Bilgemunky

That's a really good point about the cannons. I'll have to submit a suggestion next meeting that we arm her proper

So I've started me training aboard the great lakes schooner, The Denis Sullivan. In eight short weeks I'll be fully qualified to swab decks and mend sails aboard this mighty freshwater vessel. Actually, as someone who's lived on or near the ocean for most 'is life, I've always been a little hesitant to give much respect to something so "tiny" as a lake. Gimme the salt air and giant squids. Still, some of my prejudices have been squelched - For example, I now know that if a ship sinks in the middle of Lake Michigan, it is NOT possible to simply roll up your pant legs and walk to shore 'Ere's a pic of the Sullivan:

I thought the whole point of this site was to get AWAY from scurvy landlubbers

I can't comment on how it was then, but I know first-hand how it is now. If sailors onboard pirate ships were anything like modern sailors, then such an openly gay culture would have a great deal of difficulty getting itself established. Any two shipmates wishing to partake in each other's "company" would take great cautions to keep from getting discovered for fear of meeting with a nasty "accident." But see, now comes the funny part - sailors take a great deal of amusement in making each other uncomfortable, and nothing makes a straight man more uncomfortable than homosexual advances. To my knowledge this sort of game never approached actual sex (by even the loosest standards,) but I have witnessed perfectly straight sailors hugging, kissing, sitting on each others' laps, and even inspecting each other privates, all for the purpose of making the new guys uncomfortable. The easiest was to be accused of being gay was by demonstrating so little confidence in your sexuality that homosexuality would make you uncomfortable. But don't you dare be SO comfortable as to ACTUALLY be comfortable, cuz nobody really means it, its just to mess with your head. How's that for confusing?

Thanks for the tip, Redbeard. For all us web-junkies out there, I looked up their web address. You can view them at www.armourclass.co.uk. :)

For my own part, I grew up around the sea, my father bein' a respected officer in the King's Navy. When I was old enough, I attempted to follow suit by signing aboard the USS Enterprise, but found the atmosphere not much to my liking - too many rules and not enough grog. I considered commandeering the vessel for m'self, but instead opted for the more discreet option of working off my time until I could purchase my freedom. Since then I've been biding my time; honing my fencing, wenching, and rumming skills to a razor's edge

"The Princess Bride" was recently mentioned in the Pirate Film thread, and as a novice student of fencing, this got me wundrin' - What other movies have truly remarkable fencing scenes? I've heard rumor that the French film "Le Viol du Vampire" actually has a semi-nude fencing scene, which must be quite the sight, but I've yet to confirm the rumor for m'self. So what are other contenders might anyone for greatest fencing scene?

Personally, I'm a HUGE fan of Roman Polanski's Pirates. To me, Captain Red is the perfect pirate stereotype, with his pegleg and ability to butcher the english language while interjecting pirate slang. It takes a lot for a actor to portray a believable cliche, but Walter Matthau pulls it off admirably. Combine this with his absolutely humorless sidekick, the Frog, and the completely pompus Don Alfonso, and this movie is just a blast to watch. Just my 2 cents.

I just noticed that Museum Replicas has a second cutlass on their website that's not in their paper catalog. It's a dutch cutlass, is supposed to be battle ready (like all their stuff,) and is only priced at $169 - which is pretty good for a functional sword. Here's the link, if you're interested.

Hey Dan! Any chance you have a text version of the Artikles that you could share? Jpegs can be pains in the butts sometimes.

I'm tired of hearing the neighbors belly-achin', so I needs me some proper seaman's slops. Anyone know where I can get a good pattern? What I'd like are some nice wide slops, complete with a drop front. Actually, I quite like the pair available here, but don't like that they're a poly cotton blend. So patterns? Anybody?

Y'know, I've had a similar concern. Museum Replicas makes some gorgeous stuff, but who makes a battle-ready, rough'n'ready pirate sword? Museum Replica's cutlass is was too fancy for your average scalliwag. Inexpensive would be nice, too.

Does it work yet? From my computer it seems to be locked, so I assumed it was still under construction.

Cuz that'd be just silly.

Are you afraid people will post lots and lots of crummy posts? Just to pad their rankings?

What wrong Jamaica?

Do we have to sign in blood? And if so, how exactly do we do that online?

I'm working on a pirate party m'self and have come up with a few ideas. First, I went to a craft store and bought up a whole mess of used fishing net (yeah, they actually sell that at Michaels.) I'll be hanging that from the bulkhead and filling it with starfish, bos'n's whistles, glass floats, and the like. I also picked up a cheap-o ship's wheel, which I stained, affixed candles, and lashed to the overhead as a chandelier. My goal is to make m'quarters look as much as possible like a shipwreck turned inside out.