the Royaliste

Maria, thanks for the tip, 'tis good when pirates hear 'o things wot might need the help 'o the Brethren, and you are one more of the heroes :) .........The rest, well, 'tis wot we are about, eh??? .........hopefully, there will be some availability, otherwise, we'll hafta sail south and shell Redwood City!!......They were a wonderful family, and we love the chance to make a whole family 'sign the aRRticles!!

Bloody 'eck!..Me Too!..BTW, Iron Bess, Be sure an' give an 'attaboy' from me to Lee for the photo. With a 2 Reale coin from RR treasure chest, and the pic 'o 'Pintle', the ladd really 'lit up'!!.......(Besides the huge bag 'o swag from alla the pirates)

..Oh yeah, and......STOP BLOWIN" HOLES IN MY SHIP!!!!! ROYALISTE THE CURSE OF ST. FRANCIS BAY SCOURGE OF THE ENTIRE OCEAN

This 'Adventure on the Bay' for Blake and his family turned out truely spectacular!........Hopefully, there'll be many a photo to follow, but....Thanks to the Make a Wish Foundation for letting us drag this youngster deep into our Pirate Fantasies, and give him a day beyond his imagination. And to all who made it happen, you are all hero's in my ship's log. With some skill and luck, his adventure will produce a DVD 'movie' that is remarkable, and his wish will be complete.....

There are signs of seaming, welding, or both on the 'new' ones...The older originals would be all cast parts, and forged, not welded. Tis the reason for the reverse conical shape of the neck and throat of the grenadoe........When the 'neck' was added, the body was hot also, and the 'neck' swedged into the body.

Yep, but never seen a mallet with the 'flats' on them extending past the body of the head.they would break off if wooden,( except possibly lignum vitae )and ruin the stave if metal. Accuracy as far as the 'cooperage', mebbee, but not the flats, IMHO.

O.K. Sailors!!!...Drop your sox, and grab your 'locks, 'cuz........It be time to put to sea as the scurviest bunch 'o scallywags to ever make a landfall at Pier 39!!...As far as the 'plot' goes, I'd just love to be your average tourist this 'morn once this thing starts to unfold! Anyway, "All hands on deck!'...Time to start makin' Blake's Day as a Rogue Pirate a RRRRoarin', swashbucklin' adventure!!!!!!!!!!!!! ROYALISTE SCOURGE OF THE ENTIRE OCEAN

Ahoy and avast ye, scurvey scallywags that ye be!!....We're gettin' down to the 'nubs' on this one, so....Poison Quill's reschedulin' an' organizin' 'er brains out, I'm purely rode hard from squarin' away the ship, 'Lolita an' Raul, be a stumblin', so......We'll be hittin' it hard around here today, as it be the last 'nice' one forcast 'afore Sunday. Busy as bees tomorrow, regardless of the weather...Today's probably the best time for any messages or queries...Me cell's been 'captured' for nonpayment, just the landline and email for now.... ...SO, looks like a fantastic day planned, pirates, mystery,suspense, cutlasses, flintlocks, gunpowder,pirates,ship's cannonfire,more pirates.......... YO-HO, YO-HO, a Pirate's life for me!!!

Nifty little video's thar, maytee!!....I'm particularly fond 'o the tiny swivel, might be needin' a dozen for 'swizzle sticks' aboard!!

'ere's to Horatio, an' me trinket box where me pieces 'o eight reside

Hmmm, I'd be interested in one 'o them kinda 'offwhite or creme'............

Dunno, Patrick, but if'n ye want, I'll measure ours.........from originals at the Canadian War Museum.

Actually, in another life and time, I've bumped guitar necks backstage with Keith, even delivered a nice 'Tele' for a friend to him, and dependin' on wot ye 'ave to say, 'e didn't seem very 'fried' any of the times...Guess it all be in the timin', or content..........

Ninjas???..Pass the ginger, I'll eat a couple 'o them slippery little sushi guys.............

Same book,mate!..Altho, now a seachest was a very personal item, and the knotwork for the handles alone will take you weeks to make...that was sorta the idea, nice, and took up idle time at sea to make..........

A really nice book entitled 'The Marlinspike Sailor' gives excellent examples of ways to decorate your dittybag. As a rule, seabags, seachests, and dittybags were a sailor's art, therefore, best done by your own onesies, mate.......Left over canvas, some wax thread, and a knowledge of sailor's knots makes one really swell kitbag.

Initially, all 'cob' reales were by weight, eight reales being an ounce by weight; four reales, 1/2 ounce, 2 reales at 1/4 ounce, etc. down to 1/2 reales. Some of the clipping was req'd at the mint (mostly Potosi in Peru) to achieve correct weight for assay. Then , you also have restrikes for 'other' countries, and counterstrikes for re-evaluation. Most marevedis were restuck at one time or another, as supply of copper and vellon was available over a longer period of history.

An update on Pier 39.........Jeff, the pilot of the harbor boat called me today, we've swapped cell phone numbers, and we'll bypass the extra hassle of the handheld radios........Arriving we'll still have a bit of a flood, so it should be fairly simple. Returning, we'll have an ebb, and that corner is a mite crazy on an ebb tide.........The cannon 'locks passed muster yesterday with flyin' colors, so......should be an interestin' day with the 'family' aboard!....For all of you 'muzzlemaniacs', when we installed the nipples in the breaches, we didn't realize that we'd also see, or rather 'hear' an increase in the concussion..nice little 'treat' for adding a 'safety feature'........My Dr. made a social cruise past the 'ole pirate ship today, and he, a few friends, and sons will also join in the seabound activities for the day......Aaarrrrgh! ROYALISTE Scourge of the entire Mare Pacifica

Just off the landline from the folks at Pier 39, and.....They are going to have a fellow in the harbor boat hand off handheld radios when we approach, and stand by to help turn us around in short fashion, facilitatin' the abduction of Blake and his family from that nefarious haven 'o sea lions.......Nice touch, saves us time, altho I'll still be countin' on some fellow buccaneers to receive lines as usual.....

Sounds to me like the school is interferring in an ongoing living history diorama, and should therefore be charged with tresspass or B&E for opening his trunk and confiscating said replica......... :)

Hmm, an interesting fundraiser, we've discussed similar ventures, but.....if'n it be 'pirate coinage' ye seek, well- worn or later year Potosi mint reales in denominations of 1/2, 1,2, and 4 reales can be had for as little as 5 yankee frogkins on E-Bay in the coins section. ...on a downscale note, I hate to see yet another fake reale start appearing on the auction circuit. RR plan is to strike cob coinage with 'RR' logo, not a treplica re-issue.

Man, the new 'locks work rather 'spiffy', to say the least!..Blake will be able to salute the Lady Washington with a real bang, a broadside at his own doin's!!........Gonna be a busy time 'o reloadin' for all the activity we've planned, altho'...We'll have a bit 'o a break from the Cityfront to Angel Island to meet up with the cannoneers at the fort!...Yo-Ho!....Yep, a pirate's life for me!...Us...Um, well, dang near everybody!

Generally, I packed a cannon or two around, and it has been considered a device for signal firing. That said, definitely check the laws where you plan on firing it...Noise ordinances relly vary widely :) Your small bore may be an issue closer to primitive weapons, but your intent seems to be signal firing, which is like a 'blank' gun for races, or a signal cannon for yacht races.......But DO have fun, eh? ROYALISTE The Bay Area's Official Tallship

Ahoy 'Quill!!..We may be a bit challlenged for photo's, Erik may be out of town till around the 20th, possibly later.. I'll keep you posted as I know more..........

That's fantastic, lass!!...I was just fixin' to close up a spot below, where we put in new planks, but now I'll put 'Pintel' there 'afore I close 'er up!!...........Give 'im RR regards for the thought...We've finished the 'locks for the cannons, so Blake will be able to 'fire away' in relative safety!... .......Just pull the cord, and..... ...This is really turnin' out gRReat...'A general note: My camera shipboard is kaput, and Best Buy won't make good, so be sure to bring one, someone, eh?.........