Mission

Not to be a smart-arse, but given the images of the position of ships being careened, you'd almost have to take everything not nailed down off the ship! Otherwise the lighter and more delicate objects would be smashed to bits by the heavier ones as they tumbled head-long into the side pivoting on the beach. Either that or you'd have to take a lot of time and rope lashing loose things left shipboard down. Besides, having all the extra weight of durable objects on the ship would just make it that much more difficult to tip the thing on its side. So I don't think you really need a reference for that - logic will serve you there just as well. If you've ever moved a dresser with its drawers still in it, you will quickly grasp what I mean. (And I'll bet you didn't do that twice - at least not on purpose.)

Which units are we with? Units?! We're pirates. I personally favor 'loose' and 'hastily organized' to rules and such. In fact, several of the people who have responded here are members of the Mercury crew. Some people aren't with any crew at all. Cross is with the Archangel crew (who are not pirates, but pirate hunters.) They were actually at MTA. They're more like a unit than many of the rest of us.

Bambi! Good lord. You definitely need to go with that. For clothing, you can check out the vendor's thread here. There is a list with links to the vendor's website at the top. Most of the regular forum members are listed at the top of each category.

I'll put a link on the Pyracy Pub FaceBook Fan page for you. Since FB got all popular and stuff the forum traffic has dropped somewhat. Although when I put together a survey on this forum pre-FB, I got about 30 responses, so you're not doing that badly.

I fixed your link for you. Some suggestions... You might want to explain what you mean by 'interpretation', Amy. I don't know about anyone else here, but it is not immediately clear to me and I've been doing this for several years. The question about how many hours you re-enact a month is also a bit of a challenge to answer in that form. Many of us re-enact during the summer months and take late fall and the winter off. So it's not really an hours/month sort of thing. I could much more easily tell you how many days a year I am involved in re-enacting. Well those are my thoughts anyhow. Have fun mining the data. (Four stat courses later and I know the drill - I have also done some statistical analysis via this forum.)

That's a pretty broad leap. If a merchant ship didn't have a surgeon, there is some period evidence that the captain filled in using a whatever books of surgery were at hand. This doesn't mean anyone considered them surgeons. It would be more appropriate to say that, being the most responsible person on the ship, they filled in when there was a necessity. While removal of the dead at sea would be considered a necessity (as the holds of some French ships could attest), marriage at sea is another matter entirely.

Perfect.

Now here's something useful to inform your period characterization and behavior... "This sort of Ulcers do also sometimes proceed from a Hurt, occasioned by a Fall, Push, or Blow in the Inside of the Nose, which after by the Patient's continual picking of it with his Fingers, keeps it always Sore and Raw..." (Purmann, p. 25)

I really like the layout of the thumbs on your page there, IH.

I found this comment sort of interesting. It's from Mathias Gottfried Purmann's book Chirurgia curiosa: or, the newest and most curious observations and operations in the whole art of chirurgery, translated into English in 1706. (I am omitting the (very) graphic description of the tumor-removal. ) "No Part of the Body is so much troubled as the Face with all Kinds of Tumours, as Swellings, Spots, Freckles, Pimples, Warts, Ganglions, and other Exulcerations, without mentioning the several Disasters and Maladies happening to the Eyes, Ears, Nose, Mouth, &c." (Purmann, p. 24)

Atkins gives a wonderful description of how the surgeon should prepare the Orlop deck and Cockpit for a battle, so I thought I'd repeat it here for those interested. “Secondly, in War, the Surgeon always should have Boxes of Dressings ready, Turnikets, some Tents [roll of absorbent material, often medicated to keep a wound open], Pledgets [compresses of absorbent material, often lint], Buttons [Tow made in the form of a large button], and Dossils, in Sorts a great Number, without being armed; Rowlers [long rolled bandages], Compresses, Bandages, Ferulæ [ferule - strongly scented gum resin], Laminæ, of different Sizes; and when the Ship is preparing for Battle, to arm [thread] your Needles, to lay the Apparatus for Amputation particularly, and your Instruments in order, (as at p. 123.) the Ollop [Orlop Deck] and Cable Tiers are cleared and spread with Canvas, for receiving your wounded Men, the Cockpit separated for Operations and dressing them, whence they are to be removed. That every Thing may be in the best Readiness on your Side for their Reception, tear up your old Ensign for present Use, mix up a Bason of Astringent, and have two or three of your Caps spread with it, a Pannikin of Ol. Tereb. [turpentine] with others of Digestive, and Spt. Vini [brandy], some Pledgets ready spread with this; a large Rowl of Cerate [a hard ointment or medicated paste consisting of lard or oil mixed with wax or resin] well malaxed [kneaded] with Tereb. Venet. to make it sticky; two Chests, and a round Stool, to rest your Wounded on for Operation, or Dressing; round the Stanchion fix some Boards for a Dresser, and covering with a Piece of Bunting, lay your Pocket Instruments, and such light Preparations as are of immediate Call, (but reserve the Bulk always in your Cabin, where they are likewise to lie in Order, and unmoved.) On each Side the Stanchion, and round you, place some large Lights, in Sticking-Iron Candlesticks, as taking least Room, and undisturbed by the Motions of the Ship; three or four moving ones also, and Snuffers. Thus ready, the Surgeon is to consider, that Compound Fractures and Amputations will take up necessarily near the Whole of his Time. Flesh Wounds, especially by Great Guns or Splinters, are commonly large enough to discover any extraneous Body, to be extracted presently with your Fingers or Forceps; or if any Bits of Rag are suspected out of Sight, inject forcibly with Wine and Ol. Tereb. warm’d; if a Flux [flow] of Blood (very rare here) use the latter only, with Pledgets; concluding with one or two of those already armed __ with Digestive, or a Piece of Cerate, and a Bunting Rowler. But the other Cases plead strongly for Redress, and require abundance more of your Time to do it: The several Processes herein, I refer to what has been already said under those Heads; and shall only add here, that you are to be quick, as well as careful, in what Help you administer; for if the Action be warm, without Forethought, you will be in Confusion presently: And the Forecast lies in not suffering such wounded Men as can walk, and help themselves, to take up any Part of your Ollop, (especially that nearest you,) but move on to the Hold or Foreship; and those more helpless to be laid by your Assistants in their Stead, keeping your Cockpit as clear as possible. To all we must give Cordials at this Time; and Wine has, in my Opinion, the Preferences; because we are to quench Tirst, as well as refresh the Spirits.” (Atkins, Navy Surgeon, p. 148-9)

That Stynky. He's my hero.

No, I don't mind, that's what this list is for. I added your site to the list in the first post.

I know there is some sort of verification process in place which checks the IPs against a list from other forum SPAM reports and it is blocking the vast majority of these things. I've looked at the "verifying" list of users requesting forum access a couple of times and it is much, much larger than the number of posts we're getting. If all of those people got through, we'd be awash in SPAM posts. So it's working better than it appears to be; most spammers aren't getting through. I've also noticed that most of the emails are free email accounts like gmail, so the .ru thing might work for some of them, but not the majority of them. On top of that, I looked up some of the IPs when I was banning the ones that got through and they're not all Russian.

Personally, I don't think we can - this needs to happen on a cosmic level. (By which I mean the forum software is modified to catch this particular flavor of 'bot or they get tired of posting here and getting cleaned out if they're not 'bots. Most of these user names appear to me to be 'bots.) Your best bet is to just to report and ignore them. Most people can't read their posts and you all know better than to click on any of their links. (I hope.) Responding to them is a waste of time, because they usually just hit and run. From my experience, these things go in waves. We had them about two years ago and they were only around for a month or two and then the cosmos sent them away for a while. So keep reporting in case we miss them, ignore their posts otherwise and just sit tight.

Chirurgia curiosa: or, the newest and most curious observations and operations in the whole art of chirurgery by Matthias Gottfried Purmann. It is, quite seriously, one of the best organized period surgical manuals I have yet read. (And I've read about 20 some of them...) Excellent resource and it's available on Amazon for a pretty reasonable price.

Isn't PiP the Pirate Party? (That's what I heard...)

So...does no one know if landsmen wore these things?

You can also indicate your officious religion as "Jedi" in the UK, so how long will it be before you can be a registered Jedi pirate? (The philosophical conflicts of being such notwithstanding.)

No, I mean non-attached (to the skull) hair queues as seen, let us say, on working landsman, let us say, as a trained surgeon?

Why don't I pick it up in July? Maybe I'll bring my shiny new fleam stick and we can breathe a few veins for the tourists.

I received my four new instruments from Wes, so I thought I'd put a photo of them up with the associated instruments in a fitting setting. While I'm at, Peter Chaaps kindly made me a fleam stick, which is a sort of wooden hammer for driving the pointy fleams into the skin, so I thought I'd post a shot of that as well. Pretty spiffy, eh?

No one wore hair queues in the GAoP?

If I donate something, I usually bring it with me. So that's my suggestion.

Excellent work! Thanks for sharing your art.