dasNdanger

"PIRATE!" Well...I take responsibility here since I really don't like to read unless it's in textbook format. I like documents and charts and lists...stuff like that, and get rather bored when I try to read a 'story' based on those things...*looks at a still-unread copy of Under the Black Flag, and shrugs...* And true - just about anything could have happened...but like you say, it doesn't mean that it did. This is where I have a problem with research, especially since the computer has taken over the world. WHERE does one go for the truth? Sure, I could travel the world, visiting museums, paging through documents, interviewing historians. However, I really don't have the time, energy or finances for that, so I must rely on the research of authors, and ...*shudder* ...on what I can glean from the net. The latter scares the crap out of me because many people trust internet info too much, and history is being inaccurately re-written at a tremendous rate of speed. How can we distinguish fact from fiction - or from personal speculation? That's why I make it clear when I'm 'speculating' for the fun of it, and posting a documented 'fact'. However...those documented facts MAY have been altered to suit the opinions of the person who published or wrote the book from where I took the information. You mentioned the inaccuracies on UTBF - yet how many people KNOW that there are inaccuarcies in that book? Do we look to The History of Pyrates...? But then again, did the author embellish anything there? And what of the newspapers - I would trust them the most, but again...stories may have been meddled with to sway public opinion. I guess this is where I get frustrated - separating fact from fiction. Based on human nature (which really doesn't change ALL that much), I can sometimes see through embellishments. But sometimes I can't - and so I tend to read everything with inner skepticism, not trusting the things I'm being told. I guess - in a perfect world - I would love for someone to do what I cannot - the hands-on research, digging for the facts through original documents and not basing their information on recently published works. And thanks, Foxe - for this exchange. It really helps to bounce ideas and opinions off of someone with deeper knowledge than I have regarding the period in question. As you can tell - I am a person who enjoys speculation - but that doesn't mean that I BELIEVE in my own speculation!! It's quite the opposite, I assure you... das

hey...that's what Mr. Das calls m-....uuuuuuh...nevermind.... Seems like I missed the party! LOL - too funny! Okie dokie - in reading through the comments here, I started to think outside the box again... First - I'm sure not every case of piracy was documented...in fact, I would suspect that most were not, or at least, if they were, most documents haven't survived. That means that just about anything could have happened during the GAoP and we'd never know about it. Second - No TV and no radio means that word of mouth was the mode of communication back in the day...with a few newpapers, etc if people could even read them. Stories can be twisted - as evidenced by a certain movie pirate with a silly walk. Embellishing a story makes for a more entertaining (and memorable) story. Even in the quotes about the Bird Galley that I posted in the food thread there is a hint of possible embellishment. So - how men were tortured and sent to their deaths may have been exaggerated to increase the shock value of the tale. Third - This reminds me of the earring discussion. Fourth - I think it's safe to say that personal creativity came into play in regards to the punishments meted out by pirates. Without the aforementioned media (TV, etc), much of what an individual pirate or pirate crew did would have to come from their own imaginations, and not necessarily from 'copying' a craze, as it were. Sure, crews drifted back and forth, joining up and sharing their knowledge. But I think it's safe to say that nearly every possible horror that could be inflicted on another individual was probably tried, at least once, during that GAoP. The fact that things were not 'common place' doesn't mean it NEVER happened. And that last thought sums up my personal feelings about the GAoP in general. Today, in this age of instant communication, we get a lot of copycat fads and practices. Take the 'strangling' or the 'huffing' crazes among many youths today - with one news report, or the click of a mouse, the entire world can know about it in a matter of minutes, even seconds. But walking the plank during the GAoP? Well, if the crew was even sober enough to remember it, and if there were any survivors, perhaps the story would get back to others...eventually. BUT how do we know that the story wasn't embellished upon in the process? We don't - and that's where even 'eyewitness' accounts could be called into question. So, I guess we will never know for sure either way. However, I LOVE hearing the stories - and would hope that, if anyone else stumbles upon an account of plank walking, they would share it here. das

Okay - lemme think harder about what I meant...*thinks...steam puffs out of ears....* If a literal plank was used to slide a dead man to his watery grave...then when a man was tossed/dropped/marched/thrown (in execution) into the water ALIVE (with or without a plank), could it have been said that he 'walked' the plank...meaning that he went to the depths alive - or 'walking' -in contrast to going there already dead, slipping off the plank bound tight in his hammock. I'm making my head hurt here...so I hope you get me meaning.... And you're saying that there is documented accounts of men being made to walk the plank? I always thought there was no truth in those stories...please elaborate! das

Hawkyns, when I was a wee lass of 13, I stayed in Jamaica for two weeks, at a resort unlike any other around...had quite the experience there. It no longer exists, unfortunately, but at least I had a chance to experience Jamaican food at its finest! Our cook was an elderly Jamaican woman with a heart of gold - and she made ackee and cod (as she called it) several times. My palate wasn't as mature as it is now, and I didn't much care for it...but that's probably because I really don't like fish all that much. One of the workers at the resort took us for a walk and showed us ackee growing on a tree, and explained that it can't be eaten until it bursts open, releasing harmful gases inside. Outside our huts grew bananas and papayas, which we just picked and ate at will - it was just like paradise...except for the spiders.... Other things that we ate were pumpkin soup, plantain, yams (giant, ugly yellow Jamaican yams, not to be mistaken for those tasty ones eaten around the holidays), heavy bread, dasheen (taro root), and fresh sugar cane. It was quite an experience, and I lost a LOT of weight!! LOL! On an aside - one of the Jamaicans working at our resort took us to his home in Cockpit Country - a haven for runaway slaves and pirates alike. THERE we had Guinness...not sure if THAT was part of ship's rations back in the day, but it sure was a Cockpit staple in 1975! Oh, great...just gave away my age.... das

I KNOW - this topic has probably been discussed TO DEATH here, and elsewhere. But I have a question, and I can't remember if I've asked it here (I have on other sites), so here it goes...PLEASE do not thrown weevily biscuits at me if I'm repeating myself...like Dory in Finding Nemo, I can't remember what I said five minutes ago, let alone 5 months ago! So, my question - could the term 'walking the plank' have actually been used in real life, and not just in fiction? I ask this based on the typical burial ceremony for a dead seaman - he was packaged up in his hammock with shot at his feet, and placed on a plank, which was then tilted upwards, allowing the body to then slip into the sea. He was thus sent to the grave via a plank. Taking that into consideration, if a man is then sent over the side ALIVE, he would, in effect, be 'walking' the plank normally used as a bier for a dead sailor. Not that he literally walked on a plank...but in a figurative sense he walked to his death instead of slipping off a plank as was the case of a man already dead. Not sure if I've made any sense, and I realize that this is, again, speculation. But I do wonder if there is a real and logical basis for the use of the term. Just like to hear your thoughts on the matter... das

Why, thankee, mate! *curtsies* I found this regarding the 17th cent. Dutch Navy (the following are excerpts translated from the original Dutch by Willem Rabbelier and Cor Snabel of the Netherlands.): http://olivetreegenealogy.com/nn/mm_10.shtmlIt seems that on Dutch ships of all sorts, fish was a staple in their diet, so it could be assumed then that Dutch corsairs also fed their crews with fish, both fresh and salted. I find this interesting because I've read of some 'superstitions' where sailors avoided eating fish - their 'brethern of the sea', as it were. NOW I question those 'superstitions' as fictional inventions... das

I didn't vote - simply because I don't know how to on this question! All I can do is speak from experience. I've been married nearly 16 years. My husband is almost 6 years younger than me, and he was the pursuer in the relationship from the first day we met. On the other hand, I thought he was NUTS! But I caved, eventually... Oh, and we met in church... He's been me only love, and I haven't felt a need to experiment outside the relationship, and so far, neither has he. Problems are few, and we get along great - I can't imagine anyone else tolerating me the way he does, and visa versa. We are opposites in many ways - I listen to Arabic and gypsy music, he listens to pop - I like Film Noir and he likes Sci Fi - I like exotic, spicy foods and he likes bland fare...BUT in the essentials we are very much alike - spiritually, ecumenically, grammatically.... das

A glass of 7 Deadly Zins Zinfandel and Extra Hot Mixed Pickle and rice (Indian thing - spicy hot pickled mango, carrots, and lime)...followed by a handful POTC cereal. And I wonder why I have heartburn all night... das

they have them in Jersey? *dashes off to Shoprite* Onesies tellin' on me!! I got mine at Acme - it seems that they are carrying both the cereal and the fruit snacks. I live in South Jersey - so...not sure what they have in other counties... The cereal is REALLY sweet - but the SEXIEST box of cereal I have ever seen!!! I'm thinking the picture is a might too tempting for kiddies...it's really more like Jack invitin' middle-aged ladies like me to nibble on his kibbles... das

HEY!!! THAT'S what I wear!!!!! LOL!! Actually - nice pic. Gives me a better idea of what small clothes looked like...I tended to think more of those red longjohns made popular in westerns... But - like the previous poster asked - how concerned were pirates with such things? I've been thinking about it - and the first thing that comes to mind is salt water rash. I wonder if underclothes were a protection against such things...or if they had the opposite effect. Perhaps a rash/rashless sailor out there could share some...personal (a.k.a. 'private') observations. das

Wow - I really miss these great discussions!! Been slackin' on 'fluff' sites of late, discussin' a certain wiggly-hipped movie pirate and his dashing, albeit bizarre, alter ego. But lately I've been in the mood again for more serious discussion... I've really enjoyed all the input here. Looks like oatmeal, peas, salted meat, and cheese were the staples on most ships - navy, pirate and otherwise... I'd like to add a few observations, however - some based on 'reports', and some based on speculation. First - the speculation. I would think that the supplies aboard a pirate ship were far more diversified than those on a naval vessel. NOT more abundant, mind you...just more diversified, based on location. For instance, pirates along the Barbary Coast probably had a far different diet than those in the Caribbean. It would be interesting to see if we could dig up any information on Mediterranean pirates. Did they (like the Spanish) eat more rice and chick pea (garbanzo) and tahini based meals instead of peas and oatmeal - or more mutton and lamb or goat, perhaps? PURE speculation - but it would be interesting to know how much the cultures along the Mediterranean (Greek, Mid-Eastern, North Aftican) influenced their rations. In the Caribbean, however - we have another factor. A lot of small, isolated islands scattered about. I would assume - again, pure speculation - that pirates took advantage of whatever they could scavenge from such islands - fruits such as papaya and bananas and coconuts (not sure of the nature of these things - what is native and what was introduced from other locales). Also yams, plantain, and akee, and certainly fish and turtles, and whatever they could take from ships AND communities they plundered/pillaged. Pirates took part in a lot of inland raids...and I'm sure the first few days back at sea were spent finishing off the perishable delicacies they had brought aboard. ALL speculation, but speculation based on normal human behavior. There are two types of food - the rations that had to be meted out carefully, and the 'bonuses' that were probably eaten soon after they were acquired. In other words - if you want to know what pirates ate - you almost have to think like a pirate, and not like a textbook. If YOU were at sea eating hard, moldy cheese for two months, and dropped anchor off a little island to find fresh water - wouldn't you glean everything possible from that island? Without victuallers bringing in fresh supplies like in the navy, a pirate ship had be resourceful. So - think like a pirate, and think what was available at that time amongst those islands frequented by pirates. Let's look at the Caymans, for example. A pirate haven, and a region rich in turtles. Surely, turtle meat was a staple for many pirates in the region. (BTW - I've never had sea turtle, but snapper *think clean thoughts* soup is delicious!! ) Someone mentioned salmagundi. A little tidbit I found in one book says, "The name is thought ot be a corruption of medieval French salemine, meaning salted or highly seasoned....A cook might include as the basis of his salmagundi any or all of the following: Turtle meat, fish, pork, chicken. corned beef, ham, duck, and pigeon. The meats would be roasted, chopped into chunks and marinated in a spiced wine, then combined with cabbage, anchovies, pickled herring, mangoes, hard-boiled eggs, palm hearts, onions, olives, grapes and any other pickled vegetables that were available. the whole would then be highly seasoned with garlic, salt, pepper, and mustard seed and doused with oil and vinegar - and served with drafts of beer and rum." Okay - THAT would make me puke... A small store of creature comforts would sometimes be kept - things like bacon, dried tongue, marmalade, nuts, and currants. In A Sea Grammar by Captain John Smith, he wrote, "For when a man is ill, or at the point of death, I would know whether a dish of buttered rice, with a little Cynamon, Ginger and Sugar be not better than Salt Fish or Salt Beef." In 1691 an anonymous English pirate captain off of Calicut, India. tried to come to a gentlemanly agreement with the local East India Co. agent, writing for, 'wood and water, as well as provisions for refreshing the men...as well as for one hundred weight of limes." Later he demanded, "a hogshead of rum and sugar equivalent for punch..." Another reference is to the 1719 attack on the English slave ship, Bird Galley. It states, "Shortly afterward the pirate commander, Captain Thomas Cocklyn...came aboard. He issued an order for all the live fowl on the Bird Galley - geese, turkeys, chickens and ducks - to be killed and cooked, and they were put into an immense cauldron with no more preparation than drawing the guts and singeing the feathers; along with the fowl went some Westphalian hams and a pregnant sow, which the pirate cook simply disemboweled and threw into the brew with the bristles still on." Also, "Snelgrave (of the Bird Galley) stood helplessly by and watched as Cocklyn's and Davis' men 'hoisted upon Deck a great many half hogsheads of Claret and French Brandy; knock'd their Heads out, and dipp'd Canns and Bowls into them to drink out of: And in their Wantonness threw full Buckets upon one another. And in the evening washed the Decks with what remained in the Casks. As to bottled Liquor, they would not give themselves the trouble of drawing the Cork out, but nick'd the Bottles, as they called it, that is, struck their necks off with a Cutlace; by which means one in three was generally broke. As to Eatables, such as Cheese, Butter, Sugar, and many other things, they were as soon gone.'" Basically what I'm saying is that their diets were probably very diversified, based on what was available at the time. Unlike the navy which had a more 'regimented' diet, pirates were scavengers, and they probably took whatever they could get their paws on, whenever possible. Sure, they probably had common 'stables' aboard, but certainly they took goods from ships and ports they raided, and from the islands where they sought refuge. Again - a lot of speculation here, but speculation based on common sense. das

HARRRRRR, HARRRRRR, HARRRRRR! I never watch SNL anymore, but this one wasn't so bad...kinda cute, in a 10-year old kinda way... das

It was a good show - and good interview. Depp, although fidgety as usual, actually seemed more relaxed than he usually does doing these interviews. I remember his 2003 Leno interview, I swear he was gonna hurl everytime he opened his mouth!! But this time around it looks like he's finally getting the hang of these talk show gigs. When he first came out the fangirls were screaming so much, they kept going on and on, and finally Depp looked at Leno as if to say, 'I'm sorry for all of this - can you please make them stop?'... It took me over two hours to type all that up this morning...I wanted to make sure I got most of Depp's 'uhs, yeahs, kinda ofs, and you knows'...anyone who has ever heard his halting speech knows that those little 'word whiskers' are what makes his delivery special. I'm not even sure he totally completed a single sentence or thought!! Check out some of the Depp fan sites, especially http://www.johnnydepp-zone.com - they might have links to the video of this interview. das

For the enjoyment of all, Depp’s interview on the Tonight Show with Jay Leno: *Introduction* Depp: Thank you. Leno: Thanks for coming. Depp: Thank you for having me. *lots of screaming – Depp is looking to Leno for help* Leno: Well, let’s talk to the guy. *Johnny laughs* Looking through your bio, you used to be a mechanic? Depp: In a way…yeah…in a way. Yeah…I was a…I was a gas station attendant, and I…so I used to pump gas and the whole thing, and then one day the owner of the place came out and said, “You’re going to work in the garage, now.” And I tried….to stop him…from allowing me to do that. Leno: Had you had any experience working on cars? Depp: No. No, I knew absolutely nothing about cars. Uh, and then I, you know…I ended up…he said, ‘Don’t worry, I’ll show you”. So I did like, wheel alignments and all this stuff, until…one day… I did what I thought was a terrific wheel alignment, you know, changed all the tires and uh, put all the lugs back on. The guy took off around the corner, and his left front wheel just…shot off. *laughs” That was the end of my career as a mechanic. Leno: Did you get fired? Depp: Oh yeah! Oh yeah… Leno: I was a fan before, but when I saw what you drove in here today, now of course, I’m a huge, huge fan… Depp: Oh, the Packard. Leno: A ’35 Packard, all original car – beautiful! *show picture* See, the cool thing is it’s original – not something that’s been all spiffed up – it’s just a nice original car. See, that car suits you, it has a nice patina to it… Depp: It does have a nice patina…it’s got a better patina than I do. Leno: I know you were friends with Hunter Thompson. Depp: Oh yeah. Leno: Tell people a little about him. Depp: Um…let’s see…Hunter S. Thompson was…IS…still one of the most important writers in the 20th century, as far as I’m concerned. He wrote the classic book Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas…which was made into a film, and um…he was a great, great man… Leno: He had an interesting last request, and I understand you’re going to help fulfill it? Depp: Yeah, yeah…we’re going to give it our best shot, as it were. *snickers* Hunter’s last request - his last wish - was to be…to have his remains fired out of a 150-foot cannon. Leno: Where does one get a 150-foot cannon. A regular cannon you might find… Depp: You might. Yeah, that’s the weird thing – you have to build the cannon. You have to actually design and engineer and build a cannon…for Hunter. Leno: And you’re going to do it? Depp: Yeah. Wouldn’t you? You kinda have to…yeah. Leno: You have to ride a Vincent Black Shadow when you get there. Depp: Maybe… Leno: The motorcycle in the book… Depp: Yeah, yes it was. Leno: Where do you aim a 150-foot cannon – at some corporate headquarters somewhere – what direction? Depp: I think straight into the stratosphere – just to the stars, yeah. Leno: When will that happen? Depp: Sometime in the very, very near future. Leno: How about you? Any final requests…would you want anything like that? Depp: No, you know, that’s…I…I…I…I’d probably want, I liked a little more subtle… Leno: More subtle? Maybe a 25-foot cannon? Depp: Yeah. Leno: You don’t have that cannon envy thing going … Depp: Be put into the eye of the Statue of Liberty or something like that… Leno: I heard you were approaching Keith Richards to play your dad (in POTC) – have you had any luck with that? Depp: Well, it’s looking good. It’s looking very good, actually, yeah. I mean, he’s got a…got a little tour to do with the Rolling Stones, but uh… Leno: Did you know him before that? Depp: I…um…ah…not before the Stones, no. Leno: No, not before the Stones. I mean, before POTC. *laughs* You weren’t even born when the Stones went on tour. Depp: You’ve got a point there. Leno: Did you know him before Pirates. Depp: Prior to that...oh yeah, yeah. I’d uh…known him on and off for a number of years. He’s really…he’s always been a very sweet, sweet man. Leno: You think he’ll play your dad? Depp: I think it’s…it’s looking very good….I think it’s going to work out. Very exciting. COMMERCIAL BREAK Leno: Welcome back. Did you watch Willy Wonka as a kid? Depp: Oh sure, yeah, yeah – loved it…every year. Leno: You watch it every year? Depp: Well no, when I was a kid. I stopped that. *chuckles* Leno: How do you read a Tim Burton script – do you just trust him? Depp: Yeah, when…when we…when Tim approached me about this, I…I didn’t even...there wasn’t a script, you know. He just started to talk about this…uh…this idea and I just stopped him in mid-sentence and said, you know, ‘I’m there, I’m in’. Leno: So you just trust him? Depp: Oh yeah. I’d do whatever he wanted. Leno: What was the jungle scene, I heard there was some trouble shooting that. Depp: Oh yeah. Uhm…well, it wasn’t so much trouble. I mean, there was…there was…kind of a jungle…sound stage…they built this really amazing sort of triple canopy jungle, and uh…I’m being chased by this massive, sort of wasp-beast thing, you know, swooping down at me, and uh…I have to run away. So I’m running…*laughs*…running through the jungle with a machete and stuff, and um, the next thing – ‘cause ya do – and the next thing you know, I’m just down, just flat. I just went down, I guess my lace, my boot lace, got caught on something, and I went face down. So, before you hear cut, I just heard incessant giggling, and it was Tim. I am starting to feel like that’s why he puts me in his movies, so that…he can laugh at me, you know. Leno: Did that stay in? Depp: I don’t know, I’m not sure…no, I haven’t seen it. I’m not sure if they kept that in… Leno: Your character is a germophobe. Are you like that? Depp: Well, I think that after you have kids, you become that. Leno: Really? Depp: Yeeeaaah. Leno: You mean because of the kids – you afraid for the kids, or for yourself? Depp: Well, no, no, just uh…uh, I mean, no, I don’t fear my children. *laughs* No, but I mean after you change a couple of diapers, you don’t want to make a tuna sandwich, or something like that. You know what I mean, you starting thinking about things like that… Leno: ESPECIALLY a tuna sandwich… Depp: You know what I mean. I could have said pastrami… Leno: Like when you leave a restroom, are you one of those guys who touches the door like this - *gestures with elbow* - or do you just grab it? Depp: I’ve never done that. But uh…no, but now it’s in my head and I’ll probably do it. Or maneuvering it with my boot - *lifts foot and demonstrates* - or something. Leno: Here’s another thing – if you go into a bar and there’s a bowl of peanuts… Depp: Bad news. Leno: You won’t eat the peanuts? Depp: Bad news. There was a study done - *clears throat* - this will change your life, by the way. This will change your life. There was a study done where they tested a…an ordinary bowl of peanuts, uh…on…at a bar. Twenty-seven different kinds of urine. Leno: Are you talking about bars where people just urinate in the bowl of peanuts, I don’t know what kind of bars you’re going to! Depp: *laughs* No, that’s home! Leno: You talking about people who use the restroom and don’t wash their hands and come back and eat the peanuts? Depp: That kind of deal …I’m assuming, yes. Yeah, change your life, right? Leno: I root through and try to find a peanut without the urine. Depp: Yeah, the clean one. Leno: Would you use the pay phone? Depp: Yeah. Leno: Or would you go like this - *pulls coat over hand to protect it* Depp: Well, I might now. Leno: I’m giving you a lot of good tips! You’re not one of those Purell guys, squirt the thing in your hand? Depp: The, the… *rubs hands together* no, not yet, but… it’s probably coming. Leno: You dance in this film as well. Are you a good dancer? Depp: I’m really not. You know, once again I think it’s one of those things that Tim…just to torture me. Yeah, yeah. Because he knows that I, you know, that that’s one of the things I fear most in life – is…is dancing. Oh yeah, it’s just not my thing. Leno: Would you ever confront your fears? Let’s say they want to do Chicago 2, and they want you – the ultimate challenge – could you learn to dance for that film, if you had to? Depp: If I could play the girl part. *everyone laughs * Leno: Can you explain this clip we are going to see? Depp: This is the inventing room. *they show a clip from the film* Leno: Did you model this character after anyone in particular? Depp: Um…you know what I…what I…when I was trying to come up with the…with the character of Wonka, I started, I started thinking about um…these memories of, sort of, children’s show hosts when I was a kid, you know. You know like, guys like Captain Kangaroo, Mr. Green Jeans, you know, Mr. Rogers, all that kind of stuff. And I was thinking about - I mean, my memory of them is, even at the age of 5 or 6 - thinking my god they talk weird, you know, because there’s that whole sort of, ‘Hello children, how are you?’ It’s really unnerving. So I sort of…I kind of took a little bit of that…and um, and then I was thinking about game show hosts, you know...that sort of… Leno: Kind of like a Bob Lang, Captain Kangaroo thing? Depp: Yeah, Wink Martindale, you know. Farewells and thank yous were exchanged amid rabid fangirl screaming, and Depp left the stage. ~ finis ~

Thanks, Foxe... I have always read about the hanging or swinging cot in reference to officers in the navy, but wasn't sure if pirates would use them, since you have the whole 'equality' thing going on there (though we know there was still a pecking order). Perhaps straw (or horsehair?) mattresses were used prior to the popularity of hammocks, but that seems like such a fire hazard, not to mention taking up a lot of space aboard the ship. I'm thinking a lot of men just slept flat on the deck, perhaps on a woolen blanket...or perhaps they curled up on sailcloth, or in the cable tier. In visiting several ships in New England, I noticed that most of them had the built-in bunks...but I'm thinking that is a later addition, or done only on ships with smaller crews, such as merchants and whalers. I've never really bothered to research it too deeply, I just assumed that men used hammocks during that time frame, but I was thinking larger vessels. When someone asked me what type of sleeping arrangements there are on a smaller vessel, like a schooner, I drew a blank - thinking of the bunks on the Meerwald...and didn't know how to answer. Thanks for the info - it gives me something to go on! das

No - not too lazy to do THAT...but I don't wanna buy one, I just want to know the evolution of sleeping arrangements aboard ship. Maybe I should have just said it that way, instead of getting all wordy and confusin'... das

Just a quick question because I am TOO lazy to figger it all out on my own... When did hammocks come into popular use on ships? I think there was a thread here - or perhaps on another site - where it was once discussed, but I have no idea what was mentioned or where that thread is now. Before Columbus 'discovered' the Americas - and the hammocks native peoples used - what sort of sleeping arrangement was there aboard ship? Hanging cots? Bunks? LL Bean sleeping bags?? Then, how soon after his voyage to the New World did hammocks come into popular use aboard ship, and what would have been the most likely sleeping arrangement on a pirate vessel during the Golden Age? Hammocks on larger ships, with built-in bunks on smaller vessels, like schooners? Or did the built-in bunks come much later, in the 19th century? This might be the wrong place to ask this, perhaps I need a more ship-oriented forum, but I thought I'd start here... das

Mr. Das and I just had dinner at a new restaurant in south Jersey called the Jersey Sailor. It's located in Historic Cold Spring Village and about 5 minutes from Cape May, 10 from Wildwood, and 45 min. to an hour from Atlantic City. There are a few folks working at the restaurant with Ren Faire experience, and they put on a pirate show after dinner for those interested in a little swordplay. I laughed me arse off during the show - they did a great job!! Anyone interested in checking the place out can go to http://www.jerseysailor.com We enjoyed ourselves very much, but next time we will dress the part, and take others along who would enjoy interacting with the restaurant's crew! Would be a great place to invade with a whole shipload of scallywags!! das

Bloody rain. Usually I love the rain, but Saturday was just impossible, and Sunday I had other obligations. Dang and double dang. *kicks the weatherman in the britches...* das

I'm trying to find out the historical development of the modern paisley print bandana (usually with a paisley border and smaller 'dots' - of paisley or another design - in the center). A quick search on the history of the paisley pattern turned up this site, http://www.paisley.org.uk/history/pattern.php , but I'd like to know when the bandana style so common today (and often worn by modern piratical sorts ) first made an appearance... das

So...can we show up in our 21st century clothes and still get in on some funsies, or do we have to come in dra...I mean, period 'tume? Also, can you clarify the dates for me?? The Musketeer School site days are diff from the Mifflin schedule ...is it April 29th (Fri.) and 30th (Sat.), or 30th (Sat.) and May 1st (Sun.)??? Hopefully hubby and I can sneak up for one day... das

Just went to Fort Mifflin for the first time, and loved it! A great place to visit, especially for their re-enactments... Here are some links, but the 'official' one - the last one - is under 'construction', but there might be some useful links on it (esp. to the Pennsylvania Navy). http://www.phila.gov/recreation/historical...ortmifflin.html http://www.thebrandywine.com/photoop/fort_mifflin.html http://www.fortmifflin.com/ When I get a chance I will post the upcoming events for the Fort, which I have at home. I know of a few events that may be of interest to folks here, including the Musketeer School http://home.att.net/~trmarr/ , the Seige of Fort Mifflin in November and a Renaissance event sometime in the summer. das

Sounds like the dudes in Cape May.... Sounds like the dudes in Cape May.... das

Okayokayokay...so...let's say this is 100 (+/-) years after the GAoP...how much would social customs change during that period of time? Would a similar sight have been beheld c.1700? Clothing may change, but would habits? Would it be safe to say that pirates during the GAoP set up similar outdoor feasts? Barrels and crates for seats, a makeshift banquet table (what would THAT be made out off??), and dancing... Okay - here's my observation... I'm no stranger to the dance floor, but 9 times out of 10, the only way your gonna see a bloke out there is if he's three sheets to the wind, and then he's surely NOT gonna be coordinated enough to tackle a minuet or circle dance or whatever... (I'm thinking the one guy in the background who seems to be dancing with himself is more pickled than the others... ) Okay, another observation. No food. It's ALL drink... Dang, why isn't EVERYONE dancing then?? das

These are the ones I've used for reference (some already mentioned): 1800 gundrill Canon Drill 101 Cannons 16th Century Cannon Gunnery 101 (this one has several pages, be sure to check all...) das