the skirmish'es?

[jacobite]

hullo all

not to give to much away....but. i was wondering exactly What should one expect......are they Scripted battles or are they going to to be un scripted with some sorta pre deposed ending? Or amd i reading to much into this and just keep my firelock at the ready..and when its time to blow powder so be it....

[Capt. Sterling]

For now mate, just be on yer guard!

[William Brand]

hullo all

not to give to much away....but. i was wondering exactly What should one expect...

Why do you ask...? Where do your loyalties lie? Who has paid you to discover our inner circle...?

Come, sah, we will have your answers!

[Capt. Sterling]

hmmm now there be an idea... a spy in the camp... just which one??

[William Brand]

Your pardon, sah. I slipped into my most suspicious of moods.

[jacobite]

hmmm now there be an idea... a spy in the camp... just which one??

hmmm now there be an idea... a spy in the camp... just which one??

Now Now Now Now...that would indeed Be Tellin....wouldnt it...

All this sailor knows is it is indeed hard to work in the service of a King who doesnt even Speak at least one of the tounges that His people speak...But if the King across the water comes to roost again I maybe beable to see fit to return to service.....(or I could be press ganged ...or a pardon....would be nice too......)

[Capt. Sterling]

Oh we don't believe in pardoning anyone... twould be such a waste of lovely hemp

[jacobite]

Ahhhh ever the "Sassenach " No pardon no....info.....

[Capt. Sterling]

Desperately fighting down the urge to write "AH but ve haf vays of making you talk!"

['Bastian Devareaux]

Sassnach.... Ouch!!!

[Capt. Sterling]

Jealous!

['Bastian Devareaux]

Non...the paticular "title" used is a Irish slur for the English. Would not apply to myself.

Now back to our regularly scheduled program.....

[Capt. Sterling]

Aye twas directed at the tight lipped fellow above ye

[jacobite]

Sassnach.... Ouch!!!

Desperately fighting down the urge to write "AH but ve haf vays of making you talk!"

lol....

when did Col Klink join the royal Navy? did her come over with George the 1st?

[Capt. Sterling]

Didn't you know I was directly related to the King....

[jacobite]

Isnt Hanover land locked

[Patrick Hand]

His question never got ansered..... but I think by now ..... heck it don't matter...he figured it out......

So the battles be kinda lose and easy........

[Captain Jim]

Aye, we know how the battles turn out, but not how they are going to go. A couple of us will control the line and keep it safe while directing traffic..er I mean troops...to the right place at the right time.

[Capt. Sterling]

Seriously now folks, with the numbers continuing to mount as they are, might I suggest having a safety meeting first thing every morning? What it would consist of would be:

Everyone and I mean EVERYONE that is to carry a weapon and fight MUST attend.

Everyone in the battles or scenarios also MUST attend even if they are not to fight.

Everything for the day is gone over so EVERYONE knows what is going to happen, when and where... and who is doing what to whom

Tasks are assigned, for example, when it comes to the hangings, only certain people in my crew will be handling the rope.

hand to hand fighters are partnered up ahead of time, so they can go and practice together before taking the field, (remember this is NOT an immersion weekend, we will be watched by spectators, lets not give them real blood by some foolish accident that could have been avoided by properly setting things up in advance)

weapons are inspected and necessary repairs are immediately seen to (questionable weapons are then checked again)

This is the time when people can volunteer last minute ideas which are then taken into consideration and then POSSIBLY allowed IF safe,

allows the quiet types to find some way to fit in...

it gives everyone a chance to meet, for those who are new to the event,

a time to appoint "safety officers on the field" who will be responsible for keeping an eye out in case of emergencies, and who will know what to do and who to contact and how if one does occur..

a time to appoint people to see to crowd control... making sure the spectators are in a place where they can see and enjoy, but is also safe to them and the reenactors

A safety code is assigned for all to know... if this word goes out it means everyone is to go on alert, from someone falling on the field with a serious injury, to a spectator getting out of hand with one of the crew.

and a time to answer any and all questions.

Safety first, the more each person is made aware of what is happening and when, the less chance for serious mess ups.... communication in this case is not only the key but is vital. Remember an ounce of prevention is truly worth a pound of cure.

[michaelsbagley]

I rather agree with Capt. Sterling on most of his sentiments. Although I am a little wary of anything entitled "Officer" even if it is "Safety Officer". It may be the cynic in me, or perhaps too many bad run-ins with people taking the "officer" part of their role too far, even to the point of ignoring what they are actually supposed to be an officer of. But I think this can be handled well by using a more "friendly" term as "Safety Delegate" or what-not, and a mild reminder to those who will serve as "Safety delegates" (or whatever they end up being called) that they are there only to ensure people aren't being "dumb-arses" and causing potential risks to others or themselves.

But I fully give a solid "here here" to Sterling's other suggestions on safety guidlines and safety meetings/musters.

One item of most interest to me, is black powder training. I've not had much (hardly any) experience with black powder weapons, will there be anyone (and the time) available to get a newbie like me taught enough to be safe enough to particpate in the tacticals? I am aiming to buy my first musket later this summer or some time in the autumn, but I will not likely have much time or opportunity to get used to using it, let alone getting used to iusing it in a tactical simulation.

Another item near and dear to my heart, is hand to hand combat conventions. The plain and simple fact of the matter is there are many different conventions used in hand to hand combat for re-enactment battle simulations. While I am reasonably familiar with most of the more commonly used conventions, I am most strong in a few. I really don't want to be fighting one way against an opponent using one set of conventions, while my opponent uses another, and I am fairly confident that sentiment would be mutual in almost all cases. Would it behoove us to discuss this in advance? Is the plan to use fencing style weapons for safety and ease of use? Or use blunted versions of the authentic(ish) weapons and pull and fake blows? What simulated weapons can/will be safely used?

Sorry to be such a wind-bag, but I thought I would throw some questions out there to hopefully get some dialogue going or some answers if someone exists who has made these decisions already.

[Capt. Sterling]

The term Safety Officer is just a well used and well known label at most events... even Wild west where there are no officers per say.... do we really need to reinvent the wheel? And the folks that are usually appointed such should be folks that have the experience, know their weapons and, since we are speaking safety here, should be listened to immediately.

No we don't want some power hungry, title wielding demigod lording it over everyone but such an unbalanced individual shouldn't be on the field let alone appointed safety officer....

[William Brand]

The idea of a morning meeting in regards to safety is a good one, and it can't hurt to have knowledgable people in all camps. Historically, Braze and Cascabel have been in charge of the battles, so please keep them in the loop as we go along. Callenish is also well experienced in the use of black powder, as is Patrick.

[William Brand]

With the camp size growing, and divided as it is between multiple camps, it might serve us well to have volunteers from each camp. With Harry in charge of the Redcoats, that would leave us with a volunteer from each of the other camps. Captain Sterling could appoint one of his own to be in charge of the Archangel crew. Callenish could cover the sutler's camp and we could choose one from among the Mercury Careening camp.

All of these 'safety people' would then report to Braze and Cascabel who in turn report to the park.

[Capt. Sterling]

Sounds like a plan, especially since Braze and Cascabel have the experience regarding PiP and many of its attendees as well as the lay of the land.

As for my Archangels, I shall speak with Maddogg and Rats... Maddogg especially has many, many years experience regarding Living History and safety training.

[Cascabel]

I will be more than happy to take the time to help any "newbies" to be safe with black powder weapons. There is far too much incorrect information passed around out there. Mostly not dangerous stuff, but simply not the best way to do things. If there is sufficient interest, I will schedule a beginning black powder class.

For those that have a subscription to "No Quarter Given" magazine, there is a very in-depth 3 part article written by me on how to operate flintlocks in recent issues.

>>>>> Cascabel