hurricane

Love that one, Cascabel. Danged funny and apropos.

Be sure to pack your rain gear. 30% chance of rain today 50% Saturday 70% Sunday with thunderstorms http://www.weather.com/weather/weekend/USFL0433

Well Rover doesn't make much sense since there is a Land Rover that's been on the market for decades and people call it Rover for short. So I think you're stuck with the other, unless you want people to think you're talking about your Land Rover instead. Unfortunately, beyond that I've never gave my cars decent names, except for the Green Monster and Pos (Piece of Sh**). So I'm probably not much help since I don't like cars.

It was wrecked before he reached Panama. Without the ship's bell or a name tag with Henry Morgan on it, proving it was indeed his ship as opposed to the others that were wrecked is difficult at best. As I said, want to see his cannon? Go to Port Royal, walk through the gate, turn right, head to the wall. They're right there.

You can see three of his cannon at Fort Charles in Port Royal. They were salvaged when he ran his ship aground at Ile a Vache (Cow Island). The search for the cannon in the Chagres has been going on for some time. Morgan actually had sent three ships into the river before his own raid, then the Satisfaction. Three or four ships followed and were lost along with the Satisfaction. So it could be any one of the ships and I doubt Morgan really cared. He had a habit of losing ships, especially his flagships - he lost three all told to poor navigation and seamanship. Here's one of the cannon being raised. http://www.pasthorizons.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/02/raising.jpg It's always nice to find remnants of the past, but I don't think it's anymore earthshaking than the ones sitting at Port Royal that have been traced to the Cow Island incident when he lost the Merchant.

That is a good point, Mission. I would imagine most pirates lied about how successful they were, after all, men tend to do that. I can see in the bar, two pirates, one bragging he had taken 10 ships and the other coming back with, well, I took 20. Before you know it the numbers are total lies and it becomes legend. I certainly wouldn't keep a written record, or it would lead me directly to the hangman's noose. Yet if I was in port, I would take the credit for the loss of any ship at sea mentioned, even if it had been lost to a storm or bad navigation.

I would totally disagree. Having read everything I could get my hands on regarding his life, I think he was very loyal to his country in addition to his self interests. He was probably the most brilliant military mind of his time as well. Every person on earth is self-serving in some regard. Even those who sacrifice in the name of helping others can be seen as serving their own interests. Morgan's efforts to keep the Spanish from invading and retaking Jamaica is well established, from his efforts to build up the fortifications in the harbor to his attacks on their towns to disrupt commerce and military endeavors. Because of these exploits, Spain was forever caught off guard, which is a basic military tactic. I think a lot of Alexandre Exquemelin's version of his exploits are tainted by sour grapes. A medical man not be allowed on the front lines, but left back in the action to tend to the wounded. No commander in his right mind would let him in be up in the action. So I take some (not all) of his remarks about Morgan in that light, second hand stories vs. first hand observation. Other works I have come across, including those in the archives of Jamaica, tell a far different story about his time in the Caribbean.

Morgan was a terrible sailor... I believe he wrecked three of his ships during his lifetime, including his flagship. But a brilliant commander on land. Guess we can't be good at everything. :)

I'd have to agree, Foxe, though Henry Jennings is a personal favorite since I live a couple miles from the salvage camp he raided after the Plate Fleet sank. And yes, I really can't put Morgan down as a true pirate - he was fiercely loyal to the crown and while the Spanish branded him a pirate, he did have commissions, however dubious they may have been.

I think part of the reason he would be right up there is because when most people talk about pirates, they talk about seizing and sacking towns, sailing in armadas of pirate ships, attacking other ships directly rather than using wile, ship to ship battles, holding hostages captive for ransom, being welcomed back into town as a hero... the popular lore that surrounds pirates today. And yes, he did play loose with his commissions didn't he? I think that's why I like him so.

If you're going back to buccaneer times I think it would slam dunk have to be Admiral Henry Morgan. Against Panama he had an army said to be 1,200 under his command and an armada of ships. Many of his tactics were revolutionary at the time and his successful record of attacking Spanish towns and shipping is mainly what prevented the Spanish from ever successfully attacking Jamaica and helped contribute to the country's eventual insolvency (don't quote me on all this as I'm at work and don't have time to cross check the exactitudes). As an aside, while looking for some of this information I came across a thesis written for a Masters in Military Science that was written in 2009 about how his tactics and his leadership should still be used as a model in today's army. Can't wait to read it. Reading it I came across this in the thesis: Morgan’s move was well over sixty miles, and he did it over a nine day period. Given the time Morgan took, the distance does not appear to be much, but the terrain Morgan faced was the real challenge. An average light infantry unit in the US Army today would have a difficult time covering this distance through the jungle. A company of one hundred infantry soldiers would most likely not all make it.15 The effects of the heat alone would stop several soldiers from making the move. Interesting, since this comes from an officer's point of view in the current army.

I just stumbled on that site. It's a was a great find. Bo, they'll never get rid of us old farts here. :)

Haven't missed much. Been haunting posts occasionally but it seems like almost everything's been said. A lot of the new posts are repeated themes (Hey, GoF, did pirates where bucket boots?) . Especially in some of the main topics.

This is on their site: June 24-27 The 3rd Annual Pyrate Fest weekend at the Bay Pyrates invade Put-in-Bay's downtown harbor Friday at 4 p.m. to open the 2011 Put-in-Bay Pirate Fest. Saturday has a Pirate Parade and Costume Contest for kids and adults, Pyrate marketplace and displays, A Kids fun fest and black powdr firing demonstrations. Monday is the infamous Cardboard Boat Races at 6 p.m. in the downtown harbor. Reenactors demonstrate sword fighting techniques and the art of skullduggary. Official Lodging headquarters are the Put-in-Bay Resort & Conference Center and the Bay Lodging Resort for reservations call 1-888-742-7829

Of course, when you call him he'll realize it was a horrible mistake and assure you it won't happen again. I know what you mean about the different markets. Mine (freelancing) was horrible last year and is just showing signs of recovery right now. Usually it goes like gang busters in a downturn since people need work done that used to be done by staff. But not this go around. Good luck sir and glad you weren't snow bound for too long. The option to go somewhere even if you don't is a nice one to have.

Bo, I feel that this year will be a good one for many of us. I send my good vibes your way in the hopes you find the jobs of your dreams and can do the many things on your 'to do' list that had to be postponed. I know many of my friends who are beginning to experience good fortunes again and I wish that for you and your family, too. Good things happen to good people, sir! And you are very good people.

I won't lord good weather over anyone here. Because then you'll have every right to laugh at us when another hurricane smacks us and send us scurrying for safety. Suffice it to say that I have been through some nasty storms when I lived in the Northwest and I feel for all of you. It's no fun when the power is out or when you have to travel through ice and snow just to make a living or get some food. It's definitely no fun shoveling the walk or driveway or having some uninsured idiot slide into your car. We can all laugh down here, but some of us realize the difficulties of making it through another day in snow, ice and wind. Good luck all. Stay warm, don't take unnecessary chances and know that with all things, this too shall pass.

I understand your plight. Doing true buccaneer is hard because to do it right, you have to become something few people recognize. They didn't look like pirates. They were primarily soldiers who learned how to hunt in the old style. It is self-limiting, without drifting into stereotypes of even later periods. They didn't look like pirates in even the GAoP sense. At events, it's just the freakish looking people over in the corner, the ones any public stays away from because they 1) don't understand the difference between buccaneers and pirates and 2) it doesn't look very appealing. These guys lived hard lives. When on campaign they marched for miles through dense jungle. They killed and ate what they found along the way. They were filthy, their clothes bloodstained. They may wear the same thing for a year or more (I know I'm generalizing, but I really don't want to get off my arse and dig up the books on Morgan right now). Patrick, you've done it the best I've seen. But ultimately, you have to ask yourself if it's fun for you. That's really why all of us do this, regardless of interpretation - from line towing re-enactment and getting the perfect kit to being the flamboyant stereotype kids love. It has to be fun, otherwise there's absolutely no point in spending your time, money and creative juices on it. So, in short, find what jazzes you. Quite frankly, I'm increasingly drawn to steam punk because it's pure fantasy with no one able to say, "that's incorrect, they never would have done it that way." There was no "that way" in it. That alone has some appeal. Good luck, fair winds and you'll figure it all out. You've come such a long way from the first time I met you at PiP.

Have faith WTF. My niece was diagnosed with leukemia in 1974 when she was 2. She is now 36 and just fine. They have even more effective treatments now than they did then so take one day at a time. Carina is a testament to the power of medicine and prayer at times like these. Mine are with you and your family.

Sorry, Pirates at the Pier tomorrow and I have to wrangle some of the crewe. Have a great time WW! We'll miss you!

What makes a pirate? Self-employment vs. unemployment.

Chrispy, you took the words right out of my mouth (which is very hard to do). Not a place for we casual gun types.

I think Mr. Foxe led the way in surrendering to the fact that people did wear earrings. I think the issue is whether it was the fashion of seamen, thereby commonplace, or simply someone's individual preferences, much as it is today. I would think the latter is the most likely. It was the larger attempt to justify it as a standard issue of seamen and therefore pirates, to accent their fetching eyepatch, parrot and pegleg. As for the parrot, when someone asks me where it is, I simply respond, "We ate it," given that buccaneers considered it quite tasty.

Great, now a battle starts on this site to see who will be the Skipper, Gilligan and the rest.

And for a moment, the world stops on its axis, for even it is unsure why this is so.