Dutchman

Sorry if this has already been posted somewhere, but i found this reference while digging around on the Jamestown research site. It's a bit early for us but is still of some documentation use. "The First and Second Churches--Captain John Smith reported that the first church services were held outdoors "under an awning (which was an old saile)" fastened to three or four trees."

disregard- found it hiding in plain site in the careening camp post that i could not find. if it were a snake . . . . . . . . . . .

sorry for the vagueness here folks. a few days ago there was a post referencing a book that had a description of a careening camp, the book was a journal of sorts- not dampier. i'm having a moment- darned if i can remember the name of the book, the author, or where i saw it- may have actually been another forum. anyone???????????

ahoy capt bo, i'm indeed glad to hear more fine folks are gearing up to pay their respects to the good captain- this the 290th anniversary of his death and all- at our wee party by the sea. I see from your profile you may be travelling a bit to get to us. I wish i had good news on tenting availability, but this is an area where we are waiting ourselves. we are expecting word shortly on any additional space for the camp. in the mean time, below is a list of decent places from the raid post to help your planning along. don't forget to bring your fancies for the grand ball friday night. if i can be of any help please don't hesitate to yell. humbly, -dutch hotels within 5 miles that you would not mind leaving your grandmother in radisson (sits in the festival grounds) 1-757-727-9700 holiday inn, hampton hotel & convention center 1-757-838-0200 embassy suites 1-757-827-8200 campgrounds Newport News parks 1-757-888-3333 (tis a real number, i checked)

Oh my, i step away for a day and it seems there is a misunderstanding of some sort. flinter5 please pm me. all are indeed welcome its just a matter of not enough room in the camp for those who wish to participate. there are no stitch counters, we simply try to put on a good show following a story line from history. face it, we all do the best we can. there are six different ways to do things - its the end result that counts. -dutch

hey gang, just got back and had a ball. there is a lot of territory to cover so i'll do it in groups as i decipher the notes. since the question was asked lets do fasteners first. tight dove tails, mortise and tendons, hide (as in horse, rabbit) glue, nails and turn screws keep em together. Interesting thing with the mechanical fasteners, they are all pre-drilled. Nails were run multi-directional on the trim. the first would be set to the left, the next up, next down, next to the right. this keeps 'em from pulling out. the fasteners- lots of them- are used to hold the bottom boards and molding in place. the carcass of the box relies solely on the joints to hold it in place.the joints that hold the molding in place are oppositely cut from the carcass and therefore provide the strength. let me explain again. if the dovetail pins are on the face of the carcass, they would oppositely be cut on the molding sides. the corners are not fastened to allow seasonal movement. combined with the screws on the bottom boards the box becomes sailor proof. a note on bottom boards and kick molding. the bottoms are designed to be replaced if needed. sea chests were sometimes placed on cleats to allow water to flow under. cargo chests and blanket chests were likely not fitted with these as they were not meant to stay aboard ship. The bottom of the moldings on these chests were often planed up on the outer edge to keep the chest from being supported by the molding. carpenters chests bottoms were often multiple strips instead of one solid board to allow easy replacement of just one section that might break or wear through with the thought that heavy or sharp tool would eventually wear them out. ok . . . what shape were the chests and what made them sailors chests. Depends on the region, era, and intended purpose. Blanket chests were a bit big, but did see use as sea chests after modification. handles were replaced, tills were added. if you have a chest with a molded (mortise and tendon) till it is probably sea oriented. if they were fastened with fittings (an afterthought) it probably started life as a blanket chest. Sloped sides- yes, no, maybe . . . what ever the maker happened to make according to the contract- these varied by ship or custom order. this also changed upon availability. if someone was pressed, or shanghaid , they had few belongings, much less a chest. they would eventually pick one up somewhere. if it was too big, it may be cut down aboard ship, often following the popular model aboard. more later- sleep now- sorry for the typo's. -dutch

aye cap'n thighbiter will be good to see ya again. maybe this year you can serinade us without that blasted strong man bell ringing every two seconds. boy did that stink last year.

class begins tonight. if you get a chance and have a good woodworking store nearby check out their book section and find one called treasure chests. goes into some mighty fine chest building and design- all be it current builds, still make ya misty eyed.

messages/ crew watches etc . . aboard ship were sometimes posted to the mast, later the binnacle for all to see. doe's this practice have an official name?

ok gang. just got off the tin can/string line with a committee member who was at the last meeting- may 30 to june 1 is it. i'm helping with the encampment end this year. i have no idea what pete's doing on the entertainment end- have not talked to him since before the holidays. we will loose a lot of the ships to harborfest if we do it the same weekend. review royaliste post. havin royaliste, k.n., mekaII , serinity and the others are key to the fest. the crews are outstanding- sides how could we be the only festival that recreated the famous battle of ocracoke without the ships???? we'd look pretty silly swimming.

ah blackjohn, indeed you have been!! HUZZAH!! course being a plank owner as it was!! Of course it was mentioned to the jolly ol' rogue hissef and he says well yeah- why didn't you guys ask me first. Seems the rest of us are pups compared to him. E-mail me please. BTW- can you count me in on some charts too? Gary, seems you have lots of offers for crew and that helps us as we have no room for folks who want to participate periodly and such. Indeed a winning situation- yes? Cheeky, I know you love a party and all. Cap'n and I have already exchanged pleasantries.

yeah those are the dates, we had to bump up a week to avoid harborfest. blackjohn, i have passed your picture and a couple of the crew think you have been in our waters before. pm me please with details for anyone interested in attending . . . it depends on what you would like to do, anyone can attend the event and all are welcome!!!. this ranges from shorts and POTC tee's to GAOP with anything goes in between. (including those renfaire bucket boots). Don't forget your finest for the grand ball friday night. there is lots to do and see, the entire downtown waterfront is shut down for the event. now participating is a whole different ball of wax. The period crews do the battles and encampment. To maintain the integrity at our end of the event, controlled growth is needed. If anyone new is added, they are usually found in previous years attending. This is the case with a crew i'm helping now. One of their crew was remembered from a couple of years previous by one simple attire piece and a picture. Period is good, interacting with the crowd is king- remember, you never know who is watching you!!!!! if i can help anyone with any information, suggestions or guidance please don't hesitate to chime in. -dutch

im going to be spending some time there over the next few weeks. I'll fondle the goods and report back as they have more than socks.

hotels within 5 miles that you would not mind leaving your grandmother in radisson (sits in the festival grounds) 1-757-727-9700 holiday inn, hampton hotel & convention center 1-757-838-0200 embassy suites 1-757-827-8200 campgrounds Newport News parks 1-757-888-3333 (tis a real number, i checked)

tis never too far off. I'm the pressgang master for Blackbeard's Crew, responsible for spreading good will and cheer (wait, holidays are over). Anyhow, I'm the crew's contact here on the pub-what information ya be looking for? The waterfront hotel is filling quickly so plan accordingly. The festival has its sails set and filling fast with old and new friends. Some pleasant additions and changes are in the works. Rumor has it one of the additions is . . . . .well, i just can't say yet!!! -dutch

i had no idea there was a day. count blackbeards crew in. I'll see if i can't get my legislator to recognize it in the virginia house of deligates- they recognized take your kid surfing day last year. are there any hand outs or practical lesson plans?????

colonial williamsburg has both regular and winter weight clocked. I think the winter ones are around $20. I have not worn them but maybe cap'n sterling can enlighten us on their durability.

I posted a couple of weeks ago about or friends over at skipjack who lost everything to a fire. We are pleased to present a benefit chantey at the Commodore Theater 421 High St, Portsmouth Va. On Sunday, Jan 13 from 12 to 2. Performing will be Bob Zentz, Tanner's Creek, and Blackbeard's Crew. The event is being Mc'd by Eric Price, otherwise known as Col. Crawford- the founder of Portsmouth. A suggested donation of $10 at the door would be appreciated. If anyone is in the area, please stop by, show your support and meet some of the crew who bring the Blackbeard festival to life every year. -dutch

wooohooo. merry christmas to me!! i'm off to williamsburg in a couple of weeks to learn about 18th century woodworking, tool making, and all about two gentlemens tool chests. the first is the 1773 william howlett example and the gem is the 1793 benjamin seaton- it was built by seaton, a cabinet maker and loaded with his tools, but never shipped to the colonies. the box remained packed and in the family till recently (40 yrs or so i think). Now knowing that there is always a raging debate about seachests, are there any specific questions anyone would like to raise while we have the chance to ask the williamsburg folks? ( i know its a little late for our period, but what an opportunity!!!) -dutch

ah callinesh, you humble me with your kind words about our crew. We do indeed try to put on a good course and show some fine hospitality to boot. It was my pleasure to work with you and the blunderbus I purchased is doing just fine. Maybe we can get you set up in the daylight and put away dry this year?? (for those who have not seen callinesh's sales tent with the second story pool, tis an amazing engineering feat!!!) I'm pushing hard to get archangel in the camp with us but alas we will not know till next month if we have more room. Regardless, i hope they will join us for the festivities despite accomodations. The rest of the crew in K.W. ??? I mentioned it to Pern and he is toying with the idea. Grace is penciling in- but is PIP ready for her? Billy Flynn might depending on work. If QM thinks he's missing something he'll be ticked, so he may. Not sure about the rest.

oh bother- choices, choices. seems to be fittin for either the mercury or squatting a corner with archangel (me thinks i should cozy up to capn sterling as i'm trying to get him into the blackbeard fest camp). I've been trolling for a while, I'll backtrack and figure out which might be more suitin for me unkept 1718 self- ya know thats the problem with blackbeard's crew. the only thing we know that is absolutely accurate is we die in 1718!!!

so how doesone officially sign up fer this grand adventure???

dutch sits back and scratches his head wondering how he missed this post- he then sits back and enjoys his rum as he knows being a pyrate is grand, but being a pyrate with a grand secret is even better specially knowin what just left florida and knowin where its headed. back to reality- two books to read. tall ships down and confessions of a boat builder by rossbrough. Now, combine that and you see a problem. Large open hatches doomed a lot of the ships on tall ships down and lots o freeboard and top heavy sailplans on rossbrough designs.

ahoy all, pardon the invasion. I have not heard anything yet but to answer one question, yes there is a big firepit. Its a common cook area as all the crews use it to keep from destroying the grounds and the chantey sing is done here. One game the crew cooks play amongst themselves is the sand challenge. No one cares what the food tastes like, you are scored on the ammount of sand that does NOT end up in the pot through the weekend!!!! -dutch

wish i had known about some of his views before i made a profit for him. Gives a good overall view and impression of the era but if you do your own research you can easily dispute some of his info.