TalesOfTheSevenSeas

Click the links below to see video of the Royaliste's new guns in action!! Turn up the speakers and listen to these iron ladies roar!! Port Side Fires! Pardon that I am learning to drive my new camera and didn't realize that you can't shoot lengthwise video! Starboard Gun Blazes!! Big Blast From the Starboard Side!

My favorite book for the little pirates is "Edward and the Pirates" It is perfect reading at the library, because it involves a little boy who has to protect his library book from pirates!!

As to how many pirates we have- please see the link below for an accurate explaination. We have pirates who participate in partnership with other groups and active pirates who participate from out of state as well as locally and in southern CA. Pirates on Account at Tales of the Seven Seas We sail with the Royaliste out of San Francisco We also work with other tall ships that visit San Francisco, usually bringing guests in off the streets to visit the ships. We do several parades throughout the course of the year and a several festivals and faires. We do volunteer work and fund raisers for charitable organizations. I do pirate history presentations for adult groups, convalescent homes and public libraries. I also do children's pirate storytime readings for public libraries. We do special events, such as the Pirates of the Caribbean media premiere in the south bay area. We do scripted skits that are always humorous, and can include anything from a drenching with a bucket of water to choreographed sword fights and blackpowder flintlocks. We do a lot of ad-lib on the fly as well and have a good time wherever we go.

*sob!* *choke!* *snivel-snivel-sniff-sniff!* *sob!* That be one o' the saddest tales o' fun sabotage I ever heard of! That is terrible!! But you know it's never too late to start a pirate guild. If you're serious about putting one together let me know, I am guessing that some of our people who are out your way would love to have another guild to go to events that are closer to home. And I can tell you one thing... you DON'T need ren faires to run a pirate guild! We do just wonderfully participating in parades, festivals and other types of events. I actally had a guy come up to me at a California Independent Renaissance Guild Association seminar as I was packing up at the end of the weekend. He looked down his nose at me and said: "You know... if YOUR guys had ever really met MY guys, My guys would have cut YOUR guy's heads off on the spot. So how can your people and my people POSSIBLY attend the same events?" I loosely translated that to mean "Leave we don't want you here" so I did leave, and with no regrets, because that's not the kind of people I wanted to be around. If nothing else, the experience made me determined that Tales of the Seven Seas would not be pushed to choose an era, to adopt rigid costuming requirements and that we'd keep it fun. No regrets and nothin' but fun and good times on the horizon!! ARRRRRRR!!!

Fer all o' yezz that are addicted to gunpowder, this place should strike yer fancy... www.cannon-mania.com

Here's a pretty flashy frock coat on Ebay that is up for bid or you can buy it now for $129 Click here mates

Baptiste m'dear, I did not mean to unleash a tirade of anti-authenticity on you- please bear with us here... Historic pirates were black sheep in their own time, and those of us who choose to portray piracy seem to be destined to follow the same path as those we portray, when it comes to circles of reenactors. In general, reenactors of other genres are very harsh on people who portray pirates, unless it jives with their particular era and their particular expertise. Even then, we are tolerated at best. They don't seem to grasp that piracy dates back to the earliest days of record and if we wanted to... we could be ROMAN pirates in bloody togas if it damn well pleased us, fer criminey sakes! I'm beginning to realize that a lot of us here besides myself, have taken some hard knocks from Nazis. An authenticity Nazi doesn't care who he hurts. All he/she cares about is that the rest of the world adapts to their version of history. Since truly accurate pirate reenactments would likely involve promoting and glorifying terrorism, murder and torture, I think it is important to remember that in addition to overlooking things like that and having tarred hair and not bathing for months, not to mention lighting people on fire, (I save that for when I give adult pirate history talks!) that we are portraying piracy from a modern perspective- one that is a few generations removed from reality. Our ancestors would likely have been no more receptive to pirate reenactors than we would be to terrorist reenactors. Pirates have been reshaped from terrorists of the high seas- to colorful and flamboyant rogues by popular culture. We allow ourselves a certain level of creative freedom with our characters because the real pirates weren't fun and they weren't entertaining. We can see terrorists on CNN any time. What people want to see is some version of reality, not the real thing. Most of us do study our pirate history quite thoroughly and it is as much a mix of contradictions, fables and facts now as it was then. I hope this has helped to explain why we're a little touchy when it comes to Nazism. Because when it comes to piracy, historical accuracy just isn't gonna happen unless we take to theft and kidnapping. So speaking for myself, I have a hard time when people try to bully myself or others into adapting to a small corner of it that they understand. As a pirate friend recently said... "Pirates put the FU back in fun!" And that's just what we do. :) (that's your cue to grab a cutlass and join in the FUn!!!!)

I said we were still discussing brandin' me backside... but I didn't specify whether or not the infamous double RR's were or were not already tattoo'd where the sun don't shine!!!

That would be me... I'd be happy to talk to you! I'll try to give you a call tomorrow afternoon if I can get a free moment from work. Or, feel free to email me at talesofthesevenseas@hotmail.com I started 7C's a year ago and we've had a very good year. Far beyond what I expected. I'd be happy to share what worked for us. -Claire

Thanks Casabel, I'll do that! So far the Queen Anne has been firing nicely. I had a few misfires when one of the two flints I got with it was too long for it, but I put in the other flint which was slightly shorter and it has functioned very well so far. I've been borrowing Royaliste's touch-hole pick, but I'll get one of my own. I was wondering if after using a pick during cleaining, if a small pipe cleaner might be an additional way to keep the touch hole clear? (not sure if they come that small) It was my husband's Harper's Ferry that had trouble with clogging up... in cleaning it he used far too much fluid and the touch hole was packed with wet sludge. As you said, the pick cleared it along, with some helpful advice from Royaliste to go easy on the cleaning fluid next time and also a couple of times of firing it with just the pan primed and no charge inside to dry it out through the touch hole. We're learnin' slowly but surely. My husband has extensive experience with modern guns, but this is his first time with either black powder or flintlocks of any type, so it's a whole different ball game.

Ah, the fringe benefits that come from having "Royaliste" burned into me backside!! Ah... Ok... well... I admit, we're still in the discussion stage on that one!!

I think you're right Casabel, I also had a talk with The Royaliste about this this weekend and I think my jag is too big, despite what the packaging says!! Saber (my hubby) got a nice, easy to use cleaning device that so far I like better than the jag. It is a loop that the cleaning patch goes through. Although I can see how the jag would clean more thoroughly once you get the hang of doing it with the continual twisting in the right direction. So I'll have to experiment with a few attachments.

Great! We'll have a crowd from the Pyracy Pub on hand!!

I must also add that the Royaliste's captain has shown infinite patience with us as we've struggled, quite literally, to "learn the ropes". The first time he shouted "fend off!!" I blinked at him like a blonde deer in the headlights until someone translated it to "stick your legs over the side and push off the logs of the sea wall!" Just absorbing the terminology of a historic vessel is a task and it's been a pleasure to sail under a captain so willing to share his knowledge and experience and at the same time be patient, fun and good-hearted. ...Especially when we flopped about his deck uselessly, like fish out of water. But he is a captain who can recognize the fish that want to learn. So a hearty toast to the Captain!

As one who has sailed with the Royaliste on more than one adventure, I give my highest recommendation to the Royaliste. Not only is she a fabulous ship that is a joy to sail on, but her captain is a great guy who is just plain fun to hang out with, on or off his ship. He's been both kind and generous in sharing his ship/home with us in a way that few people are. ...And since ye' be in the bay area lad, do check out Tales of the Seven Seas if you are interested in an easy-going pirate guild- perhaps as a second group to be involved with, one that your group would enjoy partnering with on an event, or just to hook up with now and then for fun when an event strikes your fancy. www.talesofthesevenseas.com And now for my 2 shillings worth on costuming Nazis... I always make it clear to people who become involved with Tales of the Seven Seas that we welcome both historically accurate pirates as well as "storybook" pirates, as the costuming is often easier to recognize. We don't portray a single era in history either. We like to keep it fun, pleasant and easy going. Why? Because I don't need our pirates to please other reenactors. I need our pirates to have a look that will sparkle the eyes of little kids and give them something that was so exciting, that they will remember it when they are old. And I need them to put a smile on the face of everyone we meet, whether they are 9 or 90. That takes having costuming that makes us instantly recognizable as pirates. The second reason is that I have seen costuming Nazis be cruel and hurtful for the sake of historical accuracy which may or may not be correct. I've also seen them arrogantly spouting misinformation about piracy, because they didn't cover a broad enough spectrum in their studies to realize that pirates DID dress much like the fictional Captain Hook when they went ashore to emulate the clothing of wealthy merchants. (Info from Dr David Cordingly) And that some of them dressed flamboyantly when going into battle as well (exa: historic documentation on the dress of Bartholomew Roberts and Edward Teach aka Blackbeard) and that there are many options to choose from when portraying piracy. The third reason is that I do not believe that women should be limited to sitting on their butts in an encampment, cooking and cleaning or at the very best, prostituting, while the guys are out having all the fun with and pleasing the crowd, blasting each other. We girls like gunpowder too!!! Arrrrrrrr!!! Enough women pirated, aided pirates and led fleets of pirates that although there were not many of them, we like to portray them in a variety of ways, either as wenches or dressed in male pirate clothing and we never limit them to mundane roles- crowds love a feisty wench with a ready sword and a smoking flintlock! There! My two shillings worth!! *jumps down off of her soapbox and looks for something to blast the hell out of now that she is good and riled up!!*

*nods enthusiastically with one hand clapped over mouth* *gives thumbs up with other hand* *rolls eyes imagining the surgical procedure that went on!*

My faves are "Gone with the Wind", "Amadeus", "Gladiator" and of course "Pirates of the Caribbean". Talk about a funny mix of history, eh? Of the old pirate flicks, my favorite is "The Seahawk" with Errol Flynn. And if you want a good one to see that just came out, don't miss "Open Range" with Kevin Costner. It's excellent!!

Aye-aye Cap'n! *zips lips*

If I can make two suggestions for finding a pirate guild- First, check the list of crews to sign on with at No Quarter Given. http://www.noquartergiven.net/crews.htm I had the same problem when I tried to locate a pirate guild in northern CA. They were either all in southern CA, or they had died out. (later I did find one very small, strictly renaissance era pirate guild) Being that there were no groups to join here, I had two choices- don't pirate or start my own. So I started my own. I had never taken on anything like this before. I was very fortunate to meet a terrific lady at the Pirate Faire who encouraged me to go for it and took me under her wing as a mentor. When I had questions I emailed her and she helped me get the guild through it's start-up phase and in taking it's first steps. It took off like gangbusters mates. Exceeded my wildest expectations tenfold. That's the beauty of starting up a guild in an area where there isn't one... Ye' be the only pirate game in town!! There has never been a better time to start a guild than now, what with the current popularity of pirates after Pirates of the Caribbean. I promised myself that one day, if I met someone interested in starting up a guild, that I would help them along as my pirate mentor helped me-So if you're thinking about starting your own, I'd like to give you my encouragement to do so and also to offer my help if you would like it. You're welcome to email me at talesofthesevenseas@hotmail.com

It was actually learning that Keith Richards was the inspiration for the style of Jack Sparrow, that made me think... "Gee! What a great bit of trivia! Hey! I should make a trivia quiz out of this!" But on the other hand, I do sympathsize with the comment that not everyone who has seen the movie would have been exposed to the interview and that same line of thinking would also apply to the question about when the ride opened. I titled it Pirates of the Caribbean Trivia Quiz and didn't specify movie trivia only.... I would greatly appreciate other comments so that I can make this a fun and enjoyable quiz to take. If we can get a good conscensus of what people feel is best, I'll be glad to adjust it to what the overall majority feels makes it the best it can be.

Question... I went to buy a brush for cleaning my Queen Anne and they were out of the .50 caliber size. So the sales guy gave me a jag attachment to use with a rod and pads for cleaning the barrel. I don't get it... there is nothing to keep the pad on the jag when you withdraw the rod- no spike, nothing screws off and the jag fits so tightly, that when the pad is over it, it doesn't fit in the barrel. Hmmmm... I'm glad it was only a $2.50 item. Can someone clue me in if I am doing something blonde? I see no means of attaching a pad to it. Additionally, I just purchased two leather holsters from Dixie Gunworks. Thanks for the reference! I'll let you guys know what I think when they arrive and how they look with a coat of dark black polish!

Do you want me to pirates for either day of the attack? (aug 30 & 31)

Cap'n, The firing on the Californian is the weekend before we work on the pier.... so if ye' could be so kind as to leave a weeeeeeeeeee bit o' wreckage for the tourists to examine, I'm sure that the camera clickers would be ever so grateful!!

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Tales of the Seven Seas will be working in conjunction with Sail San Francisco, to welcome the tall ship "The Californian" to Oakland CA at Jack London Square on Sept 6th and 7th. We are always happy to have pirates join us! Either individuals or entire guilds. The more the merrier!! Our pirates are scheduled to be on the pier, meeting and greeting visitors, bringing passersby to the ship, providing basic information on the ship, passing out treasure coins to the kids and entertaining crowds with random acts of mayhem and senseless acts of piracy! Piratical acts might include: Being accused of notorious and heinous crimes then locked in our new jail cell! Running across the pier with a feisty wench flung over your shoulder! Drenching or being drenched with a bucket of water! Being chased by pirates! Firing a flintlock! (approval pending on this one) Acting out a dramatic death scene with a sword under your arm! Stumbling about drunkenly with a whisky keg under one arm and a tankard in your hand! Or simply provide piratical color by being there in costume. If you would like to attend one or both days, please respond, so that I'll know how many pirates we'll have on hand. As always, loaner costumes and props are available if you need them. Come join us for fun and piracy and take walk around the decks of this beautirul ship!! Info on the Californian Please email me with any questions talesofthesevenseas@hotmail.com