hurricane

Not the best fares, there. At least from the routes I checked. Here's an example fare right now: On the United link, Seattle to Key West for the dates of PiP (Nov. 29 arrive, Dec. 4 leave), it's $684. On Orbitz, it's $452. A flight/hotel package may be a better option as well. It's off season in the keys this time of year. I picked Seattle because it's the farthest possible trip you can make in the continental U.S., plus I used to have to do that trip before moving to FL. -- Hurricane

Yup, typically the best fares there are 30 days out. Get too much closer and they start targeting the fares to business travelers who can't plan that fare out. Looking forward to seeing you there! -- Hurricane

I considered it for many a year, but it's not suitable to my time frame of piracy. So I go on without... -- Hurricane

Where will you be making port in Florida... May want to swing by and see ya! -- Hurricane

The Pyrates of the Coast will be there - we will be running a booth and creating mischief throughout. Stop by our booth and say ahoy! -- Hurricane

I had several crewe mates catch the Greyhound. If I recall it's an easy catch from the Miami airport and its arrival in KW is only about another hour later than driving. Good time to catch some Zzzzzzzz's. Good call Patrick. Excited about meeting up with you again this year! -- Hurricane

That's exactly what I was shooting for - a generic ship that can easily be doctored and bulk ordered. Our crewe of 20 would easily consume an order of 50... some for walls, some for carrying about and rolling out in a bar - others to sell. I understand your hesitance to sellout your own ship... but the money making potential of a generic one with the ability to customize the name in a bulk order is a fine money making endeavor... particulary for those of use who aren't so concerned with correctness of time and place, but want something to have visitors to the den drop their jaws. There's coin to be made lad - like I said, the Gasparilla types would eat something like that up and would love to spend their money on cool things such as their crewe's ship for their walls. -- Hurricane

No problem - it's like my second home... -- Hurricane

For all you in Southern Florida, Boynton Beach is throwing their Incracoastal Pirate Festival this weekend. Grab your gear and head over for a fun weekend. The Pyrates of the Coast will be there, selling our piratical wares. More information at: http://www.boyntonfaires.com/pirates.htm -- Hurricane

There are usually vacancies down in KW that time of the year. It's not tourist season and all the hotels are half empty. That's one of the reasons why the festival was originally started. On priceline.com they have the Comfort Inn Key West available for $117 per night. Split that by two and it's a pretty good deal, particularly for Key West. There are others that are a bit more expensive. Hunt around, you'll find good deals there. Good luck! -- Hurricane

I guess the business side of me was hinting that if you were willing to take your existing draught of The Watch Dog and simply substitute other ship names onto it, many people would purchase these, not only here but on ebay and such. For example, if you simply took the piece you have an put our crewe's name on it, you could sell it to virtually all of our crewe for twice the price you're selling them to and everyone would be happy. And we have a small crewe. No need to create an entirely new draught of a different ship. Geez, the Tampa Bay Gasparilla crewes would pee their slops to have their respective ship names on this piece, and they are loaded with dough. Just a business man always on the look out for others to turn coin and make a lot of money, rather than a little. With the holidays coming up, you could have your Key West airfare and then some in a month. -- Hurricane

KW is always way more expensive to fly into than Miami. Patrick has the right idea. Otherwise, people can pool on a car and take a rental down the keys. It's a four hour drive but a really nice one. We drive 8 to get there from Orlando because it's just not worth the money to fly. Since the festival is only four days a weekend rental on a car for four shouldn't be much. Three years ago we have a van with 10 of us - it cost us $10 a day when we split the cost. -- Hurricane

If it's a pirate novel, then it would be post earthquake - the 1692 earthquake was a fairly defining moment for Port Royal. Prior to then the island was the center of privateer and buccaneer operations. Afterwards, if obviously was never the same. Pirates were still around (Calico Jack, Anne Bonny, Mary Read, et. al) but the city was nothing like it was in its prime. The growing presence of the Navy there after the quake helped quell piracy, along with the turn of favor of the ruling governors. As for resources: Port Royal, Jamaica - by Michael Pawson and David Buissert is superb, covering the economic factors, trade, populace, ruling government and lay of the land. Port Royal by Clinton Black is also excellent. Robert Marx has a solid work on the archeological aspects of the city - with some great photos of artifacts. Nothing beats a visit there, though. Even though Port Royal today is just a small fishing village of 1200 (far from the 5000 who inhabited the spit in the time of Sir Henry Morgan during its prime), there is still enough there to really get a sense of the place. Period maps help you trace the steps of the old pirates and buccaneers. Many of the streets are still there, Fort Charles is still where it has stuff for 350+ years and taking a walk in the dark at night is very "spirit" filled. Even the jail that held Anne Bonny is still there. The half barrel hinged doors are leaning against a wall in the place, which is no, ironically, a locals bar. Visit http://piratesofthecoast.com/shipslog/pr-s...scrapbook1.html for a little tutorial our crewe put together on the past and present. Let me know if you any other questions or need direction. -- Hurricane

What would it cost/take to do a version of this or one similar for the ship my own crewe uses? The basics look good - just want the name of me ship on it. I'd be interested in having one to frame and one to show people in the public. -- Hurricane

I got one from Jas. Townsend and it worked well. Of course, it pales when compared to the one I got in a Kingston straw market for 5 bucks. But the Townsend one will do. -- Hurricane

For $300 I could get six hookers and dress them any way I want. A far better value for the bargain hunter. - Hurricane

People, people! If you read the post he's wearing jeans with it. I assume it's a short term (i.e. Halloween) type idea, or a starter outfit. We all didn't start with historically correct garb - well the vast majority here didn't. When we did our wedding in July we had plenty of these shirts on hand for the wedding guests (we had 70, so they couldn't all look as fab as we did :). These do wash well. They maintain their shape. Would I wear one now? No! But all of those who were just casual pirates or just starting out loved it. It looked great in photos. It was comfortable. -- Hurricane

The waistcoat isn't corduroy. It's a twill. As I said, I saw it in person. This is an original piece from the folks at Disney, Florida. This is a great collector's piece of Disneyana - much like the doors that they sold from the ride some time ago. It's theme park used - hence, the value. If you're a Disney collector, it is priceless. No one said it was an exact reproduction. It is, however, from the Imagineers and is one of a kind. For those of you not in the know, MouseSurplus is the exclusive reseller of surplused park properties. If you visited their warehouse (freakin' huge) you'd see original ride cars, furniture from the resorts, games and some even more amazing things. For example, they have Herman Munster's coffin dragster, the bus from Speed, Healther Graham in suspended animation from Lost In Space and lots of great collectibles. By the way, the hat is very nice and exact. In fact, the coat came from the same guy who sells them on ebay, using the original material. His ebay seller name is Acme, I believe. I for one have an amazing array of great things from MouseSurplus - barrels from Tom Sawyer Island, two of the swords used in PotC I (and yes, they are the real deal), a Pecos Bill table and chair set, a complete bedroom set (Drexel, no less) from the Polynesian Resort - the list could go on. I wouldn't bother posting except I think you're trying to insinuate that MouseSurplus isn't on the up and up as far as offering collectibles. Let me assure you, they get all the best stuff from all the DisneyWorld parks and resorts. -- Hurricane

I got to see him yesterday in person. The photos totally don't do it justice. In three dimensions it is spectacular. The beads may not be exactly correct, but the material used ont the coat is - seen only one or two jacks that know the source of that material. Plus, of course, the price range is geared to the serious Disneyana collector, not the casual pirate oficianado. It's way out of my league as well - rumor has it other characters are coming along as well... -- Hurricane

We have several of these shirts - they work well. They look far better if you take a seam ripper or X-Acto and cut off the front ruffle. Then it looks more piratical. The tricorn, there are better options out there - this one doesn't hold up well. Try to get a felt one instead (JA Townsend has some good options). All the colors are good - I would go with the red if you're wearing black pants. -- Hurricane

Ah, but it's so much more fun in the Magic Kingdom. They tried that same stuff with us - guests wanted their photos with our crewe of pirates and a security guard told us that wasn't allowed - we replied that what you're saying, "is that random guests can't get together and take photos at the Magic Kingdom." She was dumbfounded and could only quote the same thing over and over. Luckily my wife is with the media and the Media Relations folks said we could do anything we wanted to. They then went over and educated the guard lady... That alone made the evening. -- Hurricane

I think you all need a road trip to the Magic Kingdom at WDW. There's a whole month and a half of Mickey's Not So Scary evenings - everyone goes in costumes. We went again as pirates and got some really great shots in the entryways of the POTC ride. Love going there in costume. I didn't know they didn't do that over in California. So sad! They'll let you in as Alice here. There were plenty of well done Disney characters in the park (who didn't work there). -- Hurricane

Ahoy all! The Second Annual Walk the Plank Championships is a go for Pirates in Paradise. Those brave souls who want to risk it all will have the chance to step out to their watery grave from the Schooner WOLF. The event will be held in front of Pier House so their will be plenty of libations to fuel your courage and a place to dry off afterwards. Here's the judging criteria: 1. Costume: How appropriate is the costume to plankwalking. While period attire is appreciated, contestants are encouraged to use their imagination to come up with an ensemble that impresses the judges and perhaps persuades them to be lenient in their scoring in this area. 2. Style: Points are awarded for how well the individual conducts themselves on their way to theirseeming “watery grave.” Criteria covers plank approach, bravado, arrogance, guile, bribery, form on the plank and poise before the plunge. 3. Plea: Extra points for a marked amount of theater here. Groveling, cries for mercy, pleas of innocence, invocations, curses – all are eligible for Plea Points. 4. Splash: Finally, the judges want to hear a resounding splash upon entering the water. Sissy splashes are discouraged as are dives warranting an Olympic Medal. Maximum points for belly flops. We will have a signup sheet on http://www.piratesinparadise.com soon! -- Hurricane

Yes, that one's making its way through the net right now. Just sign in through the actual web site (for ebay or paypal) and you never have to worry about these things. Just don't be dumb enough to click on anything you get from either source. Everything you need is in the respective account sections of each site. -- Hurricane

Our own scribe, OryginalCinn has released her third book. Here's the review from our friends at bilgemunky.com: “An unapologetic swashbuckling adventure brimming with all the trappings of pirate lore; sword-play, romance, voodoo, long-lost treasure… Cynthia Zeuli weaves a tale that’s historical and fanciful. Her characters are intriguing and faceted, her world grounded, yet supernatural. And her pirates are sinful, likeable, and daring—making this book a wonderfully guilty pleasure for the rogue in us all.” — Check it out at: http://www.archebooks.com/BookIDX/Indexes/...r/LT/LTDesc.htm The book comes in hardback ($20.99) and eBook ($3.99). Happy reading. I had an advanced copy and loved it! -- Hurricane