Red-Handed Jill

Claire (Poison Quill) received a lovely thank you note from Kathy. Thanks to everyone who has donated to the cause! Wow, I am in shock. I just checked the Paypal account and was astounded to learn that people have donated more than $2000!!! I can't begin to tell you how much this means to us. Today John told me that he needed $1200 to obtain a second boat with two pumps in order to stay on top of the incoming water. I withdrew money from our personal account for this and began to worry how we were going to pull this off, as funds are getting low. I want to let people know how very, very much it means to us to know that we have help from the great piratical online community to get the old girl afloat and sailing again. It's hard for me to ask for help, so I am especially grateful to you for setting this up without being asked. We are very touched. Hopefully by morning we'll have some forward progress to report regarding the recovery process. Love, Kathy

Skip Henderson and the Starboard Watch, along with the Bloody Scupper Plunder Club and and any other pirate bands we can press into service will be doing a benefit concert for Royaliste. Also, we just heard that Richard Becker, pirate artist extraordinare has just offered to design the poster, sign an original and auction it off. (Take a look at the POTC extra's DVD - when they are talking about the inspiration for the look of the film, be sure to notice the pictures and sketches on the bulletin board behind them - the artwork is Richard Becker's.)

Whether or not it was insane, it was a good and brave thing to do! Protecting those who can't look after themselves is one of the most noble things you can do.

They are going to give it another try tonight at low tide. Cross your fingers and toes, everyone!

^ Depends on my mood. < I haven't had a decent night's sleep in many days and am starting to get groggy. I'm desperate for more than four hours of sleep. V Cutlass or boarding axe?

I think they will really appreciate any help folks here are willing to give them. I talked with Claire (Poison Quill) earlier today and apparently it doesn't look any better during the day. They were already operating on a shoestring (following your dream doesn't always lead to the big bucks...) so this is going to need more resources than they have right now. It's their home that is underwater...

Put him in a dress and call him Sally. Put him in a cage and call him Polly.

Here's the latest info from Poison Quill of TO7S: I just spoke on the phone to both Bob and Kathy, so I have a little more information on what happened. They were pulling into Little River South Carolina and were within sight of where they were to dock for the night. The chart said that the depth of the water at low tide was 10' and the Royaliste only draws 6'-6", so there should have been plenty of room to spare. There was only 4' and they went aground. The tide was going out and all aboard did their best to balance her upright as the water receded. They called to someone in the harbor to come help and when he came over and set his foot aboard, she went over on her side from that slight change in weight. Then the tide began to come back in and it completely swamped her. She is submerged and laying on her side in the water. There is no hole in her hull. The reality of this looks very grim. It will take a marine salvage crane and a crew of divers to upright her. Her entire electrical system will have to be replaced and the engines completely repaired or replaced and gas tanks flushed. Royaliste may or may not have to be de-masted to be righted. Bob and I are in agreement that he will stay with Gary and Kathy as long as he is needed. The contents of the boat are all submerged of course, they had only a few moments to get anything from below before the tide came back in. Think of the damage to the homes flooded by Hurricane Katrina and I think you'll have a pretty good idea of what Gary and Kathy are faced with. I have asked Kathy to provide a Paypal link for those of us who would like to make a donation to Privateer Inc (their non-profit foundation that supports the ship). Please wait until morning, Kathy is going to double check that everything is set up properly at Paypal. I will post a link as soon as possible.

as they rapidly turned

^ Hot sand usually indicates water nearby, so that's for me! < Heading out for my daily brisk walk. V Early riser or night owl?

Mains'l shredded. Enemy ships spotted astern. Becalmed. Food stores are almost gone. "What puny cannons! They'll never reach --"

I've got both and some interesting stories about 'em.

Mattar paneer and basmati rice. I love Indian food!

What about coming up with our own six-word pirate stories? "My ship! Damn that wretched woman..." Wrong island? The crew gets restless.

^ Has started a new workout program.

^ Yes, the bodhran and ukelele (not at the same time, of course...) < Jack's and my bed has lots of pillows on it. V Favorite flavor of ice cream?

^ To hold themselves accountable for their own actions. < Is it 5:00 yet? (That's PST...) V Any skeletons in the closet?

doing their damnedest to

Pretty cool! Kirby had never eaten toes before. - Kevin Smith Heh.

^ Yeah - I was thrown into a situation that in retrospect I should have documented every second of, but I didn't realise the person I was dealing with was out of her freaking mind and had the emotional capacity of a two-year-old. As in she threw a very public and nasty tantrum due to not being told what she wanted to hear. < Oooh... SQL and database design - used to do that stuff in my IT days. Liked the work, did not like the hours. V Long or short hair?

Bump - got some new folks now, so let's move some of the topics back...? ^ Likes pirate fashions

^ Rolling out of bed. The bed is quite high, so I'd better wake up all the way or it's gonna be painful. After that, tea. < The power went out right when I was teaching a web-based class. That was my excitement for the morning. V Justice or mercy?

Aye - happy birthday Red Cat Jenny!! Even though it's not the weekend, I hope you get a chance to spend the day the way you like!

^ I do a lot of pirate gigs (musical and other entertainment) so I spend a great deal of time in garb - a couple of times a week, usually. They're just another outfit as far as I'm concerned. < Was filmed with my band last night for a local cable station. It was a heck of a lot of fun. The host asked me to come back for a special show just about me, but I don't want to talk about myself for a half-hour TV show. I'm just not that interesting. V Bandana or hat?

scrambled to the rigging