Matusalem

I have finally decided that I am going to put together a major costume, that will take several months to put together. The costume is going to be of french corsaires and filbustiers around the time of GAOP, Basically, here's René Duguay-Trouin (1673-1736), with a Gherkin style justacourps coat, breatplate, bucket boots, and an ornate baldric, which I assume is leather with gold trim? And here's François Mahé Le Burdonnais (1699-1753), I can't tell if in one picture if his coat is velvet or other material: [Jaques Gouin de Beauchesne (1652-1730) was actually a privateer and explorer, and sadly to my personal behest, I can't find any pictures. Any feedback is most appreciated.

[/b] After reading my 2 new books on Pyracy fromDover books, there is several mentions of black flags, though nothing I read mentioned anything of jolly rogers, or skulls, etc.....just black flags (Henry Rollins should be proud) I also know that some people mention that the most common pirate flag was red. I've seen the webpages on jolly rogers, including red ones. It's just the fact that do you necissarily not need any graphic illustration on a black flag?

^No, as far as I know of.....there is way too much litigation this day and age. I hate lawyers as much as I hate car salemen. < I Want to make a room look like the captains quaters of the Black Pearl, with lots of dark wood and small windowpanes, preferrably something distressed an ancient looking. V Sushi or not?

No. article on arctic shipping: http://news.nationalgeographic.com/news/20...c_landrush.html In order for piracy to exist today, you need a complete absence of law enforcement, and to be near a country with a sizeable population and a nearly non-funcitoning govenrment. Somalia and Sri Lanka come to mind. Somehow, I don't think the inuits or Nunavut population is all that commandeering. They just stay with bopping seals on the head. Incidentally, I went on a business trip to China last year, and it was the first time I have ever flown over the Arctic Ocean. The view from the window was just awe-striking beauty, but you can see ruptures where ice is separating. A little bit distressing. There is absolutely no human presence that far north.

Yikes, for a second I saw this topic on the board and it looked like the topic was "mastering thighs". I don't even own a Thighmaster.

Got both my books, yay! Somehow they both ended up in the loo library, though they are presently on the top most read list. Exquelemin, next. I'm going to attempt to contact various governments, starting with Newport RI city hall, if I can get my hands on real pirate-affiliated documents of the era. Most, I would expect, would be locked up in a vault.

Chapman, The key word when looking for maritime rules is (drum roll)............Admiralty Laws, before 1789: http://members.aol.com/dangelaw/admir2.html When researching, just keep in mind the word Admiralty.

( according to the Star Spangled banner lyrics , for those not familiar with history, was about Ft McHenry during the war of 1812) but unfortunately, no matter what we pyrates do, the flag will still be there in spite of rockets red glare and bombs bursting in air.

Well...kedging is one effective way, yes. One can only imagine the difficulty in stong winds and current as the crew is trying to actually throw an anchor for a ship the size of a brig. Maybe my references maight be too modern but Here's some photos of a day in Baltimore harbor, check the second picture and you will see a "pilot boat" guide the cruise ship out of the harbor. We were sailing pretty close to that ship. (FYI, I'm testing out the IMG feature on this messageboard

Can't find any previous posts about PIP 2006, but I found these on my computer by accident as I was cleaning up , maybe you can find yourselves in there somehwere:

This is somewhere between Baltimore and Rock Hall, Md. on a very blustery,cold November 2005...about 4pm. This is in the Gulf of Mexico, returning to Ft. Myers from Key West aboard the AtlantiCat express ferry.

Forgive me, since I'm not the organizer of the event, I'm just the messenger just trying to pass the word. Here's the link to the schedule of events. You can backlink from the site to get the overall gist of the event. http://www.piratewalk.com/piratefestschedule.htm I happen to stumble across the site when I was trying to get info about the White Horse Tavern http://www.whitehorsetavern.com, the oldest pub in the United States, started by a son of a famous pirate. Newport's a great town if you are a pirate at heart. Don't forget the Tall Ships event at the end of June. In either case, this is as close to the real deal as you can get.

Has, um...anyone attempted to obtain permisson to camp at Ft McHenry? I would think that CW reenactors have done this from time to time. I mean, PIP has Fort Zachary Taylor. Maybe if you sing a real good star spangled banner, the park rangers might be convinced to let you camp there.

Some nautical basics, from experience in crowded baltimore harbour on a summer weekend: 1. Red/Right/Return (.....applies to lights) 2. Bigger vessels have Right of Way (...because they can't slow down or stop as easily as smaller vessels) 3. It's not unsusual to correct a course if approaching a vessel that is obstructing your course...usually bear to the right. I am frequently somewhere around Key bridge and fort Carroll (usually being challenged by RO-RO ships and recreational boaters. 4. Horns signals allow you to communicate to other vessels, so do semaphores. I can't imagine things being that extroadinarily different back during GAOP, as Baltimore Harbor is pretty crowded on a July Saturday for instance. I would be more amazed how to get a sailing ship away from a pier and into a shipping lane without the use of motors. To me, that seems like quite a feat in itself. Was the average large vessel pushed away using crewmen on sweeps? FYI, The upper Chesapeake is quite shallow if you stray outside the shipping lane designated by the US coast guard. Those channels are dredged. I found this out the hard way on my father's 37' sailboat when we tried, using a short-cut, to intercept the Sultana bound for St Michaels from Baltimore, and we ran aground. Fortunately the bay is sand,and not rocks. Of course, as history goes, Maryland shipping vessels powered by sail, such as a skipjack, were generally low in draft. We all know the freeboard situation with pirate vessels such as the Whydah, Adventure Galley, and the Queen Anne's Revenge. That being said, I think the bigger issue is avoiding running aground. The other big issue is trying to get out of port and into a proper tack. ....then again, the idea of a pirate vessel is to come dangerously close o other vessels, otherwise no prize.

Oops, wrong answer. I must have been on another page of previous date. ^Foster's.....(BAM!) Australian for beer. <Tough decision s, my friends, when you have to decide where to spend your money....period Pirate gear? or home renovations? Flintlock pistol kits...or a new porch floor? I'm not on the Johnny Depp budget yet. What's the funniest advertisement you ever remember seeing on television?

^Animals? Never! Incidentally I watched an epsiode of the documentary on the Queen's Household Cavalry on a PBS channel...or whas it Discovery, can't remember. HM Queen Elizabeth was inspecting the cavalry fully mounted, and one horse decided to take a horse whiz somewhere near the queen's foot. Poor chap, he was just a rookie, and his horse had to be the one to relieve himself in front of Her Majesty. Animals rule! Ever know anyone who owned a primate?

Who is playing British soldiers....you know, to hoist up the Union Jack? I seem to recall a thread regarding this issue but to I'm busy to find it.

hatcrafters.com.....Oooooh! I want #206 ( the Shovel), so I can play the munchkin coroner from Wizard of Oz. Silent, I like the tricorn with the pinched in front a lot!

Now there's a man tryin' ta get away rom whatever he's tryin' ta get away from!

^On a sailboat that sleeps more than 2, with a galley, anywhere that's away from land. Last adventure was a steamy, humid 90 F, mosquito-riddled night in Rock Hall, Md (sounds like fun don't it?)....we were all sleeping on the deck like cats. <People ask me what I was in my past life, and I tell them that I was a one-eyed, one-legged street beggar in the slums of Calcutta. Usually puts a damper on the subject. V what were you in your past life?

sigh.....I'm envious .

However, you need a wetsuit for NJ waters...a shorty suit at the very least.

...and New Jersey.....I am dead serious.

I agree with Iron Bess....two three pistols at max, Cap'n jack hat is nice but I have seen it everywhere too often. I may not be the best judge, but I can say that some of it s a mishmash of different time periods (how do you bridge standard robin hood ren-faire with early 18th century seaman? [no offence, just positive criticism]) I'm, working a on a 2-pistol baldric/cartitdge box Blackbeard-style for my own get up.

All I can say is....hurricanes! Key West is right smack dab in the path of frequent hurricanes. Many people fall in love with the paradise of coastal south Florida unitl after the fact. They usually strike between August and November. The major question is " will it go up into the Gulf-o-up the east coast?" Three years ago, I saw the devastation of Hurricane Charley, and much of Punta Gorda and Port Charlotte up north was quite surreal, and many residents are still stuggling today to rebuild. All I can say is that there is only one way out of Key West, and you can bet that the Rt 1 causeway will be packed. I am not saying don't move there, I am saying just be prepared when the season comes. If you are like me and seek adventure, hurricanes can be a lot of fun in a number of ways. Paradise does not stay still forever. ...and it comes with a price.