Jib

So Matt I'm curious... Do you ever make a blade (or any weapon) and find it hard to to part with? Since blood, sweat, and tears can go into the production of these lovely items to you have to sometimes force yourself to let them go?

Perez-Reverte's has some other charming novels that while not 100% pirate are period. My fave and now movie is "Captain Alatriste" the first in a series. Well worth a read and it translate wonderfully.

Maybe a stupid question but when the wheel-lock fires does it fire right straight away or nano seconds later as the wheel spins? Having never had the pleasure to fire either a flint or wheel-lock I am dying to try both!

Any stage combatants among the crew posting here? Have you a fav for stage?

What! No love for the small sword?

What sort of blade you favor and why? Of course much will depend on what you use it for?

I just finished a fantasy novel by Chris Bunch entitled "Corsair" which is a fine read but not great. The end is a bit rushed but it is worth a look. I deeply enjoyed another fantasy pirate novel, the second in a series by Scott Lynch entitled Red Seas under Red Skies. This series follows a pair of fantasy rogues/ con men. A third will be out in early 2009. Lastly a novel which I have not read but it has promise entitled "Mad Kestrel" about a female pirate in a fantasy setting.

I do recall that the fort is about a hard stones throw from the shore. A rocky little bit of coast but easy to reach and a great stop for photos.

Friends I did mean a Justacorps. Forgive me for the improper term. So pockets or no?

I often wondered if some of the outer pockets on a coat were indeed false!

Great coat or frock coat, the name isn't important as we all know what they look like. My question is "Did they have functional pockets or just adornment to make it looks as if they had exterior pockets?" Also, "Did they have small interior pockets or is that a modern convention"?

Thanks men! I just needed a place to start.

I'm looking for a good history of the English Civil War. Something that isn't too dry and yet covers the events. Perhaps starting with Cromwells rise to power? I know this site has a few Royalists and a couple Roundheads who could lend me a hand.

Lady B, and all of interest: I have worked at the Minnesota Ren Festival for the last 5 years as a member of the cast. I have also worked at the Sioux Falls south Dakota Ren Faire and Bristol Faire as a guest performer. What I do is mostly interact directly with the patrons including children (I have a game called "The Hurricane" that I set up for kids ages 2 to 10 [of course we don't exclude anyone, I've had adults play]). I also do stage combat but that may be out of bounds for Port Washington (laws and such). It appears that my group "the Pyrates of Portobello", may not be attending Sioux Falls this year so I thought it may be fun to offer my services to you folks in Port Washington. I lived in Milwaukee for over 10 years and still think of Wisconsin as home. And I can place a couple of folks from the lists here on my resume if you need character references. Just an idea, it's okay veto as I imagine you get plenty of help.

I'm spending a little time in Hong Kong and spent a day at the Hong Kong museum of history. They had a nice section on the Qing (Manchu) dynasty. It was stated that during this dynasty piracy reached and all time high. So vicious that the Qing depopulated the shore regions to avid shore raids. http://hk.history.museum They also had a full size (although small) junk in a section on the the ethnic and cultural groups of HK!

I'm currently in Hong Kong and I spent a day at the famous Stanley market on HK island. I made it a point to check out the Maritime Museum after seeing it mentioned in Pirates Magazine. Great small FREE museum! Give it a look see if you are in the area!

Is Port Washington looking for street preformers?

Every time I wear a pair they fall apart after one hard day of walking!

The book is not a bad little read should you find a copy. I heard that this movie ruined Geena's second marriage to the director. Overall I liked it as a fantasy thrill movie!

With a bad weather weekend to start the festival things began with a whimper for the MRF. But this last weekend was very nice and we hope to see all of you out on the streets looking for plunder (and maybe meade!).

Walk on over and say "Hello"!

You can get as crazy as you like with this topic. Say you have a Billion dollars to spend! How would you create your ulimate pirate fantasy?

I think the worms did the worst damage to the wooden ships. From pictures I have seen it appears that they form some type of shell as they tunnel into the ships hull. Looks like a pain to repair!

When pirates used to careen the hull of a ship to clean off the sea life that tended to grow upon it was such trouble limited to salt water or did the worms and creatures also thrive in fresh water? What I'm thinking is that fresh water, such as a river, might be used to hinder the growth of marine life if the ship was docked in it for a time. It also might be useful to help kill off the marine life and make the job of careening easier. Any knowledge?

Pure fantasy but how would you create the ultimate pirate festival?