TalesOfTheSevenSeas

If someone else is looking for a ready-made parade float, this 8'x 15' one goes on Ebay in 1 hour, trailer not included. It's in the MI area, but he's willing to make a trip to deliver it. Pirate ship on Ebay

One of our pirates works at Ft. Vancouver Nat'l Historic Site. He just sent me a BIG box full of authentically baked hardtack, aka ship's biscuit! It was made from a historic recipe and baked in a brick oven as then would have back in the day. The only thing slightly different is that the wheat flour is no longer grown in the east, but in the west, so there is a little bit of a difference in the texture of the flour. This stuff is really something else. If you've never had the opportunity to see what the evil tooth-breaking bread was really like, stop by our encampment and check it out. Even though I'd seen pictures, the real thing is much worse than what I had imagined. I think I'm even going to hang a piece on my belt so that when people ask "What IS that THING?!!!" I can give them a good appreciation of their next meal!

I ran across them by accident. One is from www.howstrange.com pages 8 & 9 and the other is from www.goateestyle.com

I would suggest you contact the organizers of the Blackbeard Festival in Hampton VA. They have a couple of ships do a sea battle for the festival every year. I do not know who owns the ships. Hampton Blackbeard Festival It looks like the site is being updated... you might have to give it a few days.

KA-BOOOM!!!! Thank's Cap'n!!

Royaliste, Would you also consider firing a round for all the unknown thousands of working single moms and dads who are on the job 24/7? Thanks Cap'n!!

Ahhhhhhh!! OK I thought with the wood on it that it would have been from an older ship. Thanks for the clarification! Mystery solved! Thanks Cap'n!!

In cleaning out his mother's garage this weekend, Bob came across an old relic from his childhood and apparently much older. Family tradition has it that this magnet came from the compass of an old ship. It is curved, about the size and shape of a piece of horn, very heavy, highly magnatized and encased in a thin layer of black-painted wood. One end appears to be roughly broken, but with a concave with a smoothly ground circular end and a rough, broken end, with a circular concave indentation carved into it. There is no record of what ship it came from or how old it is. Bob is 53 now and played with it as a child, pulling bits of metal out of the dirt. His dad used it to magnatize his screwdrivers. Can anyone itentify how this magnet would have fit into a compass and it's approximate age? If not, I'll run it by the maritime museum in SF. Thanks mates! Here are the photos:

....Which brings more questions up. Was it expensive? Couldn't sailors grind there own? Or was it just considered to prissy for manly men?!!

right, that's what I was picturing- since I read that it was ground with a mortar and pestle.

Finishing up my jail cage for next weekend's event out at Jack London Square... comin' along well. It should be a fun prop for interraction with the public. I'll post the results under raids after next week!

That would be AWESOME!!! I figure there has got to be a prison roster with his name on it somewhere in the Canadian archives or naval records of his capture. I'm hoping to learn which prison he was in and what the conditions were like during his incarceration. I'd love to make a visit there to see the place if it still exists. It was extremely moving to read my grandmother's letter and to actually see something written in her hand so long ago when we visited the Library of Congress in DC. Reading their hand-written letters was like meeting them for the first time and getting to know the real people behind the family tales.

Ben Franklin's Privateers is an AWESOME read! It is fascinating and exciting- not dry history, and written in an enjoyable and easy to read style. It is the story of the ships authorized for privateering against the British in order to procure British prisoners to use in a prisoner exchange for imprisoned Americans.

I'm reading a WONDERFUL book about a little-know area of history- "Ben Franklin's Privateers". It is about how during the American Revolution, Ben Franklin authorized three ships, the Black Prince, the Black Princess and the Fearnot to capture British merchants and ships of war. The goal in capturing British ships was not monetary gain for Franklin (Although it was for the privateers themselves. The ships were French owned and crewed by Irish and American seamen) Franklin's objective was a prisoner exchange- trading the Britishers that they took in the raids, and exchanging them for imprisoned Americans, who apparently suffered greatly in British prisons. One account told of 100 Americans being lead to the ship for the exchange- 2 died walking to the ship, 1 was too ill to make the walk. My own ancestor, John Fulton, was captured while serving under Benedict Arnold on a disasterous mission to attempt to capture Canadian territories under British rule for America. He was in a ship crewed largely by men from the town of Medford MA where he lived. They were set upon by "two sloops of war" in St. Mary's Bay, Nova Scotia. They were freed eventually and returned home, but since this occurred before the end of the war, I'm wondering if it was a part of a prisoner exchange program. The letter of my gr-gr-gr-gr-great grandmother's letter to George Washington is in the Library of Congress, asking him to use his influence to get her husband and those of the other Medford women released. (she knew Washington because she delivered dispatches for him when John was ill and he honored her with a visit. ) What I am wondering is if anyone here would have an idea how I could find out more about John Fulton's imprisonment- Where would the prisoners captured in St Mary's Bay have been imprisoned, are there any surviving prison records, or prisoner exchange records? I also do not know if a "sloop of war" would have been a privateering sloop or a British ship of the line. All of this took place in August of 1775. Any suggestions of avenues for research would be greatly appreciated. This is a part of my family history I only recently discovered. They took great pains to keep record of their successfull adventures and there is little mention on record of this painful chapter of their lives. Thanks mates. -Claire aka "Poison Quill"

*whistful sigh* *pitiful whimper of envy* *bangs head against wall*

Yeah, I agree, keeping it simple is the way to go. We can always spruce it up and make improvements later down the road. Right now we just gotta get the "land shark" parade worthy for the December event.

Saber says to say the followin' to ye' Royaliste: "Well ye' olde salty dawg- when I shoot MY cannon 'tis not blanks I be shootin!!!" But I say 'tis a good thing that ye' primed "Claire" well, gave her the full length o' yer ramrod and that her voice was heard all across the bay and that the ship rocked with each and every powerful explosion!!!

On the subject of names, we're just planning to put the guild name, Tales of the Seven Seas on the stern. I've jokingly been calling it "The Land Shark" but Saber wants to name it after the ship in the on-line story we write in, the Crimson Reaper. Although given the nature of it's aquisition, I think "Claire's Folly" would also be appropriate!!! On figureheads, I love the idea of a live figurehead, but sometimes I'm the only female pirate at an event and I like to be out in the middle of all the action, throwing buckets of confetti over people and getting them to shout ARRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRR PIRATES!!!!, dancing with little kids, passing out treasure etc. But I REALLY LOVE the idea of having a casting of the Royaliste's figurehead!!! Maybe we could start with the cast figurehead and eventually cut a panel so that we could choose to go with either the casting or a live figurehead. We're out at Saber's mom's this weekend and on the ride down we were discussing ideas for the float. We were debating the ease/difficulty of how to construct the aft deck in the back. We're thinking of it being raised about 2' from the existing height and maybe small lighted cabin windows in it. Should we do the aft deck in plywood or fiberglass? Plywood would be pretty straightforward. Saber did some fiberglass work many years ago, but we aren't sure what sheets of fiberglass that could be shaped to form the aft deck would cost.... anybody know about that? Saber said when he did the fiberglass work on a surfboard 20-odd years ago that you had to buy the stuff by the ounce!!

I wish we could, but liability issues have made most parades prohibit throwing things even by hand.

Loved the fire extinguisher idea and developed a less pricey alternative... We just acquired an air compressor from me Ma-In-Law today and were thinking we could do a fine job o' blastin' parade crowds with flour and the air compressor!

Royaliste, It looks like you got them up already... or am I just seeing cached copies?

'fraid not memorized Cap'n, but I ran across the part about the figurehead and it reminded me so much of Iron Bess that I had to post it... "...And at the bows an image stood, By a cunning artist carved in wood, With robes of white, that far behind Seemed to be fluttering in the wind. It was not shaped in a classic mould, Not like a Nymph or Goddess of old, Or Naiad rising from the water, But modelled from the Master's daughter! On many a dreary and misty night, 'T will be seen by the rays of the signal light, Speeding along through the rain and the dark, Like a ghost in its snow-white sark, The pilot of some phantom bark, Guiding the vessel, in its flight, By a path none other knows aright!"

I don't know if this one has been posted already, but here is a beautiful one by Henry Wadsworth Longfellow The Building of the Ship by Henry Wadsworth Longfellow "Build me straight, O worthy Master! Stanch and strong, a goodly vessel, That shall laugh at all disaster, And with wave and whirlwind wrestle!" The merchant's word Delighted the Master heard; For his heart was in his work, and the heart Giveth grace unto every Art. A quiet smile played round his lips, As the eddies and dimples of the tide Play round the bows of ships, That steadily at anchor ride. And with a voice that was full of glee, He answered, "Erelong we will launch A vessel as goodly, and strong, and stanch, As ever weathered a wintry sea!" And first with nicest skill and art, Perfect and finished in every part, A little model the Master wrought, Which should be to the larger plan What the child is to the man, Its counterpart in miniature; That with a hand more swift and sure The greater labor might be brought To answer to his inward thought. And as he labored, his mind ran o'er The various ships that were built of yore, And above them all, and strangest of all Towered the Great Harry, crank and tall, Whose picture was hanging on the wall, With bows and stern raised high in air, And balconies hanging here and there, And signal lanterns and flags afloat, And eight round towers, like those that frown From some old castle, looking down Upon the drawbridge and the moat. And he said with a smile, "Our ship, I wis, Shall be of another form than this!" It was of another form, indeed; Built for freight, and yet for speed, A beautiful and gallant craft; Broad in the beam, that the stress of the blast, Pressing down upon sail and mast, Might not the sharp bows overwhelm; Broad in the beam, but sloping aft With graceful curve and slow degrees, That she might be docile to the helm, And that the currents of parted seas, Closing behind, with mighty force, Might aid and not impede her course. In the ship-yard stood the Master, With the model of the vessel, That should laugh at all disaster, And with wave and whirlwind wrestle! Covering many a rood of ground, Lay the timber piled around; Timber of chestnut, and elm, and oak, And scattered here and there, with these, The knarred and crooked cedar knees; Brought from regions far away, From Pascagoula's sunny bay, And the banks of the roaring Roanoke! Ah! what a wondrous thing it is To note how many wheels of toil One thought, one word, can set in motion! There's not a ship that sails the ocean, But every climate, every soil, Must bring its tribute, great or small, And help to build the wooden wall! The sun was rising o'er the sea, And long the level shadows lay, As if they, too, the beams would be Of some great, airy argosy. Framed and launched in a single day. That silent architect, the sun, Had hewn and laid them every one, Ere the work of man was yet begun. Beside the Master, when he spoke, A youth, against an anchor leaning, Listened, to catch his slightest meaning. Only the long waves, as they broke In ripples on the pebbly beach, Interrupted the old man's speech. Beautiful they were, in sooth, The old man and the fiery youth! The old man, in whose busy brain Many a ship that sailed the main Was modelled o'er and o'er again;-- The fiery youth, who was to be the heir of his dexterity, The heir of his house, and his daughter's hand, When he had built and launched from land What the elder head had planned. "Thus," said he, "will we build this ship! Lay square the blocks upon the slip, And follow well this plan of mine. Choose the timbers with greatest care; Of all that is unsound beware; For only what is sound and strong to this vessel stall belong. Cedar of Maine and Georgia pine Here together shall combine. A goodly frame, and a goodly fame, And the UNION be her name! For the day that gives her to the sea Shall give my daughter unto thee!" The Master's word Enraptured the young man heard; And as he turned his face aside, With a look of joy and a thrill of pride, Standing before Her father's door, He saw the form of his promised bride. The sun shone on her golden hair, And her cheek was glowing fresh and fair, With the breath of morn and the soft sea air. Like a beauteous barge was she, Still at rest on the sandy beach, Just beyond the billow's reach; But he Was the restless, seething, stormy sea! Ah, how skilful grows the hand That obeyeth Love's command! It is the heart, and not the brain, That to the highest doth attain, And he who followeth Love's behest Far excelleth all the rest! Thus with the rising of the sun Was the noble task begun And soon throughout the ship-yard's bounds Were heard the intermingled sounds Of axes and of mallets, plied With vigorous arms on every side; Plied so deftly and so well, That, ere the shadows of evening fell, The keel of oak for a noble ship, Scarfed and bolted, straight and strong Was lying ready, and stretched along The blocks, well placed upon the slip. Happy, thrice happy, every one Who sees his labor well begun, And not perplexed and multiplied, By idly waiting for time and tide! And when the hot, long day was o'er, The young man at the Master's door Sat with the maiden calm and still. And within the porch, a little more Removed beyond the evening chill, The father sat, and told them tales Of wrecks in the great September gales, Of pirates coasting the Spanish Main, And ships that never came back again, The chance and change of a sailor's life, Want and plenty, rest and strife, His roving fancy, like the wind, That nothing can stay and nothing can bind, And the magic charm of foreign lands, With shadows of palms, and shining sands, Where the tumbling surf, O'er the coral reefs of Madagascar, Washes the feet of the swarthy Lascar, As he lies alone and asleep on the turf. And the trembling maiden held her breath At the tales of that awful, pitiless sea, With all its terror and mystery, The dim, dark sea, so like unto Death, That divides and yet unites mankind! And whenever the old man paused, a gleam From the bowl of his pipe would awhile illume The silent group in the twilight gloom, And thoughtful faces, as in a dream; And for a moment one might mark What had been hidden by the dark, That the head of the maiden lay at rest, Tenderly, on the young man's breast! Day by day the vessel grew, With timbers fashioned strong and true, Stemson and keelson and sternson-knee, Till, framed with perfect symmetry, A skeleton ship rose up to view! And around the bows and along the side The heavy hammers and mallets plied, Till after many a week, at length, Wonderful for form and strength, Sublime in its enormous bulk, Loomed aloft the shadowy hulk! And around it columns of smoke, up-wreathing. Rose from the boiling, bubbling, seething Caldron, that glowed, And overflowed With the black tar, heated for the sheathing. And amid the clamors Of clattering hammers, He who listened heard now and then The song of the Master and his men:-- "Build me straight, O worthy Master. Stanch and strong, a goodly vessel, That shall laugh at all disaster, And with wave and whirlwind wrestle!" With oaken brace and copper band, Lay the rudder on the sand, That, like a thought, should have control Over the movement of the whole; And near it the anchor, whose giant hand Would reach down and grapple with the land, And immovable and fast Hold the great ship against the bellowing blast! And at the bows an image stood, By a cunning artist carved in wood, With robes of white, that far behind Seemed to be fluttering in the wind. It was not shaped in a classic mould, Not like a Nymph or Goddess of old, Or Naiad rising from the water, But modelled from the Master's daughter! On many a dreary and misty night, 'T will be seen by the rays of the signal light, Speeding along through the rain and the dark, Like a ghost in its snow-white sark, The pilot of some phantom bark, Guiding the vessel, in its flight, By a path none other knows aright! Behold, at last, Each tall and tapering mast Is swung into its place; Shrouds and stays Holding it firm and fast! Long ago, In the deer-haunted forests of Maine, When upon mountain and plain Lay the snow, They fell,--those lordly pines! Those grand, majestic pines! 'Mid shouts and cheers The jaded steers, Panting beneath the goad, Dragged down the weary, winding road Those captive kings so straight and tall, To be shorn of their streaming hair, And, naked and bare, To feel the stress and the strain Of the wind and the reeling main, Whose roar Would remind them forevermore Of their native forests they should not see again. And everywhere The slender, graceful spars Poise aloft in the air, And at the mast-head, White, blue, and red, A flag unrolls the stripes and stars. Ah! when the wanderer, lonely, friendless, In foreign harbors shall behold That flag unrolled, 'T will be as a friendly hand Stretched out from his native land, Filling his heart with memories sweet and endless! All is finished! and at length Has come the bridal day Of beauty and of strength. To-day the vessel shall be launched! With fleecy clouds the sky is blanched, And o'er the bay, Slowly, in all his splendors dight, The great sun rises to behold the sight. The ocean old, Centuries old, Strong as youth, and as uncontrolled, Paces restless to and fro, Up and down the sands of gold. His beating heart is not at rest; And far and wide, With ceaseless flow, His beard of snow Heaves with the heaving of his breast. He waits impatient for his bride. There she stands, With her foot upon the sands, Decked with flags and streamers gay, In honor of her marriage day, Her snow-white signals fluttering, blending, Round her like a veil descending, Ready to be The bride of the gray old sea. On the deck another bride Is standing by her lover's side. Shadows from the flags and shrouds, Like the shadows cast by clouds, Broken by many a sunny fleck, Fall around them on the deck. The prayer is said, The service read, The joyous bridegroom bows his head; And in tear's the good old Master Shakes the brown hand of his son, Kisses his daughter's glowing cheek In silence, for he cannot speak, And ever faster Down his own the tears begin to run. The worthy pastor-- The shepherd of that wandering flock, That has the ocean for its wold, That has the vessel for its fold, Leaping ever from rock to rock-- Spake, with accents mild and clear, Words of warning, words of cheer, But tedious to the bridegroom's ear. He knew the chart Of the sailor's heart, All its pleasures and its griefs, All its shallows and rocky reefs, All those secret currents, that flow With such resistless undertow, And lift and drift, with terrible force, The will from its moorings and its course. Therefore he spake, and thus said he:-- "Like unto ships far off at sea, Outward or homeward bound, are we. Before, behind, and all around, Floats and swings the horizon's bound, Seems at its distant rim to rise And climb the crystal wall of the skies, And then again to turn and sink, As if we could slide from its outer brink. Ah! it is not the sea, It is not the sea that sinks and shelves, But ourselves That rock and rise With endless and uneasy motion, Now touching the very skies, Now sinking into the depths of ocean. Ah! if our souls but poise and swing Like the compass in its brazen ring, Ever level and ever true To the toil and the task we have to do, We shall sail securely, and safely reach The Fortunate Isles, on whose shining beach The sights we see, and the sounds we hear, Will he those of joy and not of fear!" Then the Master, With a gesture of command, Waved his hand; And at the word, Loud and sudden there was heard, All around them and below, The sound of hammers, blow on blow, Knocking away the shores and spurs. And see! she stirs! She starts,--she moves,--she seems to feel The thrill of life along her keel, And, spurning with her foot the ground, With one exulting, joyous bound, She leaps into the ocean's arms! And lo! from the assembled crowd There rose a shout, prolonged and loud, That to the ocean seemed to say, "Take her, O bridegroom, old and gray, Take her to thy protecting arms, With all her youth and all her charms!" How beautiful she is! How fair She lies within those arms, that press Her form with many a soft caress Of tenderness and watchful care! Sail forth into the sea, O ship! Through wind and wave, right onward steer! The moistened eye, the trembling lip, Are not the signs of doubt or fear. Sail forth into the sea of life, O gentle, loving, trusting wife, And safe from all adversity Upon the bosom of that sea Thy comings and thy goings be! For gentleness and love and trust Prevail o'er angry wave and gust; And in the wreck of noble lives Something immortal still survives! Thou, too, sail on, O Ship of State! Sail on, O UNION, strong and great! Humanity with all its fears, With all the hopes of future years, Is hanging breathless on thy fate! We know what Master laid thy keel, What Workmen wrought thy ribs of steel, Who made each mast, and sail, and rope, What anvils rang, what hammers beat, In what a forge and what a heat Were shaped the anchors of thy hope! Fear not each sudden sound and shock, 'T is of the wave and not the rock; 'T is but the flapping of the sail, And not a rent made by the gale! In spite of rock and tempest's roar, In spite of false lights on the shore, Sail on, nor fear to breast the sea Our hearts, our hopes, are all with thee, Our hearts, our hopes, our prayers, our tears, Our faith triumphant o'er our fears, Are all with thee,--are all with thee!

Lucky, here is my email- talesofthesevenseas@hotmail.com Drop me a line and I'll fill you in on all our piratical adventures we have on the horizon!!

Actually I was born and raised in San Jose CA, but was an avid horsewoman for many years, so I spent all my days out running in the woods and fields of the surrounding foothills. I went through some tough years where I lived hand-to-mouth as a single mom in run-down apartment complexes and a trailer park. When I finally worked myself to the position where I could afford to buy a home, I knew where I wanted to live. I bought my house in the Santa Cruz mountains just about 4 years ago and I'm still totally in awe of the forest I live in. It's kind of a funny thing- my deed says that I "own" the redwoods on my land, but somehow I feel more like I am just their caretaker. :) When I have visitors come from out of state, I always suggest that they go and give one of the trees a hug, just so that they can say they came home from vacation "a tree-hugging hippie!!!"