Jolie Rouge

[paying homage to Neptune when crossing the equator (got any GAoP era evidence of that btw?)] It's pretty much an immortal ritual. It's still performed today, and not as a quaint revival either. It's always been done, and always will be.

Meself, and my wench are havin a wedding in a little over a year, and are aimin at an early 1700s period ceremony (with a bit o' pirate flair o' course!). I were wonderin if any o' ya tars had any info, or references ta give me a bearin on? Not lookin fer navy traditions, and not looking fer anything held by the by the upper, upper classes (bugger the bougouise). I'd be in yer debt fer any help ya might muster up. Thankee kindly

Here's a fine one. It's called 24, or 41, I once even seen it called bilge dice. I learned it in a pulic house in Sacramento (they were kind enough ta have dice and cups behind the bar). Don't know the history on it, but it's a basic enough gamblin game that one would assume it has been around fer some time. A simple game played with six dice for stakes or chips. Play: Every player begins by putting a unit of stakes or chips into a pot. Then each player in turn rolls the dice six times. After each roll at least one die must be put aside. Players must roll a 4 and a 1 to qualify (hence 41) to enter a score. A score is the total of the remaining four dice. If a 4 and 1 are not rolled the player scores nothing and must ante one unit to the pot. The player with the highest score at the end of a round wins the pot, the maximum bein 24 (which explains the other title). If two or more players have the equally high score then another round is played by all with double ante to decide the game. Play continues until players elect to end the game. Shure enough, a fun, fast paced way ta loose yer plunder.

It was the t'gallants, not the topmasts, and everyone was fine

Tis true. Me mate's one o' the sailing/ pirate extras, an' they've been sent home. Donn't know the details though.

Captain Enigma, yer bein a right twit. Ya just told someone that a period astrolabe would not work due to calender changes? If I may be so bold as ta quote the link you put up "To find the latitude of the ship at sea, the noon altitude of the Sun was measured during the day or the altitude of a star of known declination was measured when it was on the meridian (due north or south) at night. The Sun's or star's declination for the date was looked up in an almanac. The latitude is then 90° - measured altitude + declination" The tool itself has nothin ta do with dates, ya use the astrolabe ta find a measurement that ya look up on a table that is not part of the astrolabe. Ya follow?

I was before the mast durin the 2002 festival. Definately a grand time, says I. Need ta find me a bosun's billett fer 2005.

26 as o' yesterday. Grand! I now be fittin ta the 26-30 on polls. Bloody hell..

The Dawdler, built in Wilmington CA 1928. Gaff rigged, bald headed schooner. 28' on deck, 36' sparred, 10' abeam (which be damn beamy fer somethin so small). Aven't taken note of her sail area yet, but she sports a bit: jib, gaff fore, gaff main, fisherman (an' if ya know yer schooners, she also has a gollywobbler fisherman almost the size o' the fore, and main tagether). Steerage is tiller, Wheels is fer lubbers. Word's come down from the old salts that afore she was neglected fer about three decades she was damn fast, and she will be again by the powers. Got her from a drunken bos'un fer a song ta boot. note: these pics were taken from me mates camera phone so there not that good. She 'as a clipper bow which ye can't quite see 'ere. Some fool back in the seventies decided she needed a fiberglass coat on the deck (hence the blue cockpit). That'll be goin back ta canvas n' paint soon as possible seein' that the deck leaks because o' it. An' if be you who did it, an' yer readin this, when I find ya I'm puttin yer eyes out wit me spike. I'll post bigger better pics as the project progresses

EXCELLENT!! I'll be trackin ya all down as soon as I 'ave a bit o' funds fer some rum, an' proper entertainment o' guests. She needs some o' her standin' riggin replaced afore I kin git her underweigh, but after that I'll take all o' yas sailin as well.

Alot o' what I've read says that on pyrate ships the quartermaster held an (theoreticly) equal footin with the capn, cept fer times of action (chase, boardin, or runnin), at which point the cap'n was not ta be questioned. Only reference I kin sight out o' memory be "Under The Black Flag" though I seen it elswheres. An' the quartermaster was generaly actin' in the interest o' the crew. Bos'uns tended ta do.....bos'unry. An' bos'uns taday still bein' what they 'ave fer the past few centuries, tend ta 'ave very little interest in the crews well bein'.

Any o' the bretheren down near the LA harbor area? I recently "purchased" 'bout the smallest schooner ya ever clapped eyes on, an' am now winterin in San Pedro. Asides from a few o' the tars at the Los Angeles Maritime Institute(who're a wee bit too upstandin fer my tastes, though good folks ta be sure) , I don't know a bloody soul in the area. So if yer about, hail me. I'll scrounge up some rum, an' we kin 'ave a yarn.

Flogging Molly's definately the Pogues fer the next generation. If ya happen ta be a sailor as well as a pirate, the song "Every dog has it's day" will probably bring a tear ta yer eye.

Antoher thing 'bout bar shot. It has the slight advantage over chain shot of not doin that whole nasty bind in the bore, blow up yer gun crew thing.

Aye it twere last fall. I can't speak fer the chieftain, but the Lady did fire up once ta go full astern ta avoid that schooner with the tanbark sails (any idea who she were, by the way?) who was so kind ta stuff herself betwixt us, and the chieftain. Which be an acceptable, an' expected time ta fire up the motor (it be cheaper than rebuildin' tha boats).

I tweren't meanin' ta cause such a row. Jest ta prove I be a light hearted soul, here' be a pic o' the Royaliste sailin' All's well?

The point o' reference I be makin' would o' been last fall. If ya be sailin' now, all's the better.

Scuttlebutt I heard last time I was shipped aboard the Lady Washington yarnnin' an' drinken' withe the chieftens was that Ian was jes' gettin' tired o' running the business. Oh, an' Royaliste. Fer all yer shameless self promotion, an' braggin' (not that there be anything wrong with that), I find it a wee bit queer that last time I clapped eyes on ye, YA WEREN'T SAILIN' WHEN YA WAS UNDER WAY! Yer sails were set, yet no hands was workin' them sails.. There was canvas luffin' everywhere, yet ya tore through them waters like the devil 'imself were after ya. Why be that, do ya think? An' the completely comin' about with out never tackin' at all was impressive. If memory serves me well enough, me capin said somethin' ta the effect of "Mr. gunner, don't fire on 'em, ye'll only encourage 'em, and if they're not going to sail, we don't want that" Come ta think of it yer lack o' sailin' brought the crew o' Lady down so much we was forced ta present our collective sterns to ya after we docked. Regardless, carry on with yer braggin', ya got a mighty fine motor yacht ta be proud of there.

Fer me two bits, sailors tended towards quid. Quid was terbaccy leaf strips rolled wit molasses inta thick strands ('ence it sometimes bein' called rope terbaccy) which they chewed. Twere the best way ta get yer fix shipboard as it didn't blow away, as snuff did, an' it didn't burn yer boat down, as pipes did.

Now I don't rightly remember where's I read this, but I saw somewhere a bit what said Stevenson only wrote the chorus o' the song. The rest was written by a poet several years after the book was published. I'll see if I can't find that someweres.

I be readin' Shogun a.k.a. Who the hell are these people, an' when do I go on account again?

Them basket hilted broad swords what the highlanders used was still termed "claymore" by them Scots. Also, have ya ever noticed that pistols o' that time frame are built in sich a manner that ya could hold them upside down, an' backwards? Which I might add it would be handy ta have a long piece o' metal an' wood linin' the forearm o' yer free hand.

By the powers! I might just take ya up on that next time I be down that way (I reside up the hill, a couple states from ya). I be shippin' aboard The Lady Washington as bo'sun's mate fer their winter tour, so's I'll be down there at some point. By the by, I was down there last time the Lady was headin' North. I saw Yer vessel, she be a right pretty one says I.

Not a good thing ta be gettin yer name from the What's my pirate name site neither. 'Less ya just got no originality I guess.

HUZZAH!!! I'd gladly join the ranks o' the Royaliste fer this one!