the Royaliste

Hmm, still dunno whether I'll be by land or by sea....More news after the haulout...... :)

Aye! But the jump from 'Naval' to 'pirate' don' seem to make much difference in temperature, 'till you get to slops an' a shirt, barefoot!..Have a good one, we're sailin'!

Aye!!..Grand Caymen be very excellent, but check yer charts, mate!...Tortuga be on the other side of the Tortuga Channel WNW from Hispaniola , Haiti fer specifics.............

Well, dunno 'bout the rest 'o ye, but in the last 24 hours, I've received over 20 'duplicate' emails regarding 'pirate meetups' with most of them carrying attached computer viruses..Ye be warned, says I!!..I've put the origin in my blocked list..too bad, but it aint worth a 'crash', 'specially seein' as 'ow I know most 'o the pirates worth their salt in my immediate area......

I'll be stickin' to that wind-driven conveyance udderwise known as me Ship.....She comes stocked with alla the above, and then some, so.......Checkin' 'other', says I!!

The capstan is just an old-fashioned winch of sorts, so it be used several ways, but primarily to raise the anchors. Largest is on stb'd, the 'best' or main bower, and least,or secondary bower on lab'd.(port). After the anchors are catted and fished, the cable (hawser or rode) is stored below decks in the lockers for such...Capstans or windlass by design are all a bit different, but there be no need for excess penetration in the scantlings below deck.....Waring ship is what period vessels do as compared to modern vessels preparing to jibe. All to do with wind usage.

Hmm, sounds interestin', indeed!..But alas, we'll be at sea that morn' at 0530 to greet a Mexican Naval vessel comin' to S.F. for the weekend..'ave fun, and tell us about it, eh?. :)

A ye, Zephyr!!!...The anchor is raised after waring ship to be over it and not have to pull the weight of the ship on the capstan. Then once the bower breaks the water on the main cable, the anchor is grabbed with a line that has a hook in it. This is 'fishing' the anchor..Once it be grabbed, then a multiple part block reeved up on the 'cathead' is fastened to the hook and overhauled to lift the anchor up to the rail. Then, another bit 'o reevin' with a short member fastens the flukes, the cathead is tightened, and the cable generally freed. With the anchor thus stowed, it is 'catted and fished'....

Attaboy, Ben!!!...You and Andrew were a hit all around, ye seadogs!!

I think they be wantin' the red white and blue on the opener, but.....due to the timin' 'o the cannon in the overture, your services will be needed that night, as we'll need helmsmen, spotters, and at least three or possibly four cannoneers for the evening to pull it off...........

YEEEEEAAAAHHOOOO!!..Yup, out 'o the nite sky, 'ta-da!'...comes the Royaliste, backlit with colored spots, all sails set, past the spectators on shore, then..................KA-BOOM!!..X3........Tryin' for red, white and blue cannons openin' the show, then darkness, backlit by the fireworks!!...Then, 'afore the finale, colored sails again, and ..KA-Boom!!...outta control to 'William Tell'!!...Bang up, eh wot??..

Take all three for the ransom!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! Take wot ye can, give nuthin' back, eh??

Yup, probably best welding a few tabs here and there for your mounting screws to fasten to...I'll try an' remember to let Raul know, and keep a weather eye open for material for some beefin' up the suspension... :)

Ahoy and welcome aboard!!...Due to your proximity, ye might just contact http://www.TalesoftheSevenSeas.com Tha be lotsa pirates in your nearby waters!

Bloody 'eck!!..I distinctly remember fallin' to the deck wounded on Saturday!!..........Lookit them photo's!!...Check out the 'Quill boom-level in the riggin'!!

Hmm, Just got a chance to skim thru these... wazzit a heavy breeze, or be this a 'near miss' from the Hawaiian Chieftain???..We've no guns this far aft...........

Yup, that be great!!..I do believe a fittin' response be necessary, seein' as how Yankee ingenuity can't make near as effective gunpowder as good 'ole Son's 'o the South!

Hardin 'Sea Wolf' ketches are out there for around 60K right now, one in my harbor....good plastic piratey lookin' rigs....Do watch for blisters 'n osmosis, they are a little trickier to 'kill' than toredo worms!...I'm no superstar, just an average sailor and a bit better rigger, but I single-hand everything I sail on...all in technique and not too much traffic nearby.......Even this 'ole Tallship...last year on me B-day, which is comin' up again!.. ..my old addage is this;.."It takes about 45 minutes to hoist, set, trim, and make shipeshape at the beginning of a sail, and the same at the end... Inbetween, it doesn't matter much if it's an afternoon, or a month at sea........"

Their plan is colored halogen spots powered by gel cell......It'll look killer if the wind don' blow!

Ahoy 'Quill!......Talked briefly with Bob S., 'ere be some things we need to think over.....They want to 'light up' the sails for the night!..Pretty kewl, but a nightmare if the wind even exists..probably should research the weather over the last five events...Have us open, guns blazing, lit up and salty....'Echo' the guns on the William Tell overture at the finale!!........They say they still be comin' this week or next to see the Ship and talk it o'er......

Been there, done that, mate. It's a great plan if you want to own an average white charter boat. My first two vessels were clorox bottle charters, but I personally now prefer something with character. Bear in mind the horrendous expense AFTER you are off contract being a boater in the Eastern Carribean, 'tis a very expensive place to boat.I'm givin' a hard look at the Western Carribean, but then.....it's amazing the difference legally betwixt a shotgun (boater's no-no), and a swivel gun or blunderbuss (legal recreational toys)....'course, I be a pirate ship, so some of this be 'overlooked, eh?..Most of us sleep with a flare gun during deliveries.....If you realize your dream, give us a holler, we'll be in the general vicinity after next year, unless something changes drastically here in the economic disaster once known as 'the Land of Milk and Honey, Gulliforneea'.

***Surveys scorched breeches and muzzles, stares seaward*** I hardly know where to begin!.....120+ rounds from my guns, and that's not countin' the fort and the Hawaiian Chieftain! :) My thanks to the crews, ship's, artillery batteries, and all who contributed to make such a spectacle........... ..........So many moments, I hardly have a 'favorite' part!...Both ships exchanging broadside after broadside in front of the Fort, or....Mebbee I'd loved to have been a shoreside tourist when the Hawaiian Chieftain and the Royaliste battled toe to toe up Raccoon Strait..........Jeesh! Talk about a spectacle!!! *Snappy Salute*.......Learn history by re-living it!

That'd be from me 35 years as an Ironworker, too many injuries, time mebbee for a disability retirement....And She was already a ship with a 'yearly job' 'afore I brought Her west..Just considerin' alla me options, eh??......If I do the Bougainville 2005 reenactment on Lake Champlain, and the rest of the summer on the Great Lakes, it'd surely be interestin' to pirate RR way down coast!

Lowers WWII ensign, raises Stars and Bars................. Well, the 'Quill n' Saber just left, to return on the mornin' tide, CT Ben, the fifer, and the drummer just arrived, loadin' all sorts 'o acoutrements 'o the South aboard the 'ole Tallship ...Lookin' scrappy,eh??..............Look Away, Look Away............ ... Kin ah still drink rum as a rebel???...........

Avast ye Scurvey Dogs!!..... Situations may dictate me takin' an early retirement, and puttin' the Royaliste back to Canada-New England in the summer, and then somewhere south each winter. Obviously, I could run to the Carribean, but I'd rather not keep jumpin' the Gulf Stream on a regular basis..So, any 'o you pirates on the Interecoastal Waterway got any ideas??..Got some time, but not much...............