Dutchman

tis good to see wee ones introduced to the cause. Might i suggest blackbeards pirate festival (formerly the hampton blackbeard festival) may 31 and june 1. About a four hour trip from baltimore. is indeed a kid friendly event. The highlight is the only reenactment of the battle of ocracoke. -dutch

capt, I don't remember if you were there last year. I was a bit busy and missed alot of folks!!! The camp was moved from the walkway under the bridge to the back side of mill point park. The city says it is two acres, but by the time you figure on the stage, sidewalks, green thrones, and such there is not a lot of space left for camps and the period vendors!! There are a couple of large trees and we use them for shade- possibly a hanging this year if we can convince the powers to be. There are small trees but they are decorative (myrtles and such) and would not fare well with hammocks. If you google earth or mapquest Mill Point Park in Hampton, It will provide a pretty good view of the area. If you happen to be in the area let me know and stop by otherwise save the gas and ill be more than happy to answer what i can for you. -keep the questions coming- -dutch

rats, got the e-mail and slide show. I'm going to forward it to the committee members for review. tis good stuff -now if'n we can find an extra acre or two . . . . .

OUTSTANDING!!!! . I am on the phone now with boatswain and will have him lookee see-ee. Capt. rest assured we do not steal other crew ideas so we will need to do some figuring and talking with the planning folks to see how to make it happen for you. One immediate question. We are try to keep this as family friendly as possible. How does a hanging normally go over in a P/C touchy feely world? -dutch

well well well- two from the Archangel in one night, and an offer fer a proper hanging to boot. tis indeed a pleasure and I'm pleased to inform ye that the right person to contact has replied. Is this the same hanging as the lockhouse?? I have seen footage of one and we are indeed interested. We even have a pretty danglin from tree. the problem is we will need to work it into the storyline of the festival, we just can't randomly go round lettin folks swing now can we. As well, in full force is how big?? As folks who attended last year know, we moved the camp and filled the expanded site up before all arrived!!! An added fear is the one hotel close to the waterfront may be gone at some point. Capt. Sterling, I see you are from virginia. I would be most humbled for a face to face if you are anywhere east of richmond area. In the meantime, If'n you would be so kind as to contact me via the crew site at www.blackbeardscrew.org through the pressgang masters contact I will be more than happy to make sure we all have a grand time. Info that i'm looking for is approximate number of people coming, how many camping versus hotel, how big of a footprint you need, any special tallents.. ie the hanging, and a resume of past events including a pic or two of your general camp and crew members. Please do not think us snobs, we would just like to know whats coming and where we are going to fit them. best regards, -dutch

ah me dear lady B tis a pleasure indeed to share a cup with ye. The name came to be after a heavy night of drinking- imagine that!!!- and what our crew calls a rum epiphany (sp?) where someone does something stupid to the inhumane enjoyment of the rest the crew. The best way to get the rest of the story is to come to the festival and find madam grace as she named me. Yes, we are in a great location to tap rev war folks and darned if we did not get a gaggle of them this last go around. We lay smack in the middle of historic colonial VA. All but two of the last group pressed for service have either reenactment or ren-faire backgrounds. -dutch

aye projects indeed. Fox, tis a pleasure to see you again sir. hope things are going well- i should have a draft ready in a couple of weeks for you. anyhow crew stuff . . . . lets see. A big project this week, but we can't tell you about it till we can, but i will when i can. As far as the festival, Of course the battle of Ocracoke and the encampment with the fire and gathering Saturday night. We now have two boats coming that will fit above the bridge so expect some action close to shore . . .. hopefully. We have a couple of new folks helping cookie in the firepit- yummy. Our only concern is the hotel is rumored to be coming down, again just a rumor but still enough to send up a red flag. Among our new folks (fox wait till you see em- they are all great!!!!) are some folks with ren-faire/ F&I/ Rev war background and we are adding lots to the camp itself. To really appreciate the changes, folks will just need to come to the festival. The name was changed last year (thanks to red tape) to Blackbeards pirate festival. Outside of the festival, we are doing more local research and actually finding some stuff that is not widely known. (nothing earth shattering just local color) fair winds- dutch

aye thankyou for the warm welcome. indeed a round is on me. While rum is the prefered choice, I must offer a bit of period ale that was brewed by one of ours at a recent event. OHHH t'was good indeed. Of course, that was a sampler and we hope it will return durring the festival.

ahoy all, dutch from Blackbeard's crew here. It's been a long time since anyone from the crew has posted so I'll share the recent news with you. The big news is we have doubled in size since the last festival with amazingly talented folks. In addition, our beloved Quartermaster (and crew founder), John Glass attempted to retire to lead a new venture within the crew. We revolted and retired his title to him instead. Cap'n Pern now holds the new title of boatswain, is in charge of the group and I am the new pressgang master. Billy Flynt has returned from his voyages onboard the Kalmar Nykel and continues on as events coordinator. The festival was a success with large crowds, great visiting pyrates and a host of outstanding period vendors filling in the largest working encampment yet. Saturday was a busy day with battles at sea and skits ashore. Sunday got washed out- oh to be able to control the weather. Be sure to plan on attending next years festival the first weekend in June. The crew has travelled up and down the coast this year with appearances from South Carolina to Pennsylvania with crew members attending Pyratecon as well. 2008 is shaping up to be just as busy returning to old haunts and new venues in the works. If you have not done so, please check out the crews web site at www.blackbeardscrew.org hope all are well, -dutch

hello all, allow me a quick introduction. I am Dutchman from Blackbeards Crew based out of Hampton, Va. I have been lurking for about a year on the site and due to a shift of positions amongst the crew have taken the roll of pressgang master. Part of the assignment was to get the crews name active on the boards again. I look forward to keeping you all up to date on our activities and hopefully meeting many. -dutch