Captain Jim

Lady B, these were only used on land as the motion of a ship would have made all of your calculations/settings no good. Nelson was offered these and refused tham, saying something to the effect that at the point-blank range of a naval battle they weren't needed. As for speed, there are six to as many as ten people manning a cannon and limber during a battle, at least until some get picked off by shrapnel, gunfire and running away scared. A crew can locate a cannon and fire off a first shot in under a minute. A fast crew could do it in 30 seconds. Reload and adjust in 15 seconds. These were teams that trained together and knew the dance, and could do most of it not in sequence as I described but in concert/simultaneously in one fluid motion, all under the hawklike supervision of the gun captain. Ship cannons take slightly longer, as they have to be moved about more than land artillary, and you have ot load them while on your knees.

If these people failed it was because they cited second-hand sources. Would you cite the Encyclopedia Britanica? Well then read this. Wiki was determined to be as accurate as the EB. Wiki is a good place to start, not finish.

On a separate yet related note, last year no one seemed to know that we Pyrates were at the Fort. We need to fix that. To that end and in coordination with the organizers at Fort Taylor, we need nightly excursions into town to terror…ah, I mean alert the citizens to our presence. And this would need to start the day before the event begins, if not the week before. Flyers to hand out? Business card sized reminders to hand out? (I don’t really like handouts as they inevitably get thrown about town and end up as street trash.) Strolling, singing pyrates downtown? An organized Pub Crawl to benefit some charity? (Me, for instance?) Any ideas out there? What are the organizers doing this year to prepare the ground? William? Any news or ideas?

This little missive is an update of an earlier note suggesting and detailing an organizational “ladder.” Things have developed as things often will, and redefinition and clarification is in order. Firstly, I got a little “Disney” on the titles. So let’s change them to more period titles and designations where we can make them fit. Refer here to see the original post. I believe that the “Point” and “Camp” titles have been effectively combined as well as admirably and graciously taken on by William Red Wake, and now should be renamed “Quartermaster” and that title conferred on William. To all opposed, I have this plank here that I would like you to inspect. Out there at the end… A little farther… “Cannon Demo Pyrate” and “Black Powder Demo Pyrate” are still open, and should be combined and renamed “Master Gunner.” I envision that these demonstrations would require more that one person to run, and volunteers should report to the Master Gunner in a separate thread. Inert cannon drills with patron participation (training powder monkeys?) Blank pistol and/or musket demonstrations on the half-hour? Hourly? Inside the fort? (Firing unwadded or florist’s foam wadded blanks into an isolated and sufficiently cordoned-off corner of the fort would be safe as well as loud [read: attention-getting].) Of course outside the fort or up on the wall would work also, as a preliminary firing of guns would draw the patrons to the demonstrations. Outside or on the wall could also include cannon blanks as well. “Song Pyrate” should be renamed simply “Musician,” and the job is still open. I think that I will take this one. After all, it may involve real Pyracy. To that end, I will shortly be opening a new thread for song suggestions, at least most of which should be of the period or in the spirit of Pyracy. A CD will follow so that the arrangements we all sing will be the same. A new one, and one that Hawkyns may have tentatively agreed to, barring any superseding action by the Fort, is that of “Safety Officer.” Mind you that it is the duty of all of us to police ourselves and to report any dangerous activity involving BP or any other weapon to the appropriate person. Would that person be our own Safely Officer first and then Fort Security/Key West Police if the offender did not respond suitably? We also need a list of safety guidelines for campers and those possessing BP weapons. In this way we could all start on the same page, agree in advance to basic conduct and not assume that all of us know how to handle weapons appropriately in public. What say ye all?

That it did, but not this year. This year they shall know that Pyrates have taken over their island. Something new for the PiP thread.

http://www.rchobby.co.uk/radio_controlled_...l_sailing_.html There is the direct link.

Here's one:here And another:here.

Hmmm....OK, book me a passage...

Only if Hook's cove is on Io.

"The term 'Union Jack' possibly dates from Queen Anne's time (r. 1702-14), but its origin is uncertain. "It may come from the 'jack-et' of the English or Scottish soldiers, or from the name of James I who originated the first union in 1603. "Another alternative is that the name may be derived from a proclamation by Charles II that the Union Flag should be flown only by ships of the Royal Navy as a jack, a small flag at the bowsprit; the term 'jack' once meant small." The preceeding is from the official web site of the British Monarchy and can found here. 1801 is when the flag in its present form was adopted.

Try this site. Tennesee Valley Manufacturing Look under "suggested assemblies" for a blunderbuss list. Buy only what parts that you need. 'Buss barrel only $100. Not too bad.

Now that is exactly how to make a relationship last: find the girl who wants what you are, not what they can make of you. And if you have lots of pointy things and loud noisy things they like to play with, they'll keep you around just to carry the stuff for them.

Well if that wasn't an exercise in stupidity I don't know what it was. Obviously written by someone with an advanced degree in Bovine Scatology. I mean if you want to make a movie about going after Kidd's treasure, fine, just don't try to sell it as history and use historical figures out of context. Nice ships. Some good costumes (a review Kass?) All else was...well...one does not need a dregree in Bovine Scatology to know what that steaming pile collecting in my television was. Or am I being too harsh? Nahhh...

Right. If I shoot the house, I get to be next, courtesy of Blackwater Patti.

Occasionally, but right now between cannon. Built a house instead.

What you have there is a late 17th c. gunners backsight and level. It works this way: You are looking at the back of the sight, as you would if you were using it. The quadrat would be oriented on the right as it is in this picture. In order for a sight to work, it must always be aligned vertically to allow for adjustments in elevation. That is what the plumb bob is for, to level the gun side to side, orienting the sight to the absolute top of the gun. The "slide" part works in the same way as a rifle sight does: the taller it is the higher the elevation is on the gun. For a given charge, and to a certain maximum, the higher the elevation the farther the shot will go. Sighting through the top, teardrop shaped hole and aligning the foresight with the target would have given the "lay" or direction to the target but not the elevation. That would have been worked out in advance for any given distance and drop or rise in terrain. To do this, the gunner would have worked with his gun and crew to create a range table, recording the range for each charge and elevation. Variations in distance would have been made by adjusting both charge and elevation in concert. So set up and firing would go like this 1 Set up and level gun (using pendulum) 2 Determine lay by aligning fore- and backsight 3 Determine distance to target 4 Dial in elevation on backsight for selected shot/charge/distance combination 5 Elevate gun using fore- and backsight /adjust lay 6 Charge and fire gun 7 Adjust as needed 8 Repeat until the other guys give up Mind you this set-up is only good for land use, where the motion of a ship would not interfere with all of the above.

Drool...salivate...lust after (the coat, not you!)... covet...desire...want, crave...yearn for...fancy...hanker after...need...require...

Finally. John Levique Days. Remember: help with the names! OK Maggie, you're up next.

No internet at home for...two...days...hands shaking...vision blurry...feel faint...must...post...pictures

Where I live the only broadband solution is wireless. The tower went out after a gust from Alberto. I think the tower was made out of spaghetti. John, I missed you at the ball. Sooo many Pyrates. If you are in any of the pictures I post, let me know and I'll update the captions. IN fact, if anyone knows anyone not id'd in the pics, let me know and I'll update them.

Lost my connection at home. Try again tonight.

Have ye got no sense of the dramatic man! Bury the keys, indeed.

Tonight when I get home, I swear.

Aye, as did I. Pictures to follow soon.

Tewnty-two views (as of this) and no takers, mate. Ye may be the only Pyrate with a Pyracy mug. Unless you count that thing on the leading edge of me head.