TalesOfTheSevenSeas

This just in this morning from one of the Rangers at Angel Islands "Hi Claire, I wanted to thank you again for participating in the Artillery Battle event this year. I was on shore both days and observed the battle...it was great! Please give my thanks to your captain, crew, and musicians aboard the Royalist. The drum and fife were a terrific effect and clearly audible on shore. We also look forward to working with you on future events."

Aye in the hospital I were!! It be nigh on 17 years now an' I remember it like it were yesterday... A gruelling 5 hour voyage it were! I began the voyage by getting splashed by a great wave!!!! (I'll let you figure out the details on yer own mates!) Then I became seasick wretchedly seasick... (Me doctor said I were in false labor and to drink a glass of wine. Being a pirate, I drank not only a glass, but an entire bottle of Mateuse because one glass didn't work and it freakin' hurt like hell. Then I topped it all off with a chocolate sundae from Baskin Robbins which did naught to ease the pain. Aye, woefully seasick I were!!) Soon the current grew stronger n' stronger!! This was marked by so much shoutin' and swearin' from me, that the ship's surgeon told me to hush meself that enough were enough! (true story mates, true story!!) Finally, the voyage came to an end when I were greeted by a wee lil' pirate, who had apparently had a long voyage and drank too much rum.. for he promptly tinkled on the nurses the moment he arrived in port!! So there ye have it- Me story an' all it's many wonders. As to where of it all , I made birth in San Jose CA at Good Samaritan Hospital. I make berth with the Royaliste in Sausalito an' me home port be in the Santa Cruz mountains.

Thanks Redd! OK here they are- I'm due to get a CD in the mail from Rod, which has the photos taken on the deck of the ship, so I'm waiting until I have those before the CW page is emailed out to the masses, but here's a preview... The Great Battle of 'O4

No worries, I'll be meeting up with you at the dock when you arrive in Redwood City on the afternoon/evening of the 3rd and Bob and I were planning to be overnight aboard. Just let me know what you would like me to do- and consider it done! Since I'll be on land, I can be there to assist with dock lines. We should coordinate via cell phone. I also need to make a trip out to see F-dock ahead of time. I believe you said you and Raul were going also to look at it? It might be good if Bob and I were able to meet you when you both come out. Fill me in on what else you'd like me to do during the fireworks. So far (and this is flexible) my plan is to leave you with a small crew from morning to 5pm on the 4th, as they do not expect too many people before then. You should need just a couple pirates to help with ship sitting and answer questions of anyone who comes down to see the ship. At 5pm I'll bring the whole gang over from the encampment at the festival, when crowds are expected to move to the port for fireworks. We're expected to be busiest at the ship from 7pm until we move Royaliste away from the dock for the fireworks. From 5pm on, we'll likely need every available pirate to greet guests and limit the number of guests on the dock at any one time. I'm guessing they worked out a gameplan about when to move the ship into position for the fireworks, right? Since we'll have to move the ship off the dock for the firings. Let me know what if anything needs to be changed from what I have above. The Royaliste is the crown jewel of this event and whatever she needs of the pirates is the #1 priority. All other plans can be adjusted.

WOOOOOOOOOOOOHOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!!!!! Red white and blue cannonfire to the William Tell Overture?!!! AWESOME!!!!!!!!! *dancing on tip-toe* Can't wait! can't wait! can't wait!!!

Congratulations!! A fine day to be born on! I was born on me own father's birthday and it were always a special thing, that.

More photos are up on our website- Click the link below, then photos, then Carnaval San Francisco 2004

That all sounds great. All that I bolt to know is metal plumber's tape striping that is bolted to the trailer. It's the shape of the panels that kinda make it all work. Iron Jack- Great call on using "Great Stuff" foam insulation as sea foam on the top of the skirting. It's out drying in the back yard now- Looks great!!

Yes please! After the 4th of July parade, it goes to the Children's Museum at Ft Baker for a few weeks and will be out in front of the museum promoting the exhibit, (the kids get to press the button and make the fog cannons smoke, LOL) but after that would be a great time since it is close by you and we have no parades for quite a while. Maybe we could design a better support sytem for the skirting too.

Well, the Land Shark's new skirting is nearly finished! Special thanks are due to Iron Jack, for his donation of the plastic panels for the skirting!! These panels were great to work with. They are the stuff that light-up marquee signs are made of and it cuts easily with just an exacto knife. This enabled me to make the wavey tops I needed on them. I used Krylon spray paint on the panels. It worked great, stuck to the plastic panels beautifully and was dry in minutes! All that is left to is to put cotton batting along the top as sea foam and give the foam and panels a light coat of spray glitter. I'll have photos of the new skirting shortly, when we sail the Land Shark down the streets of Redwood City the 4th of July parade!

Yeah looks like I was climbing up- bloomers rufflin' in the breeze eh?!!

When we're out on the water, ships are constantly pulling up for a closer look at Royaliste. We usually respond according to who is on board- If they look like they are having fun, we shout something like "PREEEEPARE TO BE BOARDED!!" or "GIVE UP YER WOMEN AND YER RUM!!" If there are kids, we get pretty theatrical and will pull out all the swords and give 'em a big 'ARRRRRRRRRRRRRRR!!!" In this photo, we had quite a crowd of boats trying to come watch what was going on. This was just one that came in for a better look at the battle. What blew me away was that when we pulled in along downtown Sausalito, the crowd that was standing at the shore to greet us! They'd watched the whole thing from the far side of the bay and waited for us to come in! Now that was impressive! We hadn't been firing for a good 20 minutes by that time and they were waiting there for us to come by!

Ah what fine deguerrotypes of the Yankees CT Ben! Now we know who the CS Royaliste was a-shootin'! Here are a few of the CS Royaliste and her rebel crew blastin' away for Dixie!!

Oh... and we need to mention that our drummer and fifer were grieveously wounded!!! :)

Would you like to write something up and post it here so everyone can see it, then I'll send it off? *hands the Captain a quill and parchment, along with the sealing wax and the heavy gold seal with the double RR's...*

Ahoy mates.... this letter just arrived by messenger from the enemy!!! I suggest we compose a fitting response, eh? "I wish to congratulate the captain and crew of the Royaliste on their skilled sailing on Saturday and Sunday. Despite the best efforts of my gun crew, You were able to evade all efforts by our gun to dismast or otherwise impede your efforts to carry out the desires of the dastardly secessionist Confederate States. Your shells were very well placed, resulting in injuries to several of my crew, however, Capt. Rogers, our doctor, ensures me that they will all be fit for duty soon, and none of the injuries will be permanent. I look forward to the opportunity to confront you on the field of honor again, and hope that the Benecia Armory will provide more effective ammunition as I know my gun crew put forth maximum effort, and our aim was true. Obviously, the fault must have lain in the poor shells with which we were supplied. Next time, you may not be as fortunate. Until then, may you sail with honor and will have my respect for your skills. Respectfully, Sgt. Scott Foster Chief of the Piece Gun 1 Shneider's Battery 3rd Us Artillery."

The Windsurfing Nationals competition will be celebrating the final leg of the competition in piratical style of Friday, July 16th, 2004 and topping it off with a circus show hosted by the pirates of Tales of the Seven Seas! The day begins with the tall ship Royaliste serving as the committee boat for the race and firing her guns to start the race! Following the race, the racers and their families will be treated to dinner at the St. Francis Yacht Club. This (look closely and you'll see the mast of a sunken ship going through the roof of the building!) Guests will be met at the door by pirates and harrassed by our seafarers throughout the course of their meals! ("Steak? That be landlubber grub!! Order hardtack!!!") The pirates will then commandeer the shuttle busses that take the guests to the site of the main event at Broadway Studios This is a charming old San Francisco venue that used to be a boxing ring back in the 20's. It is an old, Vaudeville style theater with tremendous personality. The show will begin with a very stuffy and formal MC (Privateer Pete) introducing the first act- a violinist by the name of Mary Ellen Lipnicky. (that would be me!) Mary Ellen is a nerd-girl who looks a bit like Mary Catherine Gallagher from SNL. She begins to play the most horrible, squeaking, squawking version of Ode to Joy ever heard! The pirates in the audience will begin to boo, hiss and yell for her expulsion as Mary Ellen saws away... Then whom should enter to save the show? None other than Captain Jack Sparrrrrrow (Ace of Harbor Bay) himself!!! He'll lead the pirates in commandeering the stage and bringing on the REAL show- the Pirates of the Barbary Coast Circus! There will be a strongman, a rope dancer, contortionists and a magician, all introduced by Captain Jack, who weaves a bit of his own magic into the act!! We are always happy to have new pirates join us for our events. This one promises to be a memorable night! Email me at talesofthesevenseas@hotmail.com for more information -Claire aka "Poison Quill" Terror of the Barbary Coast!!

Way cool... this is SO gonna ROCK!!!!!!!!!!!

Like this...

Awesome- my suggestion is not to try to string lights in the rigging but use flood lights pointed upwards. The effect would be far more dramatic and much easier to accomplish, especially if it is windy.

Sounds great! Is it pretty loud? We've currently got speakers that plug into the truck's sound system, but we need to add an amp to boost the sound. In a parade, we pretty much get swamped by the other contingent's music. More sound effects would be great!! Thanks!! I'll drop you an email about it.

Would you like to be on our emailing list for all our events? Just drop me an email at talesofthesevenseas@hotmail.com and I can add you to the list. Let me know if you would like info on just this event or others as well. Are you local to the SF bay area or interested in flying out? (thanks for the info links Ace!)

That looks great in sepia tones! Thanks DP!!

Ahoy mates!! What a weekend on the bay! I hardly know where to begin! Saturday morning, we arrived dressed for action with most of the crew in the garb of Confederate Privateers, Akasha as a captive 'damsel in distress' and me as the 'dockside doxie' in bloomers! We started made our first attack on the fort with the deck guns blazing at 1pm. On shore, ground charges made for an exciting attack- when the Royaliste would fire, on shore, there would be an exposion, with dirt, smoke and Union soldiers flying in all directions! As we made our attack, we got a surprise visit from an old friend- the pilot of one of the WWII Russian fighter planes who attacked us from the air! He made a low, sweeping dive at the Royaliste and tipped his wings to the ship before disappearing over the horizon! The Hawaiian Chieftain arrived at about 3pm and made her attack on the Royaliste! The two ships battled it out in an epic sea battle, with shots being fired from both ships and the cannoneers on shore! Finally, the Confederate ship Royaliste was chased down Raccoon Strait with the Hawaiian Chieftain close behind! More shots were exchanged and the windows in every house in Tiburon were rattling! We then headed for home in Sausalito, ready to do it all over again on Sunday! Sunday morning came far too early for many of our privateers who were out raiding a High School Grad Night until 3am, but the battle crew of the CS Royaliste dragged themselves from thier bunks, drawn by the smell of bacon and eggs! After a well-earned hearty breakfast, we headed out again, thirsty for battle! We were joined on deck by two Civil War sharp shooters, whose rifles joined the guns of the Royaliste in making our final attack on the fort. Once again, the Hawaiian Chieftain arrived to come to the fort's rescue and engage the Royaliste! From my perch in the ships ringing, I had a great view of the smoke, flames and gunfire on all sides, we shouted taunts at the opposition, gave rebel yells and swore revenge when our fifer and drummer where "shot'!!! Following the battle on Sunday, as we came along the Sausalito city front, we were surprised to find a crowd gathered to greet us and we returned their waves as we sailed home! Today, I'm exausted, sunburnt, bruised and achy from hanging on in the rigging all through the battle, but I had one of the best weekends I've ever had in my life!! THREE CHEERS FOR THE ROYALISTE, CAPTAIN AND CREW!!!!!! HIP-HIP HUZZAH!!!!!! HIP-HIP HUZZAH!!!!!! HIP-HIP HUZZAH!!!!!!

Agreed Captain. I think a phone call would be a good idea. They are shifting into high gear and way busy from what he tells me. I'll give you his phone number when we come with the truck tonight.