William Brand

For the sake of this archive and future calendaring I would say that any event where a member of the crew participates could be calendared or archived. This participation may vary. For example, when at Searles the event re-enacted predates the timeline of the Mercury, but with so many members of our group their as pirates of an earlier time, it's still a Mercury attended event. In that case it's more about the players than the characters portrayed. A person might also attend as a captive or borrowed character of the Mercury. The Archangel crew invites me out to all sorts of events as a member of their crew, but I've insisted with each invitation, that I could only be a captive or guest, never a member of the Archangel. My loyalties remain with the Mercury. It's a pretty loose set of rules, but so is the Mercury. The Santa Maria was my next thing to add. I best go searching for dates.

Thank you, but I should have thought of it long ago. We need to archive our event history and I know I'm missing dates and events. Feel free to pipe in, everyone. There are dozens I haven't added, and if we include every event that our good doctor attends alone, the list would be huge!

Anyone using chat lately. The last few times I've been on, people have signed in and then out again without chatting, and I don't know if that's a sign that chat doesn't work...or if I should stay out of chat.

Welcome aboard, Pyrate Joe. I don't have an answer, but if you wait a short time, I'm sure some knowledgeable fellow will have the information presently. EDIT: You roused my curiosity. I now know that I can carry a sword openly in Utah, and if I'm reading the law right, you can in Oregon. It seems that most laws frown heavily on concealed blades, but allow them openly. I would still check city ordinances in addition to state law. Sometimes they differ.

Wonderful research and excellent citations throughout. When will you be publishing your first book?

Since the Crew of the Mercury has branched out and so many of us regularly visit annual events across the country, I'm going to post an ongoing calendar for the crew. I'll try to keep it updated with links to festival sites, site maps, dates, times, schedules, etc. PAST EVENTS: Nov-Dec 2007 (first official event) Fort Taylor Pyrate Invasion/Pirates in Paradise - November 27th-December 5th ~ Key West, Florida Surgeon's Journal William's Photos - Nov. 28th-29th William's Photos - Nov. 30th May 2008 Santa Maria Pirate Weekend - May ~ Columbus, Ohio Surgeon's Journal June 2008 Blackbeard Pirate Festival - June ~ Hampton, Virginia Surgeon's Journal Nov-Dec 2008 Pirates in Paradise - November 30th-December 8th ~ Key West, Florida Surgeon's Journal July 2009 The Lockhouse - July ~ Havre de Grace, Maryland Kate & Michael's Photos August 2009 Pirates of Paynetown - August 7th-9th ~ Bloomington, Indiana Surgeon's Journal September 2009 Santa Maria Pirate Weekend/TLAPD - September 18th-20th ~ Columbus, Ohio Surgeon's Journal November 2009 The Lockhouse - November ~ Havre de Grace, Maryland Kate & Michael's Photos December 2009 Fort Taylor Pirate Festival/Pirates in Paradise - December 2nd-8th ~ Key West, Florida Kate & Michael's Photos Surgeon's Journal William's Photos - Dec. 4th William's Photos - Dec. 5th William's Photos - Dec. 6th March 2010 Searle's Raid - March 5th-6th ~ St. Augustine, Florida Kate & Michael's Photos Surgeon's Journal May 2010 Santa Maria Pirate Weekend - May ~ Columbus, Ohio Kate & Michael's Photos Surgeon's Journal June 2010 Fort de Chartres: 40th Rendezvous - June 4th-6th ~ Prairie du Rocher, Illinois Kate & Michael's Photos William's Photos - June 4th William's Photos - June 5th William's Photos - June 6th Republic-Times June 2010 Put-in-Bay Pirate Festival - June 25th-27th ~ Put-in-Bay, Ohio Kate & Michael's Photos Surgeon's Journal July 2010 The Lockhouse - July ~ Havre de Grace, Maryland Surgeon's Journal August 2010 Pirates of Paynetown - August ~ Bloomington, Indiana Kate & Michael's Photos Surgeon's Journal September 2010 Santa Maria Pirate Weekend/TLAPD - September ~ Columbus, Ohio Kate & Michael's Photos Surgeon's Journal September 2010 St. Louis Pirate Festival - September ~ St. Louis, Missouri Nov-Dec 2010 Fort Taylor Pirate Festival/Pirates in Paradise - November-December ~ Key West, Florida Surgeon's Journal May 2011 Santa Maria Pirate Weekend - May ~ Columbus, Ohio Kate & Michael's Photos Surgeon's Journal June 2011 Fort de Chartres: 41st Rendezvous - June 4th-5th ~ Prairie du Rocher, Illinois Kate & Michael's Photos June 2011 Put-in-Bay Pirate Festival - June 24th-26th ~ Put-in-Bay, Ohio Surgeon's Journal August 2011 Brigand's Grove - August 13th-14th ~ Charlestown, Indiana Surgeon's Journal September 2011 Santa Maria Pirate Weekend/TLAPD - September ~ Columbus, Ohio Surgeon's Journal Nov-Dec 2011 Fort Taylor Pirate Festival/Pirates in Paradise - November-December ~ Key West, Florida Surgeon's Journal March 2012 The Sack of St. Augustine - March 2nd-3rd ~ St. Augustine, Florida May 2012 Pirate Weekend on the Santa Maria - May 19th-20th~ Columbus, Ohio Surgeon's Journal June 2012 Fort de Chartres - June 2nd - 3rd, 2012 ~ Prairie du Rocher, Illinois June 2012 NorCal Pirate Festival - June 16th - 17th, 2012 ~ Vallejo, California June 2012 Put-in-Bay - June 22nd - 24th, 2012 ~ Put-in-Bay, Ohio Surgeon's Journal August 2012 Michigan Pirate Fest - August 2012 ~ Grand Haven, Michigan Surgeon's Journal September 2013 Dana Point Tall Ships Festival - September 7th-9th ~ Dana Point, California September 2012 Santa Maria Pirate Weekend/TLAPD - September ~ Columbus, Ohio Gaston N Jacqueline's Photos September 2012 Utah Pirate Festival II - September 14th-15th ~ Willard Bay State Park, Utah William's Photos - Utah Pirate Festival 2012 November 2012 Fort de Chartres: Fall Fort - November 2nd-4th ~ Prairie du Rocher, Illinois Nov-Dec 2012 Fort Taylor Pirate Festival - November 30th-December 2nd ~ Key West, Florida February-March 2013 The Sack of St. Augustine - February 28th-March 3rd ~ St. Augustine, Florida April 2013 Les Plays des Illinois Colonial Trade Fair & Musket and Rifle Frolic - April 5th-7th ~ Prairie du Rocher, Illinois May 2013 Conway Pirate Weekend - May 11th-12th ~ Conwy, Wales May 2013 Pirate Weekend on the Santa Maria - May 18th-19th~ Columbus, Ohio June 2013 St. Louis Renaissance Faire - May 18th-June 9th ~ St. Louis, Missouri June 2013 Put-in-Bay - June 28th-July 1st ~ Put-in-Bay, Ohio July 2013 Put-in-Bay - June 28th-July 1st ~ Put-in-Bay, Ohio September 2013 Dana Point Tall Ships Festival - September 6th-8th ~ Dana Point, California September 2013 Cannon Training School - September 7th-8th ~ Prairie du Rocher, Illinois September 2013 Eastport Pirate Festival - September 7th-9th~ Eastport, Maine September 2013 Utah Pirate Festival III - September 13th-15th ~ Slaterville, Utah September 2013 Pirate Weekend on the Santa Maria/TLAPD - September 21st-2nd ~ Columbus, Ohio November 2013 Fort de Chartres: Fall Fort - November 2nd-3rd ~ Prairie du Rocher, Illinois November 2013 St. Augustine Pirate Gathering - November 8th-10th ~ St. Augustine, Florida December 2013 Fort Taylor Pirate Invasion - December 6th - 8th ~ Key West, Florida January 2014 Alafia River Rendezvous - January 24th ~ Homeland, Florida March 2014 The Sack of St. Augustine - February 28th-March 1st ~ St. Augustine, Florida May 2014 Save the Santa Maria Festival/Great Lakes Pirate Gathering - May 16th-18th ~ Cortland, Ohio June 2014 Fort de Chartres - June 7th-8th ~ Prairie du Rocher, Illinois June 2014 Put-in-Bay - June 20th-22nd ~ Put-in-Bay, Ohio June 2014 Belmont Pier Pirate Invasion - June 28th-30th ~ Longbeach, California UPCOMING EVENTS: August 2014 Channel Island Tall Ships Festival - August 16th-17th ~ Oxnard, California September 2014 Dana Point Tall Ships Festival - September 5th-7th ~ Dana Point, California December 2014 Fort Taylor Pirate Invasion - December 5th - 7th ~ Key West, Florida

We should calendar every event attended by some member of the crew, so that we know who we can expect to see and where. Fort de Chartres - June 2nd - 3rd Put-in-Bay - June 22nd - 25th Fort Taylor Pirate Festival - November 30th - December 2nd Pirate Weekend on the Santa Maria - May 19th -20th

For those members of the Mercury not in the know, we're considering a shift to Put-in-Bay because of the exhaustive heat we've battled for two years at Fort de Chartres. We still encourage members of the Mercury who cannot go to Put-in-Bay to attend Fort de Chartres, since it's close by to so many of you, but for those of us who are traveling from much further away, Put-in-Bay is looking very tempting.

Put in Bay. Who's going?

Aye, and there's nothing wrong with being captain, but give me a good able seaman any day of the week. Most of the people I know who play the captain couldn't lead men out of a wet paper bag, but I've met my share of hard working, good, well schooled and modest men that will play their parts before the mast better than any seven captains. Besides, a captaincy should be earned by appointment, reputation, or for better or worse, ruthlessness dictatorship or worthy leadership. A lord may buy the big chair, but those who rise by degrees make better captains. The hobby is supersaturated with big hats.

Welcome aboard. We hope that your stay is a long one.

We are very sorry for your loss.

Awesome pictures. Thank you for sharing them.

I read the article more than once and it just made me tilt my head to once side like a confused dog. I mean that first line alone... "An autistic seven-year-old boy has been forced to take down a toy pirate flag in his garden - because it breaches advertising rules." I want to believe that it's a joke, but there it is, confusing and odd and once again proving that there's nothing stranger than real life.

A hearty shout out to the Crew of the Mercury at St. Augustine. Somebody post pictures before I raise something to the waterline.

His shop is in Richmond, Utah. His website doesn't exist yet, and believe you me, we get after him for not setting one up all of the time. I'm scheduling a photo shoot of the shop and him working in the next few weeks. I wouldn't take 'no' for an answer.

I'm so sorry to hear it. Please pass along our condolences to friends and family.

But William, you'll ruin your girlish figure! Aye. All eight of them.

A very happy birthday to you.

We should have a Key Lime Pie bake-off. Everyone bakes a Key Lime Pie and I get to eat said pies and judge them. How is this not a good idea?

The reinstall killed my father.

Mike has decided to relist this for $80 + shipping. It is 8 inches overall with brass scales, pins and a lanyard hole. .

I've talked to Mike and he is willing to ship to the UK. He'll be contacting you directly with questions and instructions. And Mike sends along his thanks to Mad Pete. Anyone interested in getting a knife should know that Mike's new shop is complete and he's open for custom orders.

I'm sure he'll consider it. I'll talk with him first thing tomorrow and let you know what it would cost. How would you like it shipped and what special instructions will we need to include to get it through customs?

If that question was directed at me, the answer is maybe. The year is quickly filling up with obligations, but I want to.