Captain Jim

$250 for a non-firing replica? No way.

Now that's just silly...

If you look at the charts of that time you will find that they are fairly accurate north-to-south and not worth a damn east-to-west. This is because they could measure ocean distance n/s using the sun but accurate e/w had to wait until the invention of a reliable chronograph. This did in no way stop them, as the method of navigation was to travel n/s to the correct lattitude and then sail e/w until you ran into your destination. Always keep a sharp lookout when using this method.

Does seem sort of, well, dark for Disney, don't it.

That there be one busted pyrate! Arrr!

Or maybe it looked like an octopus, an he has developed this, you know, like, this thing for octopi and jellyfish...

Good picture of you William, but you need to PhotoShop the photographer's shadow out of the lower left of the triangle. You know how to use PhotoShop, right? (Joke! Joke! Toungue firmly in cheek there) And you say Tempest was wearing a hat?

Is that a bucket boot in your pocket or are you just glad to see me?

Another lost soul looking for it's place in the re-enacting/living history/aw-hell-playin'-pyrate's-fun firmament. A worthy goal to be sure, yet difficult to attain given the shifting sands of ones own knowledge, tastes and aspirations as well as the vagaries of evryone else's opinions.

Bloody Pyrates! Good one, Quick.

If you look at the picture there is a tall ship tied up to the dock.

The guys in the red pants are some sort of livery: household, taxi driver or military boatman. But look...on their feet! Could those be...BUCKET BOOTS!? *turns and dives for cover* Hey, where is Petee?

Oh, I agree that a schooner is the way to go if above the 40' level. Smaller sail chunks are always better for balance and handling. But the cost difference between a 40' sloop and a 50' schooner would amaze you. Also, one could easily shorten the boom on the sloop, thus making the main smaller, eliminating the running backstays and shortening the sprit to balance. On a 40' boat this would make it manageable single-handedly by and experienced sailor. And let us not forget, all three ships involved in Blackbeard's last stand were sloops.

Actually I hadn't seen it, just read the news reports and ZZ's lame aplogy. But I must say...nice head but!! Got him airborne. Still, you must save that sort of thing until after the match when you can explain in detail the error of unsportsmanlike smack talk on the pitch. Sportsmanlike... an anacronistic term it would seem...

Agreed. so the Italian player caller his mother a name. It is so selfish to do something like that when your team and country are counting on you. So next time your opponent insults you, smile like a demented man and while he takes in your horrid visage, score on the bastard. Or better yet, threaten extreme physical violence, do so in graphic terms. He'll be waiting the rest of the game for it and totally lose his concentration. Just never lose your cool during a game. And after the game, break his jaw.

OK, serioulsy. If you want a pyrate ship and you don't want to spend forever and a million dollars on it, go with a sloop. Most pyrates used small ships anyway. Go with something 40 feet on deck, overall maybe 50-55 with sprit. Simple rig, handled by a few people. Leave the foredeck flush, no cabin. This will give you more room for cannon, crew and paying customers (is this for charter?) Something like this, but remove the forward deckhouse (pyrates would have.) Something like this, at 56 feet on deck: More about this boat and the builder can be found here: Friend's Good Will And here: Michigan Maritime Museum For your own personal use, go with the same design, but smaller, about 40' on deck.

Agreed! There is nothing like being part of the show. I will be in a hotel this year, camping next, but in garb and participating all the way.

The movie already had a monkey...

There. A sixteen foot long pyrate ship, carrying six four-ouncers. Contact the manufacturer at: Privateer Shipbuilding 17705 Crabb Ln., Huntington Beach CA 92647, (714) 841-4091 You could probably get just the hull and deck and finish it yourself. The info above was pyrated fom the No Quarter Given web site.

Those guys that build miniatures drive me nuts. How can anyone make something so desirable, so exquisite and so utterly useless? Don't get me wrong, I admire craftsmanship when I see it, and building a working miniature anything is a great accomplishment, but when you’re done all you have is the craftsmanship itself to display (and brag about.) One can't go out and use it. So why do I want one of those miniature flinters so badly? That’s what truly drives me nuts.

I have to go with John on his criticism of the illustrators of this time. So how is it that we have so much information about the years before 1680 and after 1730, but so little in the very period that we are trying to represent? Seems that there is more evidence and atrifacts of ancient Egyptian clothing 3000 years ago than for the GAoP 300 years ago. Did a black hole open up and swallow all of the clothing worn during this period, especially that worn by sailors?

I think I like...seems a bit heavy on the pointy end, though the hilt may offset that if you have a forearm the size of a leg and made of steel. Can we establish any hitorical accuracy for this piece?

Jill! Tell the owner of that boat that he needs to relocate to Tampa Bay. Less competition, warmer weather, girls in bikinis. Also, I know a real good first mate with lots of sailing/hotel/restaurant/bartending/black powder/cannon/re-enacting/service industry/woodworking/ boatbuilding experience. I'm also a biologist so we could run eco-tours as well. Really. Please?

My present boat is a bay boat with a blown engine. Blew the engine the same week that I learned that, at 43, I was to become a father (again). Suddenly spending $8,000 on a new engine didn't seem prudent. Fast forward 4 1/2 years. I'm looking for a sailboat, 20-30 foot, full keel. I'll keep you posted. Also, for all of you ancient mariners out there, I recommend the book "Call of the Ancient Mariner" by Reese Palley. It is a guide and manifesto for all of us old folks to keep sailing and making long sea passages.

I rte-read the section on exemptions and noted that the word "concealed" in the descriptor. this means that this section does not exempt antiques from the "concealed weapon" provision, meaning that you cannot carry a flinter in a manner meant to conceal its presence. Just my reading, mind you, consult a lawyer or play it safe if unsure.