inquiry. "Where's your Captain then?" "Our good Captain so-and-so is with a company of our men inland on business most pressing." It lends us an opportunity to 'pad' our numbers by narration. I used it extensively at Fort de Chartres when the passing public would ask 'Where's your ship?". I would tell them that it was my privilege to be inland with some chosen men for the purpose of trading with the French and the Chickasaw while the good Captain had the keeping of the Mercury.

There are a lot of good, stout English names from the period. Thomas Baylyffe James Shawcase James Leightstrength John Thorpe Stephen Hargreaves Richard Gunnage Robert Fletcher James Highfield Samuel Hayworth

I say when in doubt, go Colonial English. I'm currently pouring through these pages for examples of men born in the 1600s. http://www.s-gabriel...gPost1600.shtml A few surnames that already stood out (due to the running joke of the 'absent' nature of our Captain) were Unsworth, Hyde, Trueman, Knott, etc.

Before everyone panics…the thread is to name a Captain that is never present. Our Captain in the wind. Our absentee Captain. I just need a name for official documents, i.e. letters of marque etc. What should the Captain of the Mercury be called? Let's name this mystery fellow! It's been yeeeeeeeears.

That might have been more adventurous. We really should kidnap at least one person, one year. Just arrange it with their significant other to have them packed, ready and free of obligations, but unaware.

Ticket purchased! It's official and now the countdown thorough a list of projects to arrival begins.

Travel has been key to my love of the hobby. Historical immersion at the events that I've been lucky to attend keeps me coming back. Every time we get together in the Midwest and the East Coast we bemoan the lack of historic draws on the West Coast. There are so many fantastic, scenic venues in the West that could support historic events. I'm surprised that there isn't more 'Spanish Colonial' represented at California events as far North as Drake's Bay.

Snare setting? Firestarting? Which woodsman skills do they touch on in competition.

That's awesome and most definitely unique. I think that would be an excellent addition to a pirate armory. It would make a stand out piece.