Monterey Jack

The info hasn't been posted yet, but this year the event will again be held at the DEMAS salle Saturday and Sunday May 12 and 13. There is a chance it may be moved to the second salle location in Morgan Hill, but that will be posted as well. Afer much work by Claire and myself trying to find a "piratey" venue Davenrich (Digger) has happily stepped back in to help us out. We either got no replies to our enquiries, got turned down, or got hit up for ridiculous fees which would raise the cost of the workshop for the students, which we are definitely not about. There will be a special rate for 10 or more enrolling all at the same time, and the cut-off point will be 30 people, so plan to jump on signing up ASAP. Plans to add pike and belaying pin are in the works, due to so many requests by TotSS folks. Digger, Doc, Jag and I all look forward to seeing you in May! Keep a watch on www.Davenrich.com or www.HistoricalMaritimeCombat.com For info coming in November or Follow the lionk from the HMCA site to our yahoogroup to keep up on it all.

Hello all, Some of your brethren from the HMCA are going to be teaching at Paddy Crean this year. It is Dec. 31st to Jan. 6th. All those interested need to sign up for the workshop and pay the deposit by October 15th. Here is the info website: http://www.iosp.org/index.php/Paddy_Crean_..._Sword_Workshop This Paddy is not to be missed! But we need your help. In order for Paddy Crean to be able to be held at Banff, we must have a certain number of participants signed up before Oct. 15th. We are over halfway there, but still need many more. Every registration is important. You need not pay for the whole thing up front. You only have to come up with $130 to register. You can look at the Paddy Crean Brocure here: http://artofcombat.org/public/thespis/Padd...ean%20Flyer.pdf When you or your students sign up, please note on the registration that you (or your student) were sent by one of the instructors on that list. Let's make Paddy happen and grow! Thank you for your support!

Bwwahahahaha!!!!! <sniff> Seriously......$250? Free "Bowie"? Is there a way to cyber-slap these people?

Sorry...that were s'pose t' read: "at least fer tonight..."

Aye! I can hold it just fine, Lass. I hold the bottle thus..... and the tankard....oops...... Alright, ye have a point...... But, one word from ye lass an' I'll swear off it fer at least a fortnight!

(waking up at the bar at the sound of the name....) Tess.....always loved the name Tess.....welcome lass! I'd attempt a bow but in me present condition it'd only embarrass the both of us.... This round's on me, luv........

Apologies, Cap'n, I be remiss in me duties here concernin leatherwork. The Portland Oregon Leather store is still open; they better be, as they sign me paycheck! If they can't help ye (their craft guy just retired) drop me a note or call the Eugene store and ask fer Gareth or they'll likely hang up on ye.

I would think any serious student of history would qualify to some degree; but then, I read books on car repair and it doesn't make me a mechanic.....

Ha! An' here I thought I was the only one who ever paid attention to /even remebered Oddball! Woof !Woof!

I just haven't developed a liking for Will much at all. He was wussy in the first one (IMO) and now he's wussy with better action sequences in this one. And lose the leather coat once in awhile! I want to see something done with Norrington; there's a hellova lot of potential there they need to tap. Overall I loved the movie, but there were slight disappointments I can live with. Most likely they'll look at 2 and go, "oops." and make 3 closer to the way the first one "felt". I did enjoy the way the characters never really "teamed up"; they all had their own agendas. I thought I'd hate the CG sea creature-crew, but even that worked out. .....so basically....yep, I'm good with it.....

Well, they couldn't have gotten a better Queen IMO. Gay Linn has been around since her early days as a camp helper / archer with St Sebastians. She's spent her entire faire life (since 1989) working to play Elizabeth and has been doing so now for probably 10 years or more.

Exploring trade routes at different points in history will tell you a lot about what weapons could have found their way into European sailors' hands. You also have to look at the meaning of that weapon within the particular society. Was it an every day tool they all had, or was it a badge of honor given to a select few who never would have parted with it? At a stretch you can make nearly everything work; it just depends how much historical correctness you want to sacrifice to have your knife of choice. For instance, the basic design of the kukhri has been around since the greek period and is also reflected in the falcata among other weapons. The earliest date of a kukhri in the form we know now was 1627 in Nepal. Now, we know by the late 1600s the buccaneers were in the Phillippines and the China seas. The weapons could have found their way along these trade routes into the hands of Europeans. Next you need to examine these routes to find any form of documentation. Even one account is enough to validate your theory, even if you have to accept that it might be a rare ocurrance. Then, it you want to go the extra step, try to find the exact grip of the earlier ones, as that is also an indicator of the period in which it was being traded. Similar problem with the Katar and Pata. As far as I know these were Sikh weapons and never seen outside the region until the late 1800s. As for any other knives, the same thing applies; if there was heavy contact and trade with a particular society or country, there's a good possibility these knives would show up among the buccaneers. Documentation always helps, but sometimes reasonable theory works too.....(I figure that'll raise a whole new argument....). Not everybody wrote everything down.

The HMCA is expanding their workshop repertoire to include hand weapons of the buccaneers. This doesn't include firearms, but is more akin to the knives, axes, hand tools, swords, machetes and such that would not only be used in everyday work, but as offensive/defensive weapons should the need arise. If there are any weapons you, as bucc portrayers in the field need to see added, please let me know. More info on the HMCA, including recent seminars can be found at: www.HistoricalMaritimeCombat.com

Another great one with a full background of buccaneering a privateering in the rum trade is "RUM: The Social and Sociable History of the Real Spirit of 1776" You can get it on Amazon fer about $10 used.

Harbormaster This whole post is exactly the kind of thing that has people up in arms as it were. First, you ask us to imagine a biker without a bike, cowboy with no horse, etc., alluding to the fact that if they don't have the right accoutrements, it makes them less of what they are . History is full of cowboys without horses, fighter pilots without planes...and seamen who for a time have no ship. The articles aren't what make you a pirate. This just feeds into the whole "if you don't have the right toys, you can't play", which is BS. Then you say if you can't try and make your dreams come true, why dream them? Because that's what makes them dreams. For many its the escape, albeit temporarily, from every day crap.The hope for something different (not always better). If, like you, a person has the ability to try, that's fantastic, but here again, your statement implies that if they can't try to be a real pirate, they should give up. Personally, I don't want parts of me blown off, have Guinea worms living under my skin, or suffer from the bloody flux or die of alcohol abuse. Does that mean I should quit? Lastly, you say if you're going to play, fine, but play it right. This is the real capper, because we've proven here that there isn't a right way. There are varieties of interpretations based on a central theme depending upon the individuals desired outcome. You can play a comic pirate, a serious pirate, a Hollywood pirate, an historically correct pirate...but each of them are played a different way. There is a right way for you, but its your way, and to imply anything else is not only cruel, but a waste of what you're capable of in educating those who are interested. Your statements, read the way you've posted, will nip in the bud any desire to play pirate if they don't start out perfectly authentic; and that my friend is wrong. I've said far more than my peice here, so I'll away to more temperate climes.

I was thinking Rock band until I read "we blasted off cannon, flintlocks and other weapons on city streets and did pretty much anything we wanted to, including halting traffic at will, chasing children with sharp swords and kidnapping politicians and celebrities, sometimes not giving them back for a week or longer. We burned ships in the harbor, broke up bars with our swords" See them at http://www.seafairpirates.com - my brother is still a member of them, even though I mutinied in 1990. -- Hurricane Hurricane, let me just open with the statement that I've followed many of your posts and find you a wealth of information. And from the respect of many others on this forum its obvious you know what you'e doing. What follows is just my obervance, please don't take it as anything else. I come from a family (a big, lengthy one) of bikers. THIS is the closest you can get to what you are calling pirates. The big difference that I can see is when my extended family does all the things you mention, they get shot , maced, have the crap beat outta them by the police and thrown in jail....exactly what would happen to a pirate (minus the mace unless it was on a stick!). Your old crew seems to have gotten away with it because they were expected, had law enforcement with you, had friends in the political arena and allowed to do it; which to me says that if you have permission it may as well be a show, regardless of your audience or lack thereof.. That makes you a performer (albeit unrehearsed) and not a real pirate. I am assuming you weren't fined or punished since you don't mention that. If you were, you're likely a biker and I'll see you at the next family gathering at Sturgis or Laconia. Now, as for me I'm content being as close to historical as possible until it damages my checking account. My coat and waistcoat are hand sewn leather with hand-waxed linen thread, the shirts are hand dyed with vegetable stains and Caribbean indigo, and the weapons are functional and exact repros of cutlass, dirk and pistol circa 1700. I do take creative license with the hat; its leather because I'm a leatherworker by trade. Same with the boots, though I do have seminole mocs and leggings if need be. The baldrick is smoke-tanned boa skin over pig; both from South America. The jewelry and minor affects are right out the window, simply because I can leave em behind when doing an educational gig. I don't walk in making excuses for my garb,as I know when I walk in I'm exacly what they expect me to be. I will be up front about something being out of place if asked. I am an avid fan of rum and am now distilling my own. I began my piratical work as an entertainer on the Ren circuit, but my focus over the last several years has been promoting the cutlass and boarding weapons as a martial art, and in that area I'm definitely a stickler for accuracy...but again I don't tell anyone else they have it wrong. I will show concern for certain things that come up because it may be damaging to A) the pirates involved or the ability for others to continue playing at certain events. I've seen "pirates" shot in face with pistols loaded with canon powder because it wasn't really loaded, guys stabbed thru the thigh with a sharp cutlass during unrehearsed shows and a ramrod from a musket sail off thru the crowd because they needed extras and didn't care if they were professional shooters. Add to that any number of missing teeth, sliced fingers, armpits, punctured retinas, etc. To me that isn't even playing pirate, that's just plain stupid and that's my big soapbox. Everyone is going to do it differently and what I've enjoyed about this forum is that for the most part folks are content with that. To say I'm a better pirate than someone else because of what I know or they don't know is ridiculous. I have no idea how many buttons go on French or British drop front breeches or whether or not the hammer design on my pistol is early or mid 1700s. I can lay a man out with a tomahawk and knife or a cutlass in less than 5 seconds...does that make me a better or worse pirate than a person who knows clothing and politics of the spring of 1693 in Bardbadoes? No. Its a failing many of us have in the re enactment / historical / entertainment field that when anyone encroaches on what we do, we react defensively because it may call into question what we've become comfortable with for ourselves. That, and from years of being verbally attacked, we naturally fall to it when confronted with strangers with similar interests. The best we can hope to do is keep in mind others may only be doing for the enjoyment, or for the kids...even, dare I say it...for a paycheck. The ones who prove themselves otherwise should be ignored, or else we're as guilty as they are. Having a great time doing what we do is the best way to get even! Sorry about the rambling; I think this was my longest rant ever.

Crap; I'm not there.... Why is it only one day?

That helps, Ben, thanks! We just seem to keep runnin in the same circles! Gareth AKA.............

I'm there!

Possible Spoiler here, but.......... Would somebody please tell me how Norrington ends up going pirate?! I won't be able to see it for another couple weeks and I think that at this point it was a waste of a good character. I would rather have seen him at odds with himself and be a conflicted Commodore than just go pirate. But as I haven't seen it, I'm hoping for a good excuse. It can't be that he was canned for letting Jack go; that wouldn't warrent that kind of punishment. Somebody fill me in, please?

For historical fight tactics adaptable to theatrical presentation this may be of help: www.HistoricalMaritimeCombat.com

Definitely brown; my clothes go thru a lot of wear, dirt, mud, tavern tables, tavern floors...and brown don't show the dirt as quick!

The pics are now up from the Boarding Actions: California (BACA) class held back in May.. Doc, Jag and I are still hard at work doing revisions of the book and working out the details for the photos and illustrations. Also to be included in the next month or so will be a description of what we're phrasing as the Buccaneer Fighting Arts. Very similar to the Frontier Fighting Arts but with a few twists. Look for that, along with pics from Lansing 2006 in September. www.HistoricalMaritimeCombat.com

So, ye'll be Phillip Blackfinger next, eh?

The mark of a true artist, Phillip, no worries. leather work is like that. Drop me a note if you get stuck!