Ransom

Happy Birthday Red Cat. Hope your special day involved.....shopping!

I have been reading a lot about Capt. Anson and his circumnavigation in 1740. One of the accounts describes how the lice infestation got so bad, that each man was picking off his body up to a gallon of the little creatures every day. Would this infestation have been addressed by a ship surgeon or doctor, and if so, have you read anything concerning what the treatment would be?

We're going to go ahead and start the story soon. If you want to play, jump in any time. The character possibilities will be endless, but please read the above description and rules before doing so. TERRA INCOGNITA—A Circumnavigation, 1720

My awesomesauce is a little weak lately. It is mostly solar fermentted, and I haven't seen the sun since Halloween. Anyone got some "south of the border" awesomesauce I can use to spike mine up a little? Even better, some Caribbean awesomesauce....anyone...anyone?

"There are bones in this chocolate!" "Well, if there weren't bones in it, we couldn't call it Crunchy Frog, could we?" (Not sure if that's an exact quote, but I think it's close)

Chain Shot bought two replica flintlock pistols, and some kind of snub-barreled flintlock — all for $13 at an antique/junk store. The two flintlocks have broken hammers, as they were made out of cheap pot metal, but both have some nice brass on the butts and sides, so will be fun to remake into something steamy. The snub-barreled one will be mine to play around with and alter. All three were originally kids cap pistols. I'll post some before and after pictures as we work on them.

LOL I was SOOO waiting for him to tell me it was because he won first prize. It WAS a really cute little ribbon, and the blue color kinda matched his coat. A fashion statement, for sure. And seriously, you really couldn't keep from looking at it — at least I couldn't. For another guy it would probably be a different story. Which is a good thing, 'cause I don't think Patrick would want guys looking at his....buttons.

REEF

I continued to hold the Rakehell between our Spanish visitors and the anchored Relentless. Mostly I kept the glass on the Spaniard, but did take it away long enough to get a nice close view of Jacky, stripped down to just his breeches, climb into the dingy. I quick flash of memory on our frantic, amorous night in Havana sparked through my mind, and I smiled. "That's not going to be the only night I knock your socks off, you old sea dog," I whispered, then turned the glass and my attention back to the Spanish. It was then I realized that not only was I watching them, but they were watching me. "Who are you?" I muttered. "Ma'am?" Jimmy said. "Just thinking out loud, Jimmy. Just thinking out loud."

Eyes, you truly have a wondrous ability to find treasures for your awesome cove. At some time in the future, I will look forward to sampling the Spirits of Oderlesseye. Maybe I'll be lucky enough to be lounging in one of your barrel chairs while I sample the rum? 'Twould be fun.

TEAK

Very nice, Blackbead. I must ask, do you have better success selling the pieces as a set — necklace, earrings, and bracelet — than you do as individual pieces? Also, I must bring up that ugly word...pricing. How do you determine what price you will ask for a piece/set? I'm never quite sure how to work that out, other than cost of components plus a percentage for my time.

Ben & Jerry's Cherry Garcia. Oh yeah!

I didn't drop anchor, but kept the Rakehell positioned between the Relentless and the Spaniard. In watching Jacky's crew, I had no idea, at first, what the devil he was doing, but as the barrel was lowered into the water, I got the general gist of it, and had to admire his creativity. Since we had no such equipment on board, I took our job to be that of guardian, so the crew kept alert for any change in the other vessel's manner, and the gunners were ready if she looked to start trouble. As for Nate and the Cat, from what I could see through the glass, the two appeared to be totally drunk, and completly useless if we needed any kind of help.

I agree. It's women like that who give the rest of us female types a bad name. That woman (idiot) should have been slapped upside the head, and told if she was going to dress and act like a hooker, and troll in front a bunch of young men, then she should expect to get treated like a hooker—even though in this case the soldiers weren't propositioning her, just having harmless guy-type fun. And I'm sorry, but were the situation reversed, and a young stud without a shirt, and jeans slung so low they practically show pubic hair, paraded in front of a bunch of women soldiers, the cat calls would have been just as loud and suggestive. Would a guy then complain he'd been harassed? I doubt it.

This, coming from the man who at Ojai had a little blue ribbon tied to one of the front buttons of his breeches. Talk about something you couldn't take your eyes off of. LOL

PEAK

Wow, Bo, you are a lucky man to still be with us. Chain Shot had a run in with black ice on the freeway last month, but only ended up with a dented bumper on his truck. Looking at the picture of your car is pretty scary. Take care, suh, and I hope your hurts mend soon.

Bump Just a reminder for anyone in the Bay area wanting to meet a great pyrate crew, Morgan's Raid would be good way to introduce yourself.

The coat I currently wear is made from the Simplicity pattern. I used a medium-grade linen, and I did alter it by adding a back slit, and I lined the coat (the coat in the pattern is unlined) with a lighter-grade linen. This made the coat a bit heavier and hang nicer. As for problems, I found the waist length too long, so the flare doesn't sit quite right, and which makes the coat hang below the knee. And without some kind of stabilizing trim or under-facings, the top of the coat tends to want to fold over, like a collar. Also, at least for me, the sleeves were too long, and I thought that the cuffs and the end off the sleeves were too baggy. I used the size small pattern, so maybe the extra small would have helped. Don't know. The pants just suck. There is so much room in the rear, it makes you look like a bubble butt. And they are the wrong period. I made them, tried them on, and went "No frekin way" and donated them to Good Will. I made the shirt, but I don't like it. As stated, the collar is too big, and for me being female, the slit down the front was so deep, I would be exposing what little bosom I have, so I had to hand sew it back up to a safe level. I have not made the vest, so can't comment on that. With some alterations, the coat and shirt will work, but the pants are a total waste of time.

Many happy returns of the day to ya, suh! Hope your day is grand in every way.

dear

Okay, here's the finished piece. Vintage buttons, charms, chain and pearls. Here is another piece I just finished. I had a baggy of mixed chains, some old, some not. The center piece is an old earring of mine. Some of the chains "float", so the swags change as you wear the necklace. I got a lot of compliments on it when I wore it for a road test.

"Ma'am." Jimmy called down. "Ma'am, we're getting a sign from the Relentless. Seems she's pulling up anchor again." I turned away from Roberts, who had still not answered my question about the Cat. "We'll talk later," I told him, and went back up on deck. Ignoring the new Spanish ship completely, it appeared Jacky was getting ready to drag the bay, looking for the sunken Treasure ship. I looked toward the new vessel, and could see movement along her decks, but she made no attempt to fire at us...yet. Clearly, they were here for a reason, for they weren't sailing away. It was as if they were watching, and waiting. "Letting us do all the hard work, I'll bet," I muttered. Turning to Africa, I said, "Keep us within hailing range of the Relentless, but put someone up in the fighting top to keep an eye on that Spanish newcomer. Jacky can ignore her if he likes, but I don't trust her."

Terra Incognita = An explanation and call for players Although there are many role playing stories on the Pub, this one will be different. An experiment, if you will. With input from PEW (we've been bouncing this idea back and forth since last November), we hope to try a new approach to story telling. The biggest difference is that this story will be illustrated. Now WAIT, before you throw up your hands and say "Well, that lets me out, I can't draw." Let me explain. By illustrated, we mean anything from scanned copyright free art, scanned letters (written by you or not), maps, rough sketches, even photos — with this caveat. The art doesn't have to be strictly PC correct, but it must be PC appropriate. So, if you want to use a photo to illustrate a beach scene, that's okay, just make sure there are no modern buildings, ships, or people in the shot. No pyrate event photos either. Our faces are too well known. Nothing that would pull the reader out of the early 1700s. If you use art gathered from the internet, post the picture, not just a link. Really, everyone knows how to find pics on the internet and post them, so adding a few to your posts as you go along is not going to be too hard. Really! NOT EVERY POST NEEDS, OR SHOULD HAVE, AN ILLUSTRATION. THEY ARE JUST AN EXTRA, FUN ELEMENT OF THE STORY. EDIT 1-26 Originally we asked for players to come in under new log-in/avatar names. This has been changed, as it was felt it might turn people away. So, come in under your regular Pub name, or a new one, whichever you prefer. But the rule of no secret players stands. Here are the rules of play so far: * All characters to be written in third person. (no "I did this", or "I did that.") * This is historical fiction based on facts known or unknown at the time. Not a fantasy. * No "secret" players. * All questions, historical info, and character names to be posted in a joint thread (which will be started if there are enough people interested in playing), so as to not interrupt the flow of the main story. Story Summary: Loosely based on the circumnavigational voyage of Captain George Anson in the flagship Centurion, 1740. Another caveat = This is historical fiction, not a history lesson or essay. Facts may be fudged, give or take a decade, to keep the story fun and loose. One or two ships (depends on how many people sign on to play) leave England around 1720 to go on a voyage of discovery around the world. They will cross the Atlantic and touch bases in South America, then round the horn, visit known and unknown islands in the pacific, then head to Malaysia, China, and India. Then round the cape, up the coast of Africa, and eventually back to England (the actual route to be posted in a joint thread as the story unfolds). This scenario gives players a chance to experience different cultures, not to mention the trials and tribulations of long months at sea (in one historic circumnavigation, over three hundred men died, but only two of wounds received in battle. The rest died of disease, mainly scurvy). In this story, it would be necessary for ships to remain in foreign ports for extended lengths of time for repairs and exploration. This would give more opportunities for land-based characters, whether native (which would be really interesting), or settlers, and how those characters would interact with the sailors. This also gives lots of opportunities for minor characters as the ship/ships move from one place to another. And, naturally, there would be battles, with pirates — of several nationalities — ships of other countries, or, even other English ships competing for the same glory of discovery (this would make a great antagonist character for someone to play — another ship dogging our every move). So, that's the plan. If you are interested in this experiment, and we hope many of you are, then PM either myself or Pew.