hurricane

Charlie, you rum sodden little snottie! -- Hurricane

Willie Wobble is actually a member of The Pyrates of the Coast and trained us all in cannon and guns. He's a damned fine cook too, as is Master Studley. He, Hurricane, Diosa, Touche and Master Studley from the pub here had to high tail it back to the home port to keep their masters happy. We tried to stay for the photo but man, an 8 hour drive at 10 at night it murder. Sorry we missed it. The sunrise was nice though as we pulled into port. Won't do that again. Next year we're staying put til morn, then heading up the coast. -- Hurricane

**arms crossed, foot tapping** Ah, wager I will that he did not listen at all! I must profess I was taken up by the storm of salvation that night - especially when I found out there was free sacramental wine and thingies that looked and tasted like hard tack. Could live forever darned near under the reverend's tutelage, I could. I just couldn't promise to be an Altered Boy... -- Hurricane

Yeah, what Fayma said. I learned my lesson this year... -- Hurricane

It's great to have schedules, but remember, this is Key West. 4 can mean 5 (Walk The Plank Championships), 11 can mean 11:30 or so (the Tryal). It's island time there - a rich tradition in the keys and one of its charms. It's the old joke in the Caribbean. Men buy expensive Rolexes on the islands so they can tell how late they are to appointments. Only, it isn't a joke. If you think Key West is bad, go to Jamaica, the Caymans, the Bahamas or Belize once. U.S. watch watching isn't an island way of life. -- Hurricane

Good idea. The fort has a Mary Read and Anne Bonny at the festival already. Perhaps they could start there before heading back to the fort so visitors can take the shuttle back and see them in action. -- Hurricane

Danged funny sir! Spit coffee out me nose this morning... -- Hurricane

Yeah, time just ran out. We were looking forward to putting you through your paces on "Dark Lady". -- Hurricane

I had a great time entertaining on the bus. It's a blast and will definitely volunteer for it next year. -- Hurricane

That's a great design concept Mission. I can see how that would work. -- Hurricane

Two battles would be a blast (pun intended). How about one where the pirates are repelled and a second one that's a sneak attack after they anchor farther down the beach and storm the gates? -- Hurricane

Wow! You can get them a lot cheaper on ebay. We got ours for $149 I think - full size, articulated, the same kind they use in schools but of imperfect quality so they didn't pass muster for classrooms. -- Hurricane

That wouldn't be unusual, I would think, particularly in the early 1700s. I know in Port Royal there were very few British regulars, and it was a British holding as well. The entire army there consisted of local militia 1500 strong. There was no standing army there. -- Hurrciane

I think it's a fine representation. I saw that some of the battle re-enactments don't allow anyone to fall down anymore because children might be upset. Geez, it's history. People died in battles. People were hung. People were stretched on the rack. How the hell do we teach kids history if we sanitize everything. I agree Harry, there's nothing we can do that's worse than children see every day. -- Hurricane

Ah yes, the dress! Smashing! Simply smashing! -- Hurricane

You may want to ask the Bone Islands if there are local sources for them. Shipping wood can get pretty costly, at least if you want debris. I know there are tons of stores down there and I've seen many stacks of pallets around them... -- Hurricane

I liked the scenario this year of bringing the battle into the fort. The cannon being fired was great. I think we can add some stuff in front of it to make it more hidden looking and serve as a place for some of us to hide behind before it's fired for cover. The crowd seemed to really like that part of the show. We certainly had a crowd for it. If we could ever get enough pirates who can shoot we could almost do the same thing with the siege of the fort. One half of the pirates could be firing at us from the water side and a second set could surprise us from behind after knocking down the "gate". Then we would be fighting both sides which would be fun. As far as scripting, I think it worked well this year. People were randomly assigned to fall in the fighting which added to the show. I think the addition of a field hospital under the tent next year that leads into a demonstration of surgery would keep things moving along after the firing subsides. PS: I knew you'd love the cannonball idea, Harry! It would be a grand thing to see! :) -- Hurricane

Those are great ideas! I was going to ask Harry if we can have an actual cannonball demo - fire one off into the harbor to see what one would do... -- Hurricane

True, but the End of Hurricane Party would be on the weekend before. Could the event get stretched out a bit? We shall wait and see. That's going to be the trick. I think Harry and the Bone Island folks are working on that. The End of Hurricane Party is a relatively recent addition to the festival. I think the first time we did it was four years back. It was originally a publicity stunt to get some media coverage for the Keys. We did it a Pepe's the first two times, then moved it to Pier House then to the Mohawk (there was a year in between we were there, so I can say). The biggest challenge is for those flying in on the Thanksgiving weekend. Airfares historically have gone through the roof during that time. But again, that's for others to determine. -- Hurricane

I'd agree about the picnic tables. They seemed a bit out of place in otherwise perfect photos. A first aid kit is essential. We have an EMT on our crewe and he was indispensable at least three times, including treating the one guy injured during the battle. Would never go without a first aid kit again... Looking forward to the tall ship eventually. :) -- Hurricane

Based on the traditional dates, it would be Dec. 4 through 7 next year. It usually starts the week after Thanksgiving, which in 08 is Nov. 27. - Hurricane

I'd want to own and run the Catt & Fiddle in Port Royal between 1674 and 1691. Then I'd want to move the hell out of there (1692 was the big earthquake that sank the city). Otherwise, it would be an endless array of characters coming through their door spending their coin on cheap wine, cheap rum and cheap women. What better life to have than watching the circus go by every day. My stint in our period representation of the actual bar at PiP convinced me of my true vocation for that time. -- Hurricane

That was Charlie, the fudge lady's kidlet in the wash basin. He was a real show stopper throughout. -- Hurricane

Love the Sterling's Angels photo - great work! -- Hurricane

Thanks Captain Jim for setting up a topic just for this. I moved this over from the thoughts section. Here are our initial plans for next year: Drilling kids in the militia. We have the kiddie muskets and Studley has the tricorns for this. Touche wants to volunteer for this. I think we're going to do more presentations in our period tavern. Diosa and I have been working through a list of presentations: 1) The Life of Henry Morgan – Buccaneer 2) Mary Read & Anne Bonny Retrospective 3) Port Royal - (we have a terrific PowerPoint of this with artifacts and such) 4) Storytime for the Kids - with tall tales from the many sea rovers in attendance who may have a story to tell. 5) Period Games - We will be teaching Passage, Sweat Rag and Bankafalet 6) And we'll do the sugar cane pressing again. It's a mix of education and entertainment - edutainment I guess. We were regularly cleaning our guns in our pub. People were very interested in that aspect so I think it’s great for the camp as well. That’s it for our area. I think the idea about moving the drinking pub is a good idea. But I don’t know if there are any casements that aren’t already filled with fort cannon, crews or the games. There is one over by the Savory Sow I think that's open. What about the big tent area by the stage? That seems like a great place to drink and sing so everyone can experience it. I don't know if that conflicts with the liquor laws there but that's not my area... that's for Harry. Wonderful stuff everyone! I think it’s going to be a “don’t miss” event in 08. -- Hurricane