Ransom

I'm sure a few will turn up. Bit of a commute for me and Chain Shot. You need to get registered as a member in the Tales web site, or check the FB page. We all keep in touch through those, as well as personal FB pages, so you could ask around. Kenneth, are you guys coming up to NorCal? Wish you would. The whole gang will be there, and it's a blast—literally.

Africa stood at the helm of the Rakehell trying not to grin. It was hard, though, for he was indeed a happy man. He had disliked this whole adventure. Too many strange things had happened. Too many troubles and near escapes from danger. The frightening disappearance of the Relentless was, for Africa, the last straw. He hoped Dat Man had gone down to the devil, for the voyage had been cursed ever since Ransom had hooked up with him. He wasn't sure what was in store for them. With supplies almost gone, and the ship needing major repairs, finding a safe port was the most important thing. But he didn't really care where they went, just so long as they left this place. He'd even settle for a return to Havana, rather than stay here and be dragged to whatever hell the Relentless had been pulled to — and good riddance to her! Touching the little bag of corpse powder that always hung from his neck, he quietly hummed a folk song from his native land, and steered the Rakehell toward what he hoped would be safety.

Congratulations, suh. Well done.

If true, it doesn't surprise me. Ojai has been slowly dieing on the vine. Chain Shot and I couldn't attend last year, but I heard it was pretty much a dud. Hardly any patrons at all, so ended up being just the reenactors and vendors entertaining each other. The year before it was almost as bad, especially on Sunday. Sad days, as Ojai, even though it was a major trip for us (12-13 hr drive) it was one of my favorite events. All you pirates from Bakersfield area...head to NorCal in June. Be nice to see everyone from your neck of the woods again — this means you and your great group, Kenneth

A grand song, for a grand pirate. Was honored to get a sneak listen last night. I'll be waiting for the premier of your movie...sounds like a good excuse for a pirate party! (As if pirates needed an excuse to party. LOL )

You can get Portuguese bullfighting saddles for fairly cheap, for saddles. Here are two on Ebay, but I've seen them for as little as $150-$200. If you google it, you'll find lots of places selling them. Potruguese Saddle

That is very nice! And pretty doable, although I don't have the long gun, and my pistols are only replicas (non-firing). The coat and saddle pads I can make, and I already have a horse. Thanks for the post, Bo! If you find any more info on period cavalry, post it so we can all ck it out.

Just finished: The Discovery of Jeanne Baret — A Story of Science, the High Seas, and the First Woman to Circumnavigate the Globe by Glynis Ridley She did this in 1765, when she was 26 yrs old, dressed like a man to follow her botanist lover. She ended up doing most of the work for him, and survived near starvation, a gang rape, and the ultimate humility of getting no credit for the work she did collecting and labeling specimins. If you think men sailors had it rough, this woman had it even worse. A very good read! Have just started: Pirates of Barbary — Corsairs, Conquests, and Captivity in the 17th Century Mediterranean by Adrian Tinniswood. At 40 pages in, so far it seems pretty good.

If you were wanting more info......... Pirate Party

I was back on deck, waiting for the report from Colard on the state of the hull repair. I needed to know how far we could get before the repair blew. Colard and Ludovico came up, and their expressions said things didn't bode well. "All right, give me the bad news." Colard scraped his big rough hands over his face, then replied, "She'll nae hold much longer. We canna make the Colonies." Ludo muttered something in Italian, but I figured the gist was the same. "How long have we got?" "Can't say for certain. But I'd venture nae more than a week or so. And that would be pushing things." He gave me a sad look. "She's a tired old girl, is the Rakehell, Ma'am. She needs a rest." I nodded. "Then we'll give her one. Let me look over the charts and see where's the nearest place we can make port." About that time I heard the sound of guns. Big guns. We all looked toward the east. A few minutes later, a column of smoke curled toward the sky. Looking at Colard I said, "It's your Scottish friend. His is the only ship in the area with guns that big. Let's get the hell out of here." Then I turned toward the helm, where Africa stood by the wheel. "Make sail. Now! Head Northwest until we get away from this cursed place. I'll give you new bearings as soon as I can." The big black man started barking orders, and the men came alive, making haste to get the ship out of danger.

Thanks, Matt. Will do.

Nice job, Matt. My husband, Chain Shot, has one of your first Bootstrap cutlasses, he bought from a vendor in Ojai two years ago. So far, he hasn't been able to find anyone who can make a scabbard for it. Be nice if you could hook up with someone who does that, and recommend him/her to folks. Or, since you have the blade profile, offer the scabbard as part of the sale. Just a thought, as it seems scabbards are hard to come by. BTW, Chain Shot loves his Bootstrap cutlass, and has received many compliments on it.

Ask and you shall receive! ROTDALMAO!!!!!!!!!!! All that and a bag of chips!

One of the lads aloft called out to the deck below, "Oi, looks like we'll have a welcomin' committee." MacTavish growled, "Aye, I ken see that, ye ninny." He turned on the crew. "Weel, ye've all been bewailing and mewlin' that it was time we took a ship. So, I say, we take yon sloop. Nae much of a prize, but we could use the supplies and armaments, if she's got any. And may hap yon ruddy Spaniards'll be et by cannibals." The crew, some scratching their heads, some picking their noses, others shuffling their feet and looking at the deck, made nary a sound. MacTavish, hair and face the same color of flaming red, shouted, "Och, ye chicken-livered, mongrels. A defenseless sloop, sittin' there, with naught to stop us but a longboat full of crew flailin' away at the oars like flappin' seagulls. Take her, I say, or I swear, ye'll all be shark bait." And with that, he pulled out a brace of pistols and pointed them at his gutless shipmates. The first mate knuckled his forehead, turned to the others, and in an attempt at authority, managed to squeak, "All right you lot, man the bloody guns!"

After giving the order to head for the Colonies, I returned to my cabin. A chart of that coast lay on my small desk. Pouring a glass of port, I sat and studied it, but my mind would not focus on the markings. Ever since the strange disappearance of the Relentless, my world had turned upside down. It was the last act in a play that had been plagued with mishap ever since the search for Jacky's magic healing waters had started. My situation was grim. I had a damaged ship that badly needed repairs. I had an enraged Scott trolling the area looking for revenge, and whose larger ship and guns could blast us out of the water. Nate, Red Cat and Robert's had all gone off in the sloop, with the Spaniards. Any way you looked at it, the Rakehell was a sitting duck, with no Relentless at her back. Add to that the quickly diminishing supplies, and there was no other choice but to abandon the Caribbean and head for a decent, safe harbor. Africa had been right. The place was cursed. It was time to leave.

A most grand and happy birthday to you, suh!

The Pride of Flodden circled the strange island, staying just outside cannon range. The only thing visible besides palms trees and sand, was a thin column of smoke rising from someplace within the interior. MacTavish had seen only one small sloop anchored off shore, so presumed it was the Spaniards, who must have set up some kind of camp. "Weel, I think we'd best see what we can help ourselves tae," he muttered, then turned to the helmsman. "Bring us alongside yon wee sloop. We'll send a crew over tae see what's what." "Aye, Captn." The helmsman adjusted their course.

777pirate4, since you are new, here is some kind advice I hope you will follow. 1) If you are attempting to argue period correctness vs non-period correctness be advised, that is an old, old, old debate here on the Pub, which no one is interested in rehashing. 2) If you want to talk about tattoos, then Michael has pointed out the existing thread to make those comments on. 3) If there is some other subject you wish to discuss, I recommend that you look through the Twill threads to make sure there isn't a place where that subject is already under discussion, and join in there, rather than create a new thread which simply repeats old information. 4) It would be helpful if you wrote your comments in a more understandable way...rather than in text/twitter speak. It gives some of us a headache trying to read it. 5) As a new member, we want you to feel free to take part in any discussions, with the provision that you play nicely. You won't gain anyone to your cause by being abrasive to those who don't play the piracy game in the same way you do. 6) Twill is for period correct discussion. It is not a place to bash those who chose to play a more popular-culture, movie-type of pirate, or a total fantasy pirate. The Pub welcomes everyone, no matter how they play. It's what makes it a fun forum. So, by all means, discuss what you like, bring in new information if you have it, but check to see who and what discussions have gone before. The Pub has been around for a long time. There is very little that hasn't been talked about at one time or another.

**Ding, ding, ding....Moderator Voice on... No, it shouldn't, and it isn't. The place to learn strict authenticity is in Twill. This is a craft forum, not a period correctness forum. You will find NO discussions on period correctness here, only show and tell of what people enjoy making and would like to share with others. Move on... And Capt. B. Apologies for the hijacking of this thread. Your work is lovely, and it's a nice gesture that you give them as gifts to the members of your crew.

As Patrick has stated so well, this is not Twill. This is a forum for anyone to show off the things they made, and to let others know, who might be interested, on how they made them. 777pirate4, you are welcome to personally disagree with the wearing of beads in or on pirate garb, but this is not the forum to state those disagreements. If it is something you feel strongly about, take the issue to Twill and start a discussion there. This forum is for anyone to show off their talents for making things — anything — that might relate to piracy in any and all of its many forms.

Serenity! GAOP or Buccaneer? (as in early Buccans (?))

Yes, he is my better half. A very well-loved better half. A most Happy Birthday to the pyrate of my heart.

First, to answer Lady B's question. It doesn't cost you to set up the shop, but they charge you .20 for each item you list, which is good for, I think, 45 days. If you sell something, they take 3%. If you never sell an item, and remove it, there is no percentage charged, unlike Ebay, which charges the percentage even if the item doesn't sell. Etsy explains all of this and much more on their site. Captain Jim... Etsy doesn't promote your shop, you have to do that. Think of it as your own web page, only you don't have to mess with getting a URL number. In that situation, you would have to do your own promo. They have promotions on Etsy that you can sign up for, but they charge extra for that — "featuring" one of your items for a day is about $7.00. I have never done that. I made my own business cards (on the computer) and hand those out. I also have links to my Etsy shop here in my signature, and on my blog site. That said, I haven't been promoting my stuff as vigorously as I should. For me, the jewelry is something I do for fun, and if I make a few bucks, that pays for my supplies. However, this year I want to get things more professional looking on the site, and get more pieces out there for sale. I suspect that with Etsy, like anything else, you get out of it what you put in. Their site is very informative, with lots of tutorials, and a forum for questions, and the shop itself is easy to set up. Hope that helps answer your questions, but I do really recommend going to www.etsy.com and checking them out.