TalesOfTheSevenSeas

Penny's nose photo didn't come out. But here are Sasha's photos! Sasha's parade photos

Yup, Neko aka "Scalliwag" is our handsome rogue. He's got a pretty cool trick he can do where he makes the whip wrap around a wench and then pulls her in! LOL! Here are more parade photos from Sasha! Sasha's photos

Sounds like a cool book. I found it on www.abebooks.com, but it comes with a pretty heafty price tag at $70 Click here

Jes wot be this dent thing with Penny, ay? A dent in the nose, a dent in the trunk... where next?!!!

Yeah that close up photo came out blurry, so you were spared this time Lucky Penny! I thought I'd share a couple of highlights of the day. When we passed in front of each radio station's booth, they were broadcasting live. One lady radio DJ was describing the Land Shark and said "...they've decorated a pirate shit... eh...ship! I stopped right in front of her, put my hands on my hips and in my best wench voice said "A PIRATE WHAT?!!!" The DJ lost it completely and just burst out laughing on the air! Another incident was when "Michael the Eagle", an enormous patriotic eagle baloon couldn't fit under the highway overpass. Michael's parade contingent was stuck, wondering what to do, as they had inflated him on the wrong side of the road! About 10 parade contingents had to pass them by, as they tried to squeeze him this way and that. Finally, they laid him head down and tried to pull him underneath. He was so large, that he filled the entire space between the road and the overpass, so that there was this enormous eagle butt sticking out from under highway 87!! He got stuck in that embarassing position for a while, until they turned him around and successfully pulled him through, legs first! After the parade, we went to lunch at a rib/steak restaurant. Privateer Pete was chuckling over a brochure he'd found for "The Mystery Spot" which is a local tourist trap. I grinned, and in my wench voice said "I've got me own mystery spot love!!" I'm told we got excellent camera coverage this time and that they spent a lot of time on our group, so I'm really looking forward to seeing the video. Charlie and Jeff were swordfighting, we had wenches waving to the crowds from the ship, we had a wench manning the cannons making them smoke with the fog machine, Neko was cracking his whip at the back of the contingent and pirates waving the jolly roger from all over. I was on "rabble rousing duty". I had my cutlass drawn and would go up to sections of the crowd and holler "Let's here a nice big ARRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRR!!!!" The crowds were very responsive and enthusiastically joined in! I think everyone's got pirate fever after POTC!! Special thanks go out to: Privateer Pete, Lucky Penny and Saber who helped me set up the float in the dark and pouring rain the night before the parade. Sasha bought the set up crew dinner. Neko saved me when I couldn't operate my son's stereo system and came up with a great idea- using a marine battery next time instead of a generator to operate the fog, music and lights. Laurie, a wench joining us for the first time, offered to get us fog liquid at a cost through her work. Over all, it was a great time and I'm looking forward to the next parade.

Here you go!! Pictures galore!! There are a lot of them, so give them a bit of time to load. San Jose Holiday Parade Photos

Most of the discussion of this event has taken place on the Land Shark topics, but here are the photos in case ye' missed em! San Jose Holiday Parade Photos

Penny me dearie, you'll be delighted to hear that your up close nose photo didn't turn out! So the pirates will just have to imagine how it looked, as you are your usual pretty self in all the next day photos! Here are the photos- there are a lot of 'em, so give them a bit of time to download. San Jose Holiday Parade Photos When I saw the photo below, I immediately thought of all of you here at the pub, holding a good weather vigil for us. Look at the sky- Is this photographic proof of your good karma or what?!!

Ahoy mates!! Just back from the parade! All went well and according to the email I have from Cracked Carrie, we got good TV coverage this time! Saber and my son are at this moment undertaking the delicate operation of backing the Land Shark in (I can't bare to watch ) The only mishap was last night, during the set up. Lucky Penny and I were setting up the mast and as I was tightening down the yardarm it slipped out of the connecting piece and WHACK!! it smacked poor Penny right square in the face! Poor sweetie had a terrible bloody nose and enough bruising to where we weren't sure if it was broken at first. The Land Shark was thereby christened in blood and Lucky Penny earned the highly sought-after title of MVP, for having sustained a grievous injury and didn't shed a single tear. ARRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRR whata fine pirate! Photos of everything, including one of Penny's nose, to follow!!

*Opens a cyber rift and looks at the local forcast at www.weather.com and exclaims with great surprise* WELL IF THAT AIN'T NUTHIN' SHORT O' A BLOODY MIRACLE!!! OUR FORCAST HAS BEEN UPGRADED FROM RAIN TO PARTLY CLOUDY!!! ARRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRR!!! *fires flintlock in celebration!!* KA-BOOOOOOOOOOOOM!!!!!!!!!!!!! Yer well wishes be changin' me fortunes pirates!!! Keep 'em comin'!!! Drinks all around!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Moving from pirate to pirate, clankin' everyone's tankard with her own.... Many thanks for the well wishes all o' ye! I wish there were a magical ship I could put ye' on that would transport ye' all to CA for the parade! Although, with the current rainy conditions, ye' might just keel-haul me iffn I did that!! Ben, the parade kicks of this sunday morning at 8:30 am. Our line-up time is 6:30am *yawn* , with the floats being inspected by the judges from 7am to 8am. And if ye' can find it by satellite pr'haps, the TV broadcast is on KNTV 11 at 9:00am PST. But we'll have plenty of photos and after the parade, some video clips and the videos of the telecast go up for sale on the website following the parade. So even if I can't get all o' ye on the Land Shark, we'll share the whole event with everyone here, and I know you'll all be there in spirit as she sails through the city! :)

No tears Merrydeath, there's pleeeeeeeeeeeeeenty o' rum for all!! *'Quill scurries in with platters of food- Hardtack and salted beef for the traditionally minded, Limes, oranges and other citrus for those with scurvy, Cream puffs, pastries and other sweet decadent delights for the sinful, Platters of roasted game for the hungry pirates, and boards with warm-from-the-oven French bread from St. Francis!* Dig in pirates!!!!!! Feast to yer heart n' yer belly's content!! *Quickly filling everyone's tankard with rum, wine and other piratical poisons* Drink up mates!!

You should be OK with just a stretch. The person at the store in town that does the stretching should be able to tell you how much his/her technique can help you when they see how it fits on your head.

*asks for blessings to the north, west, south then east* *pours Captain Morgan's rum over the bow* *Raises tankard* May the Land Shark enjoy a long and happy second life as a pirate and may she bring good fortune to all those who come aboard!!!

*Hands the captain the linstock with a lit slow match ready to go* Give 'em bloody heck Cap'n!!!

Thanks, E.P. I'll have some better ones after the parade, with everything assembled and a crew of pirates!

Ahoy pirates!! Over the last several months you've watched our homely little turquoise blue boat from Ebay, make the transformation into "The Land Shark", our pirate ship parade float. Nautical tradition dictates that whenever a boat is renamed, that there should be a prayer asking for safety, a bottle of fine spirits broken or poured over the bow, prayers offered in each direction of the four winds and that the ship's renaming be celebrated once the ship is ready to be launched, in the company of good friends to wish her well. Due to our remote mountain location, and my desire to have the Land Shark officially named and properly protected before venturing down our rather treacherous mountain road, the Pyracy Pub seems the perfect place to hold a celebration for a pirate ship! So if you will- please let me pour everyone a bit o' rum and we'll get started!

El Pirata, The mast comes down for travel and disassembles into two pieces- The eight foot section of the mast is a single piece, and the yardarm/crows nest/top mast assembly is the second piece. The base of the mast fits upright into a square wooden box that is bolted onto the floor of the Land Shark using Simpson Strong Ties. For additional stability, there are lines running from the mast to the bow and stern of the ship and lines from each end of the yardarm to the port and starboard sides. It's surprisingly easy to raise and lower the mast. I can even do it alone. It just slides in/out of the box and ties down. The bowsprit, aft cabin laterns, figurehead and the cabin supports on the stern also remove for travel. We made everything very beefy and used the Simpson Strong Ties throughout so that it would hold up at freeway speeds. Everyone, WE HAVE OFFICIALLY DECLARED THE LAND SHARK IS FINISHED!!! WOOOOOOOOOOHOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!!! The next set of photos will be following the parade on Sunday. The figurehead arrived today and will look lovely on the bow. Time to head on over and join in the Land Shark's naming party on the Rabble Rousing topic!

Thanks lasses! I got a bit more done today- We have the ship's bell that was on Jeff's barrel mounted on the post behind the ship's wheel. The lantern that hangs off the bowsprit is finished and the battery operated "candle" is installed so it will light up. The mounting assembly for the bowsprit is finished and about all that is left to do is mount that, one cabin support and mount the figurehead.

I thought some of you might enjoy this email, from one of our pirates who just returned from England and had an interesting conversation with a costumer who worked on M&C and POTC: "...I had coffee and a long conversation with one of the costumers for "Master and Commander" and "Pirates of the Caribbean". Her name is Kirstie Buckland, and she comes from a family in Wales that has been making knitted hats since the 17th Century. She supplied all the knitted hats for both movies. Kirstie is also acquainted with the head costumer for M & C. During our chat, she detailed the battle between the costumer and director and the Hollywood producers over authenticity. The Hollywood crowd had their own ideas, but the forces for authenticity stood to their guns and finally triumphed. The result was what may well be the most authentic historical movie ever made. Most of the costumes--with the exception of the knitted hats--were made in Italy. The shoes were copied from an original pair recovered from a ship that sank in 1806. The straw hats were hand-woven. The striped shirts were made from a repro fabric that was copied from an original sample that came from an old prison used to house convicts transported to Australia in the late 18th Century. Kirstie brought along some examples of her hats. I was so impressed that I ended up buying one of her thrum caps. I also went to a vendor's fair for reenactors. This fair was in Coventry, up in the Midlands, and getting there required a two-hour train ride, followed by a half-hour wait in the rain in a block-long line to get into the exhibition hall. Once inside, I found myself in the midst of a crush of shoppers that for density equaled the London Underground during rush hour. Most of the products offered for sale were repros from the late Saxon period through the English Civil War, with a few offerings from Roman and Napoleonic period vendors. I ended up buying a pair of hand-knit English Civil War stockings. I've been on the lookout for a pair of really authentic knitted stockings for a long time. These weren't cheap--twenty pounds--but they look great! To see a sample, go to: www.bandoliers.co.uk I also bought a pair of early 18th Century shoes for my pirate impression. I actually ordered them before I went over there, since they had to be custom made. Here again, not cheap. They cost the equivalent of $175.00, but that included all hand stitching. If anyone is interested, I can give them the name of the vendor. I also spent a considerable amount of time in various museums looking at costume exhibits. Picked up a few ideas for making a pirate frockcoat."

Sadly, what soured me on striving for historical accuracy, was not only the lack of fun roles for women, but also several bad experiences with reenactors. I met so many who were not only rude and arrogant, but downright cruel to people. That's what I love about pirate faires, is that there is the element of fun that dominates over all. I have a great time and I don't get verbally beat up by people who may or may not know their history. When it comes to piracy, many of the reenactors are unaware that the "Hook Look" is not just Hollywood, but historically accurate for pirates going ashore. (per Dr. David Cordingly) Technically, a pirate could wear a Roman toga, Chinese pants/shirt, Arab garb or any number of costumes and be a historically accurate pirate. Sadly, I've seen so many reenactors make incorrect accusations, publically humiliate people and much worse. That's why in Tales of the Seven Seas we let people choose to be either historically accurate or not and enjoy both. I wear my historically accurate wench when a faire requests it, but more often than not, I'm armed to the gills, bright red and wearin' me plumes!

Arrrrrgh... that post above was written by me. I didn't see that Saber was logged in!!

LOL the post above was written by me... I didn't notice that Saber was logged in!!

My look is geared toward instant recognizability, rather than historical accuracy. I'm not in it to please other reenactors. I'm in it for the sparkle in the eyes of the little kids, the grins and jokes from the adults and being able to appeal to people of all types. I want everyone who is age 2 and up to look at me and instantly know I'm a pirate. That means flamboyant and excessive costuming, overacting, giving away treasure rather than taking it and having a kick-arse time with little regard to the traditional and nearly non-existant roles of women in piracy. There were only a handfull of known women pirates and the rest were wenches who aided, mostly from land. Tavern wenches, prostitutes at the docks and average everyday landlubber women. *leaps upon a nearby soap box, sword raised high!!!* To bloody heck with sitting in an encampment sewing!!! Doing the laundry while people watch be damned to hell!! :) I kin buy me own rum!!!!!! I'm packin' swords, flintlocks, cat-o'-nines and all the weapons I kin carry!!!!!!! And if ye wants t' bed me I'll take ye on me own terms not yerz, ye' bloody pirate scoundrels!!!!!! :) I sirs, be a PIRATE!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! ARRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRR!!!! (Get me drift lads?!! :) )

:) Ahhhhhhhhhh. OK I'm beginning to clue in. I'm still very much an overly optimistic rookie at times.