William Brand

Yes we do. Are you volunteering? I should scour that thread for some addition here.

That's a wild piece and a cool find. Especially the page for calculating the profitability of a voyage by the day of departure according to the stars. I have enough trouble with the basic math of plotting a course.

Is that the tool box Dorian spoke of re-purposing awhile back? I'd love to see details of that one.

You should do a weekly comic.

DAY 46: A small map of Lahontan of 1703. This plate was small enough that I did it 2 up on a letter sized page with crop marks. 1703-Lahontan.pdf

The cargo/supply tent stuffed to the gills was answer enough. I love the bales, baskets and barrels.

Back in 2009, Haunting Lily and I began a thread to consolidate discussions from all parts of the Pub regarding 'How to Get Started at PIP' (Pirates in Paradise). Since so many people were asking us about basic clothing, tents, weapons, and every other kit you can imagine, it was beneficial to have it all in one place. Having a list at out fingertips saved us a lot of time. Fast forward to 2012 and we're still sending people to that thread, which remains buried in one of the crew sub-forums where most people never notice it. I spoke with Lily today and asked her if I could move the materials in that thread to the Crow's Nest, but after looking it over, I've decided to only move the links and some of the suggestions, since so much of it was geared for a specific crew. I've changed a few posts to reflect a general Pub use accept where the original links names specifically mention a crew or festival which you'll see in brackets. This new thread contains some of the advice, links, opinions and suggestions to help someone 'get started'. This is not meant to endorse any one idea or expectation about the hobby, but only some helpful links for those who don't want to search through years of material. We hope everyone will find it useful and we encourage you to read the original thread as well for the comments and questions which came of it. 
 Patrick Hand's 'Pirate Garb/Clothing Index EDIT: No list would be complete without these photos from jollyjacktar's kit... Merchant Seaman's Effects Part 1 Merchant Seaman's Effects Part 2

You're welcome. I took the liberty of putting you on the list without asking, because frankly, if you don't go, I don't go.

Variety is good. Especially the small stuff. Sailors are crazy superstitious. You can sometimes justify a thing because that thing happened to be in your pocket or around your neck that one time that you were saved from that one thing at that crucial moment that one time you were almost killed. This could be a coin of no particular value. It could be a broken bit of pottery or a key that doesn't go to anything. Sailors keep weird junk, just like we all do. And get a knife. I can't recommend a good sailor's knife enough. I started a whole thread to rant about it, so I really can't recommend it enough. KNIFE. Annnnnd...while I'm rambling, you said you wanted to be a 'salty figure'. If you really want to look like a well traveled, been to hell and back, seen the edge of the world, had a scrape or two, escaped the noose, sailor. Weather the the hell out of your kit. Abuse your shirts with dirt, pine tar, oil, food grease, and everything else. Pull out a few threads. Worry the seams and the elbows of your shirts. Do yard work in them for a month.

One of these days I'm going to have you bound and made to sleep under an awning in a wool blanket.

I'm a huge fan of the Middle East and the Ottoman regions of the period, so I understand your wish to add, but there's a good rule of thumb that's been repeated here many times over the years. Don't make the rare common or the common rare. Or in other words, when in doubt leave it out. Common sailors are limited to space when serving aboard any ship and tend to use the weapons supplied to them by those they serve, be they navy or pirates. Did they keep and even use small knives and weapons from their distant travels? Yes, but this is rare as a rule because of space, ship's rules regarding personal weapons and the pragmatism of training. If you grew up using Irish weapons with the training that comes with such weapons, transitioning to Scimitar is difficult to explain from a pragmatic standpoint. That doesn't mean it didn't happen, but we tend to use what we know. Think computers. If you grew up on PC and captured a Mac, you're more likely to sell the Mac and buy more PC stuff. Yeah, stupid example. That said, I've actually handled a few period weapons that came from the Middle East and Far East that were captured by Scottish and English sailors. These have survived because they were kept as trophies instead of working weapons. There is also evidence of Middle Eastern weaponry in art from the period, but these tend towards dramatic portraits and all the frippery that comes with a good pose, not examples of the day to day working sailor. I carry an Arabic Kard myself, but this is as much a story telling tool as a weapon, and I can justify it because it's small, it has a considerable narrative history behind it and I've been a Captain and a Quartermaster more than once (so my character was alllowed a little more elbow room than the average sailor for storing trophies and personal artifacts). I have considered flaunting more outlandish weapons like a yatagan sword, shamshir or a tulwar, but my character is too removed from that period of his life to explain why he wouldn't now be using a simple boarding cutlass and a good musket. In the end, I lean towards a good 'reason' for what I use and try to avoid the 'it looks cool' factor, though the Kard looks cool. I was weak. As a sailor and an Irishman, you're more likely to carry a 'stick' for travel and kit, personal protection and tradition, so I'd first recommend a Shillelagh made of blackthorn. Nothing says 'Irish' like a good bludgeoning, stick-fighting, Shillelagh

Will they be posting more information on the event now that auditions have come and gone? I'd love to know about any of the following. Period day/overnight camping? Battles/skirmishes? List of attending vendors?

This is the latest that I've ever started the roll call... This list is provided as a roll call throughout the year to gauge the number of attendees who are coming down to Key West to celebrate all things pyracy. The attendees will be listed by hotel, motel, rv, or tent. Attendees may be individuals or a part of any group, crew, club and reenactment encampment. The list merely reflects names and general sleeping arrangements of attendees and the list will be updated towards the end of the year with a "confirmed" status for those attendees who have secured their transportation to and from the events. There are many hotels, rv parks, and camps (both modern and historical). We would like everyone to sound off as often as they can with updates on when, where and how they will be attending in 2012. If you do not know where you will be staying, you may still be posted to this tentative list. Please send me names, tents, hotels, encampment information, etc. Groups will be listed alphabetically by crew, club or ship name. For information on hotels, rv parks, camps or other arrangements, please see the other threads in the subforum, or post your questions here. To save on space in the forum, I will also be including the names of the Crew, group or individual representatives who will attend the various meetings and gatherings, or follow up on any paperwork, or just for the rest of us to see 'who to talk to'. These are the best individuals to contact for information on each crew and group in attendance. LAST UPDATED October 4, 2012 - Tentative List Fort Taylor Pyrates: Haunting Lily Alexander - Wall Tent Edward O'Keeffe - Wall Tent Scarlett Jai Crewe of the Archangel: Captain Sterling Dorian Lasseter Jack Roberts Dutch Constable Heartless Israel Cross Matty Black Horse Adam Cyphers Josephine Legard Fionn Murtaugh Alice Mason Grace Mae Harrington Kiera Mason Krystian Williams Deborah Rice D. M. Atlas Ryan Karn Lex Cole GiGi Parson "Double Shot" Dudley Hawkyns Jennifer Geiger Baltimore Knife & Sword: First Mate Matt Cutter's Crew: Commodore Cutter - Tent Jaded Jetty - Tent Joseph Blais Jake Stephanie Amy Dustin Commodore Swab - Tent Sansanee Nita Treasure Lady Chaos Crew of the Meka II: Dutch - RV Crew of the Mercury: William Brand - Tent Captain Jim - Tent Mission - Offsite Martie Ochs Patrick Hand Iron Jon- Tent Paula- Tent Michael Bagley - Tent Port Royal Buccaneers: Chaos Smee/MisFire Henry Avery Drake Crew of the Southern Wind: Shaemus Beaker - Wall Tent Molly Mayhem - Wall Tent Wreckers: D B Couper - Tent Buxom Anne Marie Diosa De Cancion

No harm done, I do it too. Here's a piece from 1731 that's not an 'x' example but a lines example. It has the side ribbons or cords (that aren't quite parallel), but how do we know if these would be through the crown or just decoration on the upturned brim? Either way, you should note the interesing lace and 'carnival' mask tucked under the tricorn.