BILLY BONES

Brass and bronze seem to have had a higher copper content back then as well, making brass look a little more "red" as it begins to turn.

About 3 days ago, I returned from a movie job in Puerto Rico. I was there for a month. and even though the job wasn't my cup of tea, or rum anyway, my time off was pretty amazing! If you've been there. you know, but if you haven't, I'll tell you a little of what you can expect. Old San Juan was, and is, a walled city, dating from around 1510, and the walls and Spanish forts are still there. Being a U.S. possession, the 2 main forts have some nice park service displays, and since the forts overlook the Caribbean Sea, nice views. I was put up at the Carib Hilton, and the hotel is surrounded by Spanish gun emplacements. The first week, I was rather disappointed in the lack of piratical merchandise (you got to get a t-shirt), although the forts had some pirate books, repro doubloons, and little pirate figures. On my last day in San Juan, I walked into a shop that had some beautiful repro charts of the area from the 18th century, so after buying a couple, I asked the lady where all the pirate stuff was? She sent me to La Fortaleza St. (everything's within walking distance), and there it was, an entire 3 blocks devoted to piracy in some form or other! Antique shops full of real Spanish doubloons, reales, etc., pistols, shipwreck finds, cutlasses, and,of course, t-shirts. Naturally, that was the day I was broke, but hey, I found it! I would spend some time telling you about the historic sites, like Ponce de Leon's house, etc., but let me just say that the trip is worth it! Of course, I was there on somebody else's dime, so I'm not sure about expenses. For all you surfers, I also got to watch the World championships in Rincon, but true to form, I was drinking Mojitos and watching rather scantilly clad ladies most of the time. sigh.

I believe the new Portland Pirate Festival falls on the same weekend.

One reason the fragments of "Kidd's" flag that have turned up in the last 40 years are considered bogus, is that they are all black material. They seem to go along with the Kidd seachests that have the skull and crossbones on them. Probably produced by someone who had little feeling for the time period, or Kidd's aversion to being considered a pirate.

I've noticed through the years (I used to work at a American Civil War relic shop) that the brass used during that period often had a high copper content, due to shortages I suppose. In fact, many times, the authenticity of a piece often hinged on that copper content.

I could probably come down for that, but I'm too late anyway. Oh well. Nice guys.

RUMBA,

I'm not on your list either. In fact, I'm feeling a little unmemorable. I've met many of you, and I'm not on anyone's list!

Actually, I wouldn't mind seeing a picture of it in it's new home as well.

Thanks Dirk! Let me know when you want to start the next one! BB

Well, I got on here to say something about Marty, but drew a blank. There's too much. He's a great guy to work with, and fun to have around.

Just a side note, but on topic. If you ever see an amber colored flint, buy it. It is more than likely a French flint. and could very well be original. They spark like crazy. I was fortunate enough to get several (I worked in a Black Powder gun store for 13 years back in the 70s). They came off of a French shipwreck from the 1700's. In fact, I'm still using English shipwreck flints on ocassion. Far superior to the modern ones, and I have no real reason why. Every once in awhile still, you see a French flint floating around.

I'm stretching this a little, but the Golden Age started aroung 1630-50 by most accounts. Now granted, there shouldn't be any Jack Sparrows running around a Ren faire, but a Sir Francis Drake wouldn't be out of place. I must say that seeing the queen at the Ojai pirate faire seemed odd to me. Not just the time frame (almost everyone was dressed in the 1700-1730 time period), but she was consorting with known pyrates. I don't believe there was a letter of marque in the bunch.

Chole,

I like your flag. The rough edges make it look a little "rough". Pirates could sew, but I doubt a lot of them turned the seams under. I made a flag like that (seams turned under) initially for POTC, and it didn't feel right. The production designer agreed. I thought it might make the flag weaker to just sew the material right on without turning the edge, but the flags held up through gale force winds in the Bahamas (we flew them all day, every day so Gore could get a feel for them). From a slight distance, the fraying edges weren't visible in the overall design. Of course, we were dealing with very large flags. We also aged the flags heavily, which I thought would look ridiculous, as I'm sure that flags were repaired constantly (and pirate flags just weren't flown that much). We had patches, powder burns, musket ball holes, some cannon rounds, fading, etc. and they actually looked better visually (which is the only way you can look at something). Blackbeard's flag actually got hung up on a crane, and was ripped to shreads. I thought it was a total loss, but I repaired it, sewing the tears by hand, etc., and the thing turned out to be the best looking flag of all.

When making a pirate flag, I would be sure to remember that graphic artists weren't prevalent on pirate ships or pirate ports. There were, of course, artists, and a slick design was possible (as shown by some of the military designs of the period), but, sometimes a straightforward and bold design can convey much more than a detailed or busy design. You want the prey to get the message at the first glance! I guess I'm just saying that I personally like a little home-made (or ship-made) feel to these flags. Just my opinion. That being said, nice work everybody!

Oderlesseye,

You might want to email me concerning your mural. Right now, I'm trying to get my flag business off the ground, but I'm also a muralist. I get down that way on occassion, so who knows? BB

Kyllyr,

It's just as well. I'm sure while you were admiring my weapon, I was admiring your black and red bodice. My best to you and Gregory. BB

Well, obviously, I didn't know who you were either ! It was grand to almost meet you both.

Oh, me email is njordbloodaxe@verizon.net

Mates,

I finally worked out me pryce list, and if you would be so kind as to email me, but not through the pub (I can figure out regular email, but have never been able to attach anything here), I shall be happy to send you same, plus a photo or two. Thanks for your indulgence. BB

Postscript; I should have a website up and running soon, if I can get my son to do it for me.

I wasn't really offended. You could have captioned it "total looser" or something. Sorry about the h in Rumba. Probably thinking of a dance lesson I had once or something. Mr. Tarr, you can call me anything you'd like. Billy, Capt. Bones, Mr. Bones, William, Ed, whatever I was dismayed that I missed Claire and the Seven Seas bunch, or at least I didn't realize who they were. Being that I haven't gone to these soirees much, I'm surprised I knew anybody. I was pretty lost on Saturday, but thankfully, I knew Petee, Iron Bess, Cascabel, and Ace (at least by sight). Sunday was a much more satisfying day for me personally, and it was a pleasure to meet you all.

Rhumba,

I take offense at your picture of me! First, you evidently didn't recognize me, and secondly, you wrote the caption "What an interesting fellow". I'm certainly not interesting in the least! I'm terribly sorry I couldn't get to the PUB picture in time. Drove from Oregon that morning and was turned away by the fire dept. on 150. Had to go around the other way, and didn't get there 'til 1! Oh well, I got to meet some old friends and new ones.

Or should I say, not for naught.

I bought a subscription on ebay a couple of months ago. I trust it was for naught.

Sorry mates. Just got back from the Ojai Pirate Festival after driving for 14 hours. A bit done in, but I'll try to address your messages post haste. Patience! BB

I feel a little sheepish putting an ad on here, but here goes. While working as the armorer on POTC 2&3, I was asked to make 12 pirate flags to be featured in the 3rd movie. These were extemely large flags for the most part, being 25' on the fly, and of course, double sided. Since then, I've been asked to make more for the film, and I thought, now wait a minute --- even though these were a pain in the ____ for my wife and I to make (I had to come up with them during a Christmas break from Pirates), why not make them for you mates (for a price). Of course, I don't see alot of call for flags as large as the film required, although we're willing to make them, but the cost is pretty high for such a thing.

We're willing to make your own designs or make the standard well known designs. I put my own spin on some of the designs, using early descriptions, rather than relying on the usual sources. I probably won't hand sew these for various reasons, and frankly, I believe many of the originals were painted as well, depending on the design. I will say that, these flags will be good and servicable, and of pleasing composition. I'm still working on a price list, mainly because there are so many factors involved, such as materials, intricacy of design, size, painted or sewn, etc. I think you would be pleased with the result though. I have flags on permanent display in the Black History wing of the Smithsonian, and have made the flags for Last of the Mohicans, Glory, Gettysburg, and about 20 other historical films. Anyway, it's a thought, and I wanted to throw this out there to see if there was much interest. We are in earnest about this, and I'll be at Ojai this weekend wandering around if you happen to be there ---- I'd love your input. BB