'KA-BOOM!'..."Say Wot?

[the Royaliste]

After digestin' me turkey, I was told by a couple 'o well informed charter captains that the powers that be are talkin' no more sea battles around here....Surely it ain't legal, but.....anyone heard anything similar up or down coast?????...MEbbee 'tis time to make sail......

[El Pirata]

Avast, hang em from yer yardarm!!!

[BLACK JACK SHALAQ]

After digestin' me turkey, I was told by a couple 'o well informed charter captains that the powers that be are talkin' no more sea battles around here....Surely it ain't legal, but.....anyone heard anything similar up or down coast?????...MEbbee 'tis time to make sail......

The answers tis simple mate. Lay thar homes to waste n' asunder!

Make da bastards see things yer way!

Just tryin' ta help mate,

Black Jack

[the Royaliste]

Aye, mates!!..All good advice, just tryin' ta find the source, so's we kin' figure out elevation 'n windage!...more news when I get some facts....

[crow]

Well by battles at sea do they mean just cannons or does that mean you can still use grapplin hooks an and boardin pikes ? Actually up here the ony sea battle that we've seen were during the tallships visit two years ago. pretty sad record eh wot ?

[the Royaliste]

"Methinks at present, it's in regards to cannons, but, ye ne'er know, eh?..The grapples always work!...We've had quite a few publicized ones this year, usually with every tallship greeting, and a few more besides, counting forts and parties of other craft, not necessarily square-riggers(Many big schooners here, also) e'en had a schooner we din' know 'moon' us with an entire crew this weekend, hate to see all of the reverie come to a halt..guess we'll see..."

[TalesOfTheSevenSeas]

Noooooooooooooooooooooooooooo!!!!!!!!!!!!! Say it ain't so!!!

I bet it's a matter of the Coast Guard wanting to have all cannons under tight control in a post 9-11 Bay Area. We probably look/sound like a public risk. Remember they photographed us Friday? I'm betting, that they would like to see all sea battles scheduled with organizations like Sail SF and just some sort of regulation going on so they know when the booms are coming.

[El Pirata]

Yeah, but if that were the case if would have happened a lot earlier than now, I mean 2 year in the making... Wait, what am I saying, it took almost 2 years to finish the entrance at one of the bases here. Still, that required money whereas policy does not. Perhaps they were waiting until the funds came along to enforce the reg before implementing it.

[TalesOfTheSevenSeas]

Yeah but the Royaliste wasn't there two years ago and only recently was armed with 5 big arse guns, LOL. Just last Friday, a CG ship pulled up along side twice and took photos. We were kinda wonderin' what's up with that.

Ya know.... I'm thinking that if this is to come to pass, that probably the way to deal with it is to talk to the Coast Guard or Harbor Patrol and ask what is up BEFORE it goes into effect. That way we could present ourselves as supportive and cooperative. Hopefully presenting the Royaliste and crew with a sense of good will, cooperation and understanding of the circumstances. My guess is that they won't eliminate them entirely, but you'll have to be on the roster for an event, in which case we want to make sure we don't get squeezed out and that we've got all the proper B.S. paperwork filed.

Now what about outside the Golden Gate? Open sea is a different ball game, correct?

[El Pirata]

Yeah bet it can also have the backfire method that they remember there was a law passed in 1923 that said public firing of cannons was against the law and since they had taken pics of you guys 2 days ago they had the evidence that you guys were breaking an 80 year old law... Yeah I know I am incorrigible (errr however you speel it).

[RyannMacGregor]

Just last Friday, a CG ship pulled up along side twice and took photos. We were kinda wonderin' what's up with that.

Ya know.... I'm thinking that if this is to come to pass, that probably the way to deal with it is to talk to the Coast Guard or Harbor Patrol and ask what is up BEFORE it goes into effect. That way we could present ourselves as supportive and cooperative. Hopefully presenting the Royaliste and crew with a sense of good will, cooperation and understanding of the circumstances. My guess is that they won't eliminate them entirely, but you'll have to be on the roster for an event, in which case we want to make sure we don't get squeezed out and that we've got all the proper B.S. paperwork filed.

Now what about outside the Golden Gate? Open sea is a different ball game, correct?

Simple....it's boat envy.

Now if the Royaliste has to get "prior clearance", I must admit...I'm having quite the amusing time thinking of the phone call to the CG. "Hi, yes, this is Capt. Gary of the Royaliste.....oh, yes Sir, that was us, but the other ship must have misunderstood our intentions..no, no, we weren't trying to board her.....ok, anyway, I'm just calling to let you know that later this week there'll be a pyrate party on board, and we plan on using the cannons.....no sir, I said PRIVATE party (whew....little sweat)....yes, we plan on only using half charges (NOT!)....yes, yes....ok...great...guess we'll see your boys out there as well....by the way, how did those pictures turn out?.....oh really...full moon, you say...well, the one in the middle was mine"

[Coastie04]

Simple....it's boat envy. 

Umm...YES!!! I'd much rather be on a leaky wooden boat with large cannon and sail than a Korean War era Coast Guard Cutter with not more than a 76 mm cannon and a couple of .50 cal machine guns. Heck, the black powder cannons have more chance of working, and would be more than enough to penetrate the thin steel hull. Heck, I've heard that the 110' cutters are getting to the point where you can stick a pencil through the hull in some places! Can't quite do that to 3 inches of oak, pine, or fir.

Coastie

[TalesOfTheSevenSeas]

Hey Coastie, I was hoping you'd respond to this. Do you have any recommendations as to what might be a good way to proceed? Should we approach the CG in a supportive, helpful way and let them know we'd heard rumors and would like to know what's up so that we can work with them? Or should we just sit tight and see what happens? Got any recommendations?

[the Royaliste]

ROLLINONTHEFRIGGINDECKLAFFINMEFUGGINARSEOFF!!

Ain't sweatin' it yet, but it would seem to me that any 'logical' (I say that carefully around the CG) answer on the deck guns would also include the fort's cannons at the west garrison, etc....So, I 'll be listening a bit more, an' still chargin' the muzzles...'Eck, I AM a Pyrate!... :)

[TalesOfTheSevenSeas]

LOL so I take it this was rather naieve of me, eh Captain?!! LOL You da boss! You know me, always hoping for diplomatic solution.

[Coastie04]

Do you have any recommendations as to what might be a good way to proceed? Should we approach the CG in a supportive, helpful way and let them know we'd heard rumors and would like to know what's up so that we can work with them? Or should we just sit tight and see what happens? Got any recommendations?

Well, you've hit a note with me here. I would usually say 'sure, just try to find out as much about it as possible, and work with the CG to allow the sea battles and all to continue,' but events of late lead me to doubt the common sense of some officers. First of all, there are my classmates. They're all going to be officers, even the football players. Second, there is the complete blindness to interpretation of rules or special circumstances. For example, when Amtrack cancels a reservation and sells out all the trains from Philadelphia to New London on the last day of leave, you find out about it at the train station, and still manage to get to the bus station and on a bus that *should* get you back with an hour to spare, but due to traffic and construction the connection in New York is missed and the next bus gets you there an hour after leave expires, they still sometimes give you two weeks of restriction...That was the end of my Thanksgiving (luckily the rest was a lot of fun).

However, I really do believe that the Academy has a negative impact on everyone on working here, regardless. It seems that the ground here is cursed and people, cadets and officers alike, loose compassion, common sense, and much of their decency while within the general area. Most CG officers, esp. those LT and higher are more reasonable. The one catch you might watch out for is going to them and having them say that you can't fire the cannons. Then, if you do, they can say that they specifically ordered YOU not have fun...er, I mean shoot things.

Good luck with this, and hopefully it's just a bunch of false rumors.

Coastie

[TalesOfTheSevenSeas]

:) Ahhhhhhhhhh. OK I'm beginning to clue in. I'm still very much an overly optimistic rookie at times.

[Cracked Carrie]

:) Ahhhhhhhhhh. OK I'm beginning to clue in. I'm still very much an overly optimistic rookie at times.

Well, I was thinkin' along the same lines as you, so we're both overly optimistic rookies, I'd say!

Hell, I work in a counseling environment. No wonder I...

A. Love the idea of something a little less diplomatic at times... and...

B. Still tend toward the diplomacy first as a matter of conditioning.

Still...taking away the black powder battles will make the Bay a poorer place. We're not the only ones enjoying the spectacle, after all!

[RyannMacGregor]

....and then there are those times where it is better to "beg for forgiveness, than ask for permission". Yes, I have truly encountered this workin' for the government.

[the Royaliste]

"Bloody Bloomin' Flippin' 'eck wif' a bunch 'o that mullarky!!!"..

..'Begins loading all gun batteries........

[El Pirata]

"beg for forgiveness, than ask for permission"

Is there another way???

[TalesOfTheSevenSeas]

*Hands the captain the linstock with a lit slow match ready to go*

Give 'em bloody heck Cap'n!!!

[Raven Cole]

No cannon fire? That's like Christmas without Santa Claus. Hopefully it's all just that.....rumor.

[Captain of the 'REVENGE']

"Always room for gunpowder, eh?...I'll spot ye a pound or two!"

[Zephyr]

Aaarrrrr when the seas not in yer blood it's too easy to grow red-tape worms in yer head.........................set Fred on em'