TalesOfTheSevenSeas

Cracked Carrie, We're based in the Bay Area. Any interest in joining up with Tales of the Seven Seas?!! We're always happy to welcome new pirates!! Tales of the Seven Seas Main Page Basic Info Page

I just got this email, can anyone make a suggestion or would anyone like to write one very quickly? I'll forward them any suggestions. "...We are a Scout Troop in Vancouver, Canada, and we are doing a pirate theme camp in 1 week. I am looking for a short, but good pirate ghost story that the leaders can act out in costume for the kids around the campfire. Any ideas? Jennifer Harrison 10th Richmond Scouts Vancouver, BC"

Ahoy mates! We just arrived home this evening (Tuesday) -Rosalinda, it is great to see you back, Dorian I'm sorry I missed you!!! I've got the 'bodice burn' to end all bodice burns and a massive bruise on my thigh from the muzzle of my Queen Anne (gonna have to relocate it to another part of my belt by the looks of it!) But I had an awesome time. Here's a few highlights- Neko got a police escourt as far as San Luis Obispo from a friend on the force! Our 100' encampment shrunk to 20'! (we borrowed some from neighbors) Chaya, Lucky Penny Hawkings, my son Ryan and Neko were auctioned off for charity!! (they posed for a photo, with the winner and the winner got a beer... except for Neko's bidder- she got a 'bodice nuzzling' and a 'fanny paddling' for her money! The Royaliste's cannons blasted regularly throughout the event. Gary was commended on Sunday morning for his good safety procedures. One of the last blasts of the event was from "Seven". She sent a flawless smokering that drew a chorus of oooh's and ahhhhh's from the people watching as it floated for about 100 yards Sasha, with only six months or so of fencing, did a wonderful job taking on one of the Rumrunners crew in an out n' out, anything goes battle. The final score was one round for Sasha, the other for Josh? (not sure of his name) of the Rum Runners. We were VERY proud of her!!!! My son Ryan (age 16) 'lost his innocence' and ate a carrot out of a wench's bodice!! Chaya's rat, "Commodore Nibbles" was a big hit with the crowds Chaya and both her parents did demonstrations of Phillipene stick fighting Lucky Penny Hawkings brings a miniature jointed skeleton dressed as Jack Sparrow. On a whim, she riggs him with strings and he becomes an instant hit as a marionette! In the procession on Sunday, I had a wonderful time being a drunken wench, stumbling along, sloshing rum all over myself and having to be caught by Saber! Sunday night we were initiated into "Clan McGroan" and given names- such as "Nibbles McGroan", "Shave McGroan", "Fondle McGroan" and spent the rest of the evening in hysterics, coming up with more names! We enjoyed meeting people from the Port Royal Privateers, the Rum Runners St. Gregorie's Guild, the weavers and the Gypsy Pirates among others. Iron Bess, Red Maria and a captive wench fired the cannons. Neko shouted offers of "Free floggings, no sin required!!" to the guests As always, we had a great time interacting with people and passing out treasure coins to kids. Sunday morning, we awoke to discover "Jeff" our skeleton, clutching a pair of black panties!!! We're still speculating on how he acquired them!! (I told you he would be the most popular guy at the Pirate Faire!!)

A very hearty thanks to all o' ye!!! It was a very memorable birthday, thanks to Iron Bess, who not only gave us some complimentary gate passes to the Magic Kingdom yesterday, but an incredible tour of the Disney Studios this morning! I especially enjoyed seeing the prop room.... still drooling from that experience! You name it, it is there! Everything from the coffins that Madonna layed in as Eva Perone in "Evita" to wax dummies to amazing antiques. It was truly spectacular and unforgetable. A wonderful birthday indeed. The icing on the cake is coming home to find all these birthday wishes!! Thanks to all of you!!! ARRRRRRRRRR I'd best start drinkin' all o' this!!!

Thanks for your input Cap'n Coyote and for the birthday wishes. Interesting info, although I don't know if the French part would apply to this letter- My ancestor was American of British origin so I don't think she would have used Cap for Cape, but that's a total guess on my part. Also, were there French ships in Nova Scotia in 1775 making captures of Americans and then going to Boston? I don't know and perhaps you can fill me in? I'm kind of inclined to think the word looks like "landsmen" and the context that Deacon Frye suggested seems to work, but I'd love to hear what you think, I'm not an expert, so I'm very interested in other people's ideas about the transcription. I'll try to get the other letters from John Fulton up in the next few days.

Saber and me-self will be there too! Lookin' looking forward to it! We'll probably arrive Friday night rather than Saturday morning if that works for you Captain?

Ye know... perhaps we should procure Jeff a wench skeleton!!!

I just wanted to share something funny- I decided to run a quick internet search on Pipestone Mariners, the type of boat that the Land Shark is. I stumbled upon a site called www.fiberglassics.com for enthusiasts of the old fiberglass pleasure boats of the 50's 60's & 70's. They have this section called "Mystery Boats" full of photos of abandoned hulls in cornfields and such where you try to identify the maker. And I love the name of their forum..."Daily Fiber!!!"

I just spoke to the lad's mum and told her I will be mailing the treasure today. She said she will report back with the lad's reaction to us!

Ah Bess, ye' caught me! Aye, 'tis true. That be me kissin' Jeff on the top o' his head in a moment of weakness when I was swept away be his rugged demeanor and good looks!!

There are plans in the works for a Ghost ship sail aboard the Royaliste on SF Bay- We'll be there and we're bringing "Jeff" our skeleton crew, plus perhaps a few others.

!!!!!! !!!!!!! Ye' mean to tell me Jeff's been hidin' a bountiful treasure inside o' that barrel o' his?!!!! I heard that it wasn't the size o' the treasure that matters, but the weight o' ones dubloons!!!!

Let's see a show o' hooks... how many of ye' arrrrrrrrr goin' t' hoist yer colors an' pirate yer neighborhoods this halloween?!!! (We need to know which o' ye t' keelhaul for not supportin' th' brethren on Nov 1st!!!)

Lookee here at this picture... ye' seez what I means? Wenches hangin' alllllll over Jeff!!! Truly amazin' it be!! I'll wager that Jeff will be th' most sought-after pirate at Ojai!! Mark me words!!!

Happy Burrrrrrrrrpday toooooo ye!!! *hic!*

Happy BirARRRRRRRRRRRRRRRthday lass!!

Lucky Penny is right... just look for "Jeff" this handsome lad ye' seez below. He'll be right out in front of our encampment, sittin' in his barrel, as he tends to be the most popular and most photographed pirate of us all.... *scratches head in confusion* What is it about Jeff, I just don't get it. He ain't THAT handsome!!!

I kinda took historical accuracy to the extreme when it came to drinking... I shelled out way too much money and bought an authentic 18th century lidded pewter drinking tankard that I wear on my belt.

Ahhhhhhhh! And here I thought we'd terrorized them! Well we'll do that NEXT time Cap'n!!!

Please see the previous posts for more photos and video... The Hawaiian Chieftain fires a salute under the Golden Gate. A pair of prizes along the San Francisco skyline. Who says there isn't a prize at the end of the rainbow? And after a night of celebration anchored out on the bay- a beautiful sunrise over the Royaliste's guns... Sunrise on the port side guns Light breaking gently Another day dawns... another target in site!!!!!!!!!

Here she is- the biggest and baddest of the gals on the Royaliste's deck with her new name "Seven" Our target, the Privateer "Linx" just beyond the Golden Gate. The Hawaiian Chieftain, our other target, arrives to escourt the Linx in under the Golden Gate. First mate Raul lights "Claire" on the port side as we move into position to rake the Linx's stern with a lethal blast... KA-BOOOOOM!!!!!!!!!! GOTCHA!!!!!!!!!!!!!! Hey guys... don't run away!! Aw c'mon... we were only playin' with ye'!!! The fireboat salutes the Lynx under the Golden Gate. Another of the fireboat.

Here ye' are pirates!! More to follow!! Royaliste's cannons "7" and "Claire" blast the Linx!!!

Bully me lad... didn't ye' see the pirate ship going the wrong way in the midst of all o' ye power boats right in front of the crowds on shore?!! That was us lad!! We did it twice, quite by accident I assure ye, on Sat and again on Sun

Here it is!! Michael's treasure trove!!! Royaliste's certificate for a sale will be scorched around the edges to look properly aged, I will add a chain to Bess' POTC Aztec coin and we'll also have the list of well wishing pirates added. I should have it in the mail before Thursday.

Ahoy me hearties! Here is the latest update on the Land Shark. We spent a good part of Sunday stripping the hull of the seats, fittings and other bits and pieces that were left behind by the previous owners. We're ready to take a truckload o' shark fodder to the dump, I tell ye'! There was a lot of it! The windshield is the only thing that has been difficult to remove, as it is bolted from beneath the dash and we'll have to climb under to do it. Most of the rest of the old fittings gave up without a fight. I reverse engineered (took measurements) of the Land Shark hull and modeled it in AutoCAD in 3D. Saber and I then started experimenting with different designs. We've completed the design phase of the aft (rear) cabin, which you can see in the image below- Here's what you're looking at- The Land Shark will be black with red trim when it is done, but cyan (lt. blue) shows up better on a 3D model, so the color is not accurate. The upper rim of the hull had varying levels. The outermost level makes a perfect ledge to rest the plywood cabin on. It will be be nailed securely to 2x4's which are bolted to the top of the hull's rim and also to an inner frame, consisting of 2x4's and 4x4 posts bolted to the hull. The aft cabin rises 2' up from the rim of the hull, and hangs over 1-1/2' off the back. There are 5 scroll support moldings beneath the cabin and two on the upper deck rails. These windows were won on Ebay this morning (they cost more than the whole Land Shark did!) There are 4 of them and they are 2'x1' panes. The deck rails are 2'x4' with 4x4 cornerposts. The fancy-looking spindles are nothing more than Nestle Quick chocolate milk bottles spray painted red! So here it is... the aft cabin conceptual model. Additionally, I have also found a ship's wheel, which I hope to have mounted on a post for the kids to play with at Ojai and for picture-taking. I also located a crows nest- which is a wine keg planter, made out of extremely light-weight foam. The masts, yardarm (cross-piece) and bowsprit (pole out the front) will be black 4" PVC piping.