the Royaliste

Yeah, sisnce we were tucked 'inside', and behind Kalmar Nyckel, I figure he was totally 'blind' to everything, with that low aspect of a 'kayak'...(and probably why he slipped past all basic safety procedures...the short version; he either needed to be 'on Prozac', or 'off the crack pipe'

Jeesh!....Personally, I'd love to be sailin' out here in the swamps, and have the Millenium Falcon do a flyover,but..props is props, and ships are ships; a bit harder to create than props...

Actually, it was all a bit bizarre;..I was away at the dockside head, and he first came ashore in a kayak from his 'bleach bottle'..I guess a somewhat 'permanent anchor-out'..Anyway, first he came ashore and jumped in my wife's(Cap'n Kat; 100 ton master) face and she wanted to hear no part of it, since we are always good about yelling 'fire in the hole', with a countdown....he returned and with me knowing nothing about it, thought he wanted a piece of me, since I fired the cannon..and he wasn't gonna even get a chance to get in Kathy's face again, so it was an ugly shouting match....Backing up, I guess he came out of the blue in the aforementioned kayak, and it scared him.....Welcome to a pirate festival, says I.... ...anyway, it's not our policy to be confrontational..and, it's a strange person anyway that comes to pick a feud with a shipload of cannons, blunderbuss, pistols, etc.....

Aye, 'Pern, (and the rest 'o 'e scurvy dogs)..Just a little over sixty days for us aboard, ('tis an eleven day excursion for the ship, wot with sailing time both ways)....We are definitely tuggin' on the mooring lines!....If'n 'e would, please....make sure the 'local' ancorage folks know that there will be CANNONFIRE!....( we had a very confrontational fellow last year, hopefully none this time)......We'll be orderin' up more powder this week or next...unfortunately, we'll only be sportin' carronades, as the swivelgun was absconded in Canada last year...

As for actual sailing vessels, one shouldn't forget PROVIDENCE, as well as a few Florida boats with 'bit' parts, such as in port....

Hmm...This'll be the first time we're gonna try to explore some of the Chesapeake, as we usually just storm on thru, trying to make NYC...we'll talkaboutit at the Blackbeard festival,eh?.... Coastie..yup, there ain't no salt, nor whales 'n dolphins in them 'Lakes, but the fish are tasty, and the people friendly, or izit the other way around??..anyhoo, it loks like we'll be visitin' those lakes thru 2010 (the next ASTA Challenge on the Great Lakes)...

Besides the reenactment, I think the organizers are trying for some dockside or daysail stuff, too..Sounds like a great event, so we'll really be looking forward to it....Especially after being a 'canal boat' for the week or so before the event!..Give us a holler if you get the opportunity,eh?

Ahoy there,'ye'scallywags and general seadogs!....This be a good subtitle to this summer's event schedule, and I'll be gettin' to that momentarily... End of May and first 'o June will find us invadin' the fine settlement of Hampton, VA. for the Hampton Blackbeard Pirate Festival once again, with a few extra twists this year.....Off we'll be sailin' to New York and the Hudson River, with a few stops, including Kingston, NY before downrigging the ship and heading westward on the Erie Canal..Then it looks like Oswego and Rochester, NY for restepping and a few events....The last week of June will see us in Port Huron, MI, and..the first meet up with a SECOND privateer! This summer, some friends, including a former Royaliste Captain, will launch a double ended pink schooner, era 1750's, by the name of La Revenante, a French / Indian War era privateer of some reknown...We will be putting on some fights and battles the likes of which I believe haven't been seen in the reenactor community. The skipper and I are of like minds, we fix our own ships and repairs and such, so many of the insurance barriers to battles and yes, boardings, won't exsist. After Port Huron, we'll both head to Sandusky, Ohio, ( not in ink yet) for the Fourth of July celebration of Tallships. Then it'll be off for a War of 1812 reenactment in Penetang, on Georgian Bay, for 'school of the sailor', with several other vessels, for the Canadian Navy. At this point we'll hopefully fill in a weekend or two before we head to Alexandria Bay, NY for the 'Bill Johnston's Pirate Days' festival as we promised last year.....Methinks we'll head back to Oswego, back down the canal, and then off to the Chesapeake for a HUMONGUS War of 1812 reenactment in mid September around St. Leonard, MD....If you can make any of these events, we stand by our guarantee of more piratical fun per customer....Aye! ROYALISTE All o'er the Map for '08...Would We 'ave it Any Other Way?....Bloomin' Bloody 'eck, No!!!

Sh*t!!...I hope my other ketch, ORCA, is o.k. Best get on the horn to Raul or someone to go check on her......Jeesh! What a dang screwy winter.....

Hmm....Methinks 'e been smokin' incense,or sumpthin ......'Revenge' posted the dates straight off me contract offer, so I think they be accurate. Hell, this ain't e'en my turf, but....Last year, there wuz three ships involved, MekaII,Royaliste, and Kalmar Nyckel...All three ofthem(us?) participated in 'Sail Virginia', which was much larger than Opsail, and overlapped 'Harborfest'. So....if they (Harborfest and Hampton) overlapped, ye'd ne'er have any ships, mates........thinkabbouddit,eh? And, sad to say, the cost of diesel is killin' us small operators....We can't hardly do venues that don't somewhat cooincide, as it allows a venue or two to 'split the tab' on the fuel and other costs. Gone will be the days of us doing a lot of freebies thanx to the high diesel $....Also makes it hard to do a venue on an isolated date, so moving the date later in the summer would mean a higher cost to said vessels...

Aye, it could be grand for all, but...'tis a wee premature for me to speak up. Hopefully, the powers that be will agree to the meager ransom, and the fun will be on again!.....We love those who care to 'put up' with interacting with the crowd, as it is sometimes very taxing, shall we say? and, since no matter whether it be 'period correct', or outright flagerant, it still ends up being a lot of children wanting tattoos, touchy-feely with the weapons,etc...No matter where we've been around North America, Royaliste has always been receptive to anyone seeking a spot to 'be a pirate' and enjoy the public at the same time...We did all of the US and the Canadian Maritimes,plus the Great Lakes with our 'bleachbeard' skull hung somewhere aboard, so mebbee we'll revive 'im again this year!( we figured that after this long at sea under the bowsprit, 'e weren't 'black' anymore,eh?)...... ROYALISTE Still Sailin', Still Dreamin'

Charts?....Did someone mention charts??....we are always in need of charts ( we ran short last year, and did the Gulf of St. Lawrence thru Quebec with a road atlas!)...... Sully, We'd enjoy a visit, it's been a while,eh?...All in all, 'tis a ways off, and first we must see if the ransom flies.....bloody pirates!

Well, seein' as how 'if's' are flying around, 'if' we bring the ship again this year, we'll be a bit short crewed compared to last year. Methinks instead of last year's eight, we'll be more like four,so..we may need to pressgang a few to help work the crowd; tattoin' and such...perhaps the rain will hold off and not hamper the fireworks this time....

Oi, ya scurvey dog!...We sent 'em a dispatch with the amount 'o Ransom it'll take...We'll see, but we sure had fun last year!....

Brrrrrrr!!....Been below freezin' for days now; 19 degrees last night,and...this mornin' was the first time I saw icicles on my tops'l......Sposed to warm back up by Monday...Good, as I need to get one more plank in on the portside, and it'd be really chilly with a big ole hole in the boat while it's cold...only so many ways to stay warm aboard ship...

Dunno if we'll be gettin' over that way in 2008, but one never knows,eh?(unfortunately,it's all about the stipends, as far as how the ship travels port to port)..Bob, the skipper of Windy II is a fine soul, and they came south this year, as we passed them in the first part of Nov. near Swan Point, NC....

Since we have been on the left coast for decades, and are now pyratin' the East Coast, no one knows that Cap'n Kat and myself are natives from.....Omaha!...When not aboard ship, (a rarity), we are sometimes in our land location in NE South Dakota...We've figured on how to bring the ship to the Mississippi, but the dang Missouri is a problem...Too shallow in most places, and too many bridges!!...Perhaps someday we'll get her there by shipping, but that's a small fortune in itself...Should you have an event that needs spicin' up, we do have nautical stuff, including a naval gun from the ship in South Dakota..possible timing could have it doown the road, altho' fuel is a wee bit spendy nowadays.....

Cheryl, Last time I looked, this was still a family-run pyrate ship, and..we may or may not be at Hampton, but we are planning on heading up the Chesapeake on our way to Canada, so feel free to bring them kids aboard anywhere you kin find us..Keep a weather eye, eh?.. We are currently hangin' in Beaufort, NC again this winter....

Yaaarrgh!...Competition, eh?...We'll be listin' our pyrate ship for sale in the next year or so; whenever I'm not quite so busy with the ship herself.....We've some great years ahead of us, as the pirate business goes, but sometime in me sixties, I'll be havin' a hard time workin' the 'top, so it'll be time to place her with some younger stewards than us....Really cannot fathom that thought right now, but facts are facts, and the future always seems to arrive, regardless....So, as for the thread, good luck on the sellin', it is a good time to be afflicted with piracy...

Hmm, the 2008 Challenge only has 15 ships so far, compared to SF's count of 31 during the 2005 Challenge..I'd recommend either the Eastern Seaboard or the Great Lakes as far as ship events..but then, they may not want to do ship events....

I wish it could have been even more.... the cause was heart felt and down right important to so many of us.... As fer the colds.... yeah, t'was all well worth it. I'd do it again in a heartbeat! Ah, 'Bess, For sure a very special thanks, but also you,Jill,'Quill, ...heck, evryone in our extended pirate family, once again, thank you from a very deepfeltpart of our hearts for the continued support of this floating pirate adventure. Instilling fantasy in youngsters, and role playing in adults is as important to us as teaching maritime history. without our extended family, we are next to nothing....it takes a pirate village,eh? ...now, pictures...more pictures..it be harrrd to live vi-cariously without pictures......

Purty funny; just dang near spilled me java,eh? good on ya, Petee!....Oh, an best keep an eye on that boat,'cuz...well, we're short a dink (remember,..'pirate'!) ROYALISTE Back in the Carolina Low Country

I don't get cable,but..if it's 'True Carribean Pirates', it's fair..Done in the 2005-06 winter, it follows 'Under the Black Flag' for borrowed text and script. As small budget pirate stuff goes, it's a fair portrayal. Quite a few characters known to the pub involved. I enjoyed some involvement, but didn't personally care for the actor that did the Blackbeard role.Either personally, or his acting job. We have better 'Blackbeard' types in my estimation, but he came from England with the director. We own it on DVD, and it seems to get a lot of mileage around here. It received a lot of catcalls due to repeated use of extras, but heck, remember..cheap..ALso, I think if we didn't know many of the characters, it wouldn't seem quite so obvious.. Enjoy, as even a bad pirate flick is better than no pirate flick,eh?

Matusalem, actually, we're in idle the whole way down that stretch of the Hudson, keeping the fridges running, as the ebb was shoving us a whopping 7.7 knots, so nothing to do but helm straight, and focus on the end of the river!.... Patrick, 'Twas always a kick with you aboard, Raul was mentionin' that when we did the last film project....After one good, and one rough day, we're now in Norfolk, provisioning up for the trip to Beaufort...Then, off thru the rivers and sounds of pirate low country...(and offa this 'KN' thread) best start another, mebbee a calandar, as our home website was hacked recently, and we aren't repairing it until next month when we have the time...

Aw, I jus' knew you'd say that!!..Actually, we sailed until Younkers, and we're sailin' now off Sandy Hook, but the control factor with the ferry traffic makes NY Harbor a bitch with a full keel 'n all My regs say I gotta do it under power....Mebbeee in the spring on the way up...