William Brand

He doesn't look a day over 13. Happy birthday you ole journal keeping, syringe flashing, saw toting, hat wearing, panda bones waving, son of a surgeon.

I held a moment of silence.

Ahh, my fellow December Club Member, a very happy birthday.

I came along in 2005, when I began inquiring about period/pirate style camping in the fort. Everyone that I asked said that the fort would never allow such a thing, and I was about to let the matter go when I decided to call the fort directly. I got Harry on the phone, and 1 and a half hours and six year later we're pitching a lot of tents. I think that 2005 was one of the few recent years when Hurricane and his crew were not in attendance (having made plans to visit one of the islands of the Caribbean if memory serves), so I didn't have the pleasure then. I met Braze and Cascabel that year and even rode in the back of their truck to the wharf, where I sailed aboard the Wolf for the first time. That year was the first time that anyone yelled the named 'Red Wake' at me across a great distance, when Captain Jim called out to me from the fort top while I was crossing the battlefield. It was also the first year that I met the Viceroy, back in the day when his cannons were smaller and his pension for things that go 'BOOM! was still growing. As a consequence, it was the first year that I ever fired a cannon. The first flag I unfurled at PIP was the Wetlanders flag (The Boar bones), a sign of my bacon obsession. Their was no auction before the mast then, but the trial was lively and the parade was a hoot. It was a year of firsts. My first time to Florida. My first period camping. My first cannon crew. My first pirate event. My first flag. My first tall ship sail. My first all night rooster call experience. My first time gutting a British soldier in battle (sorry Kip). We ate well, talked a lot, and slept just enough to get through the days.

Another fantastic source along the same lines. http://www.meteohistory.org/2005historyofmeteorology2/10wheeler.pdf

Many studies regarding weather changes from past to present utilize old log books to get information. This pdf is one good example and it contains many examples of log books. It doesn't have dimensions, but it's a good source. http://www.springerlink.com/content/7613686554245j72/fulltext.pdf

You left us to our assumptions by your inaction.

Great stuff. It's nice to see a few pics off the beaten path.

I didn't even get to the beach until Monday. It was all crazy, silly fun. The trident was awesome. Cross needs to be sedated once a day. Mission, Shay and Pete should not be allowed to travel together at any time. Crispy is still...well...the same. I got to shoot Jack in the back point blank. It was cold. So many things I could mention and all of them fantastic.

I had a wonderful time. The company collected there is as varied and interesting as one could ever hope to find, and if you're lucky, stab and shoot on the field. Sorry, Jack.

The copper rivets are definitely 20th century. It's reminiscent of three or four types of tack I have hanging in the garage from the early 1900s. That said, it's a genuine hook most likely used for someone who lost an arm. 'Pirate' is a stereotypic reach, but hey, they guy wants to sell this thing, so he's pulling out all the stops.

Pirates take care of their own. Wait...that sounds threatening.

Cannon fire. But seriously, do you need a hat? I'm not wearing my tricorn this year and your welcome to borrow it.

Interesting that you should mention it. We discussed that very thing when we were first talking about the Mercury flag in another thread. We even discussed it as a bale mark, but we never came to any conclusions on it.

I love a good test cutting.

Thank you to everyone who is sacrificing time, vacation, money, and um...sanity, to attend one of the best events in one of the most picturesque locations. For you that are new, this is a baptism by cannon fire.

And to you and your family.

"What's that," he asked, agog with curiosity. Infinitely more interesting than it sounded. It's just a blank notebook of linen rag paper bound in leather. Simple. Functional. I keep one pocketed for jotting down names, notes, and information at PIP that needs to be remembered or reiterated at the time or stored after. The 'logbook' and 'ledgers' are probably next year's project, unless I suddenly get more time to work on them before PIP.

1 - Finish shoes. 2 - Bind some printed materials 3 - Make a knife sheath for my Kard. 4 - Finish the printed goods for the public 5 - clean up a few maps 6 - Cut the marking pins for the traverse board 7 - Ship the ship's bell to the fort 8 - Finish my notebook 9 - Find some missing kit

For those who play, here is a site offering free sheet music by Robert de Visee (1680-1720). Some of the links are dead, but I was able to download 6 of the pdfs. http://creativeguitar.org/sheet-music/visee-robert-de

The name of the first fellow is Trond Bengston, and unfortunately he doesn't have any albums out that I can find.

Funny that you should say that, because I made a formal request to fly our very flag over Fort Taylor at least once during the event. I should know by week's end.

The posters are superb as always.

Welcome aboard. I look forward to seeing more of your work.

Captain Jim has supplied the name 'Patricia Morgan' after a ship he captained earlier in his life.