Dutchman

no pic mate

eh, its all what you make it out to be. as others who are wiser have already said, you can do historical and add to it to cover hollywood or renfaires- but its darned hard to bring the other two into living history. profess to be an expert at nothing and see where your research and comfort take you. heck we have folks here who are online pirates and add to the community only in the forums- but they are still participating how they wish and are comfortable. we are all here for the common goal and enjoy each others company- even if we do get testy with each other on occasion. now i do living history and enjoy interacting with the public. I try to stay away from "reenactor" I only reenact one event- the rest of the time is living history. its a ball watching a kid figure out a knot or have an off the wall conversation with an adult about some aspect of maritime history- you never know what is going to come up. I have the real pleasure of coxwaining a 27 foot reproduction longboat and have had no less than a dozen of this fine forum aboard. its great to watch the faces as they can make a connection with the past that most pirate living historians don't get to do. Early in October I was crewing on board at a revolutionary war event and put no less than 100 troops ashore (twas a long day) and was amazed at the number of reenactors who have been doing this a long long time came up and asked if they could have lessons. seems that boats are few and boat crews willing to teach are even fewer. enough rambling- just get out, see whats there and enjoy.

oi sterling!!! ye spotted intestinal worm of a butter sow, wot ye going to do for an entire week without yer fancy typing machine why next thing ye know you'll be trading in yer sash and boots fer matching white patten leather shoes an a belt- become one of them there floridiots an never want to come home. why i'll visit pip one of these years and see ye all shriveled up on a beach burt to a crisp cuddling up to that sack o leather from the movie What About Mary?

*SIGH* thats a beautie. I had a treehouse about 30 feet up- dangerous as heck to get to. was not as fancy as that one but it was a crows nest, a castle, a redout, heck any old thing i wanted. hope dad makes a new one that is code complaint just to thumb his nose at city council. poor kids.

contact perns wife. we were talking buttons the other day. she may want a couple hundred.

limestone was also used if sandstone was not available. if things got desperate a brick from town would serve as well. an interesting note, fine bricks were used as the original sandpaper

cripes allmighty- case of the stupid hand tonight, sorry folks. anyhow what i wanted to say..... from the world of dutch's practical common sense.... i am convinced that durring the GAoP that harbor bottoms were littered with hats. while there is plenty of proof that they were worn, I am amazed that noone depicted a wayward soul chasing their hat down the beach or perhaps some of the sailors looking longinly to sea are remeniscing about thier favorite lost cover. A question I always ask folks who cary TONS of stuff around because you must have the hanging skulls and spare tankard hanging from the belt is where do you store your gear aboard ship and how do you work without getting fowled? Hats fall under this mystery realm. they are rather large and non-compactable if you wish to keep them in form, where do they go for the common sailor who has a seabag???? another issue. Lice cuts- think about it. you have six months to a years growth up there with nice soft delicate skin under it. your tired of the little freeloaders so you shave it off. prime sunburnin is left. you have to have a cover for obvious comfort reasons but a tricorn in the topsil will be lost. a work cap or rag would fit the bill nicely. I believe that work caps and rags as head covers were greatly under-romanticized.

http://www.buy.com/retail/product.asp?sku=...amp;dcaid=17902 I wear a silk handkerchief under my hat to keep my hair from flying all over the place... but even then, the lining on my hat gets kinda grungy.....

daft, i'm hitting buttons a little too quickly- oops. Bo, i'm headed to the bowels of the virginia archives in a few weeks to check on some court proceedings of the period. since viginia was much larger then and came close to your area and folks traveled north and south along that route I'll keep my eyes open for you.

oops, did not see this one already posted... bumped the blackbeard thread- oh well. what an adventure! great company and food! the weather was a bit odd. friday we had a white out snow storm heading for the ferry. saturday was blustery and cold. why in the bloody world would pirates be in these waters this time of year. the wind kept blowing the sparks out of the pans. it was a battle but we got all 22 small arms shots out. the drawings of the battle being held on a tropical beach is just daft we were thinking. sunday- short sleeves. go figure Kevin was gracious enough to give us a tour of the historical parts of the island and pointed out some interesting land marks.

Pirates return to Ocracoke to honor their dead …WITH SLIDE SHOW By SUNDAE HORN The steady, slow drumbeat accompanied the marchers as they paraded down Lighthouse Road. Sometimes they sang in unison, and sometimes they marched in silence, with only the sounds of their leather boots striking pavement to accompany the drum. Although photographers swarmed around them, and spectators openly gawked, the marchers never broke ranks or even broke into a smile. It was a solemn occasion, a funeral march, and they kept to their paces, seemingly oblivious to the spectacle they were making. Pirates had returned to Ocracoke to honor their dead. Blackbeard’s Crew, a piratical living history troupe based in Hampton, Va., teamed up with Blackbeard historian Kevin Duffus of Raleigh to organize a “Pirate Memorial,” an event that they hope will be the first of many. Fifty-eight men and women in period costumes joined together on Nov. 22 to commemorate the 290th anniversary of the Battle of Ocracoke – that infamous day when Blackbeard the pirate met his match in Lt. Robert Maynard of the Royal Navy. Down Lighthouse Road, to the entrance of Springer’s Point the pirates marched. The captain led the way through the forest trail, twisting and turning among the ancient live oaks, until the they reached the sandy beach overlooking Teach’s Hole. Named for Blackbeard himself, a.k.a. Edward Teach, Teach’s Hole is a small, but surprisingly deep part of Pamlico Sound off the southwest shore of Ocracoke. It’s a popular fishing spot today, but 290 years ago, Teach’s Hole was an infamous anchorage for pirates and subsequently host to the bloody Battle of Ocracoke on Nov. 22, 1718. The pirates were gathering to pay tribute to their fallen brethren. With mournful sea chanteys and eloquent elegies they eulogized the long dead souls of the battle’s victims. A cannon was fired to commemorate Blackbeard, followed by the firing of small arms for the 11 pirates and 11 Royal Navy sailors who also died that day. A huge crowd, of mostly Ocracoke residents, followed the pirates out to Springer’s Point and down to the beach at Teach’s Hole. This was in spite of the fact that Ocracoke was experiencing unseasonably frosty weather, with a wind chill factor well below freezing. People huddled together against the bitter cold and strained to hear the pirates above the whipping of the wind. Although there was some talking among the crowd, the atmosphere was mostly serious. People behaved as you would expect them to behave at a memorial service. The onlookers were respectful, but dry-eyed. The pirates, by contrast, were a bit choked up, although they might try to say it was the wind blowing sand in their eyes that made them so teary. When the service was over, the pirates marched back through the woods, down the road and right up to their lodgings at – you guessed it – Blackbeard’s Lodge. Then they crossed the street to the Back Porch Restaurant, where they memorialized their fallen brethren in the time-honored nautical way – by toasting them with vast quantities of good ale and rum. “We believe what we did today was a first – the first time that the Battle of Ocracoke has been commemorated,” said Kevin Duffus, who was sipping a fine single malt Scotch. He believes Blackbeard was actually of Scottish descent, not English as many people assume, and chose his drink in solidarity with the pirate. “We hope everyone in the community here was pleased,” Kevin added. He was happy with the day’s turnout and relieved it went off so well. He needed permission from the North Carolina Coastal Land Trust, which owns Springer’s Point, and from other property owners, and couldn’t make final preparations for the ceremony until just last week when everything fell into place. He hopes that in the future the Pirate Memorial will find support and participation from local organizations. “It’s got a lot of potential,” he said, comparing it to the World War II British Cemetery memorial service held on Ocracoke each May. Meanwhile, the partying pirates were suitably boisterous and enjoying the authentic meal that the Back Porch chefs had concocted -- pork barbeque and baked fish -- which was readily consumed by pirates then and now. The house specialty was a recipe researched just for the pirate dinner -- salmagundi. The name comes from French and means “a disparate assemblage of things” and to 18th-century pirates that meant a salad-like mixture of meats and anchovies and veggies and nuts and capers and lemons and, oh, anything else the cook had lying around. Top it all with some oil and vinegar, and you have pirate cuisine. The Back Porch staff got into the spirit of the evening and looked the part of tavern wenches. “They’ve been fun to work with,” said Lisa Landrum, manager of the Back Porch. “We had a great time planning the menu, but trying to figure out who’s who when they use their pirate name and then their real name and then their pirate name again has been tricky.” The pirate who contracted with the Back Porch identified himself as “Cookie,” Lisa said. “They want everything to be authentic, but we’re communicating through email,” she said with a laugh. The pirates stayed in character as much as possible. Pern Taylor, “Captain Pern” to Blackbeard’s Crew, is the elected leader of the pirate troupe. He explained that not all the pirates at the party were official members of the Crew. Some were honorary members, and some were special guests for the Pirate Memorial weekend. “We’re inducting a new member later tonight,” he said during dinner. “It’s a solemn ceremony.” It takes about a year and a lot of effort, Captain Pern said, to become a member of the Crew. That tradition goes back to the Crew’s beginnings in 2000, when the troupe was founded for OpSail 2000. That was also the first year of the Hampton Pirate Festival, where the Crew are regulars. Now they travel up and down the East Coast, appearing at festivals and parties and visiting schools and museums. This Pirate Memorial coincided with their year-end meeting, when they induct new members, elect new officers (i.e., “Wench Master” and “Press Gang Master”) and give awards for MVP (Most Valuable Pirate.) It’s not all just swashbuckling fun and games. Blackbeard’s Crew is a non-profit organization, dedicated to educating the public about the true history of pirates, a mission they take seriously. “We’re all about authenticity,” Pern said. “We want to teach people about actual history, to focus on real pirates, and get away from the movie fantasy.” Kevin Duffus also wants to focus on the real history of pirates, so much so that he decided to reject all the known “facts” about Blackbeard and do his own research. After years of hunting down original sources and developing new theories, Kevin compiled his research into a book published earlier this year. From East Carolina court records to the British National Archives, Kevin followed the elusive trail of the fabled Blackbeard. His search led him to a conclusion, which, although perhaps impossible to prove beyond doubt, makes a great deal of sense. “The Last Days of Black Beard the Pirate” posits, among other things, that the rogue wasn’t really named Edward Teach after all. His last name, says Kevin, was Beard. Kevin suspects that Black Beard was not, as has always been assumed, a native of Bristol, England, but, in fact, a homeboy from Bath, N.C., as were many of the men in his crew. He makes a strong case that Blackbeard’s killer, Lt. Robert Maynard, approached Teach’s Hole by sailing down Pamlico Sound rather than through Ocracoke Inlet. Kevin also believes that the 23 men, including Blackbeard, who died in the Battle of Ocracoke were buried in a mass grave on the shore near Springer’s Point, where this year’s Pirate Memorial took place. “I think of those lost souls,” Kevin said. “I hope to think their spirits appreciated what we did for them today.”

i must tell a tale on our fine merchant. I ran across him at battle of the hook a month or so back and was greeted by same said injured splinted finger waving from across the tent. seemed he was rather proud, shall we say, of showing off his injured digit. that or he actually remembered me from the festival- but usually thats greeted by thrown objects.... Greg, i passed on your comments to pern and pete. hit sterling up for ideas on the venue we talked about- he, silkie, and gunner have all seen the site. see ya in the spring mate.

" ill nourished, pox ridden form that sent them poor she nappers into such a tizzy." and as oft as they see you, I got a noted response..... should tell ye something right there

my good frothy lily-livered skainsmate, i voluntarily went in the drink the first time as to appease the snotties who wished to experience chilly water. I must confess that I was not taken back when yours opted out of the venture. in an effort to keep mums house dry (i'm considerate like that), I doffed my dripping, clingy shirt at the door and was proceeding through the kitchen to my chamber for a fresh garment, when I was amazed at the swooning and fits of vapors running rampant among the feminine variety!!!!!! It was trully a sight to behold!!! why i came just short of offering to revive one of the fine lasses. fortunately, as i caught her the shock wore off and she insisted that she would be fine after laying in my arms for some time to recover. The young vixen did offer to let me blow into necessary regions if I needed practice. Why, I'm quite certain that there was something noxious in the stew that forenoon. As to the second dousing- well that goes without saying.

uhhhhh- you went with me the second time. seems we were both nudged as i recall. the first was saturday night with the snotties. ah the body begins to go, then the brain... tisk tisk, why next well be putting a bell round yer neck to keep you from wandering off through the pastures.

tis not my fault. as i recall was a female from your crew to blame that put me back in the river for round two of the wet t-shirt contest. grass must be greener in the other camp. come to think of it.. .those were squeals rather than cheers when we went over. oh look another leaf................. ye yeasty weather ridden maggot pie

BWAHAHAHAHA gotta share this one. I'm in the office and one of the uniformed officers calls in a drunk in public. I wander down the block and shure enough drunk guy is cuffed and sitting on the curb. I kind of hang back a bit while the two uniformed officers are dealing with brain child. I kid you not! "DUDE, those are costumes, its halloween- you're not real cops. you can't arrest me." well seems he tried the same line with the magistrate who found it just as funny as we did and placed him in a real jail till monday morning. Sad part is, the officers were going to call him a cab and send him home until he got stupid.

i was talking of your not togethers....................................... oh look, a leaf. let me get that.

wot????they have medicine for those ary dickies now. that and silk drawers, its a dandy life fer me. as i've always told you. your brain and your beauty go not together.

hey hey now- keep it civil!!! I have no need of a dictionary thank you. I have medicine for that thank you.

aye she is rather content with me blunderbuss and me musket... fortunately, I am not the whoofer. not that its any of your concern anyhow ye beslubbering common-kissing lout.

no limp foot, i had to get ready to earn my keep. I have no interest in dancing... now the ladies may be of interest to you- i'll keep the mercury and laudum handy. I am quite comfy with my grace.

ohh a night on the town with sterling.. well now does that not make one wish for anything else.. i have as much faith in ye as stewed prunes. ye are indeed a tedious horseback breaker.

fobbing toad-spotted boar-pig!!! a no-nosed mace cove indeed, why the stench is what leads me to ye after a blotted night. else ye would have been pressed to a goat boat by now.

why you fen-tucked sagtail!!!! If the cook made the gluttony, you made the disease.