Arrr!

[iPirate]

Yo Ho, Yo Ho, a.... awww. you know the rest...

Hello everybloody. Just introducing myself. I'm iPirate or otherwise known as Pat. I'm 43, happily married to Asian girl 13 years younger than myself.

P-}

yes, i'm a very lucky pirate indeed.

Ok, a little history about myself.

I grew up in a very catholic household and went to an all boys catholic high school in D.C. (Gonzaga). One good thing about that is that my teachers were all great thinkers and they taught me how to think for myself.

boy did that screw me up...

I thought for myself alright... just thought in completely the wrong direction.

by the time I hit college I was pretty much stark raving mad. I turned Punk and Pagan, started partaking of illicit substances and fornicating with any wench that would have me. Now, I'm not saying there's anything wrong with anyone who lives that kind of life or makes those kind of choices. In fact, I'd say I was still a pretty good guy during that time. I always helped out other people when I could and I never did "mean" things to anyone. And I learned a lot of things I would have never have learned otherwise.

I'd say that phase of my life lasted about 15 years or so. I had moved to Richmond, Va, which according to Dr. Timothy Leary, is one of the "weirdest" places on earth. After almost getting killed there a couple of times, I packed up my belongings went home to Northern Virginia.

I guess that's about the time I started calming down and trying to do better things with my life. My Pagan Gods had stopped talking to me, or maybe they never had... I don't know anymore and it's irrelevant now. I searched for a new direction.

I met Sunny at a Cafe where she was working. Long story - short. We fell in love and got married. Changed my whole life.

Now... I had never really given a fig about pirates or ships or sailing or any of that before then. I mean, pirates where cool, yah, but I wasn't like... into them. I was more of a fantasy buff at the time. Lord of the Rings, Dungeons and Dragons, all that kind of stuff. I had been a member of the SCA for many years and I fooled around with boffer LARP groups like Darkon and Amtgard.

Most of those things I left behind when I got married. I still had interest, sure, but my wife didn't really like me running around and bashing people with fake swords and getting bashed.

So, on our Honeymoon, we took a cruise to the Bahamas.

As we pulled out, I stood very close to the bow. The first time I felt the bow dip... and then rise again...

something happened

those of you who have felt it know what I'm talking about

it did something to me

Instantly, I was madly in love with the ocean and with sailing upon it. And visiting Nassau, the very haven for piracy in the 17th Century, just sparked things inside me.

Maybe it's corny... maybe you might think me a pouser... but the final shove that turned me into a "Pirate" was the first "Pirates fo the Caribbean" movie. It just kind of brought it all together and gave form to this nameless passion I had inside me.

Six years later, that passion has only grown... it's pretty much an obsession now. Everything to do with tall ships, the Age of Sail, or pirates gets my attention.

So that's a little brief bit about me.

Nice to meet you all.

[Iron Bess]

Welcome aboard mate....

Hope you find enough here to keep yer interest fer a spell.

At least until you can buy the first round!!

Set 'em up Joe!

[iPirate]

Welcome aboard mate....

Hope you find enough here to keep yer interest fer a spell.

At least until you can buy the first round!!

Set 'em up Joe!

*throws down some copper for the drinks*

Drink up, me hearties, yo ho!

[Black Syren]

welcome aboard and if yer buying a Plunder Me Cherry fer me..oh and extra cherries please!

[sutlerjon]

Welcome Aboard!

In reading aspects of your story I can only say .....

Jerry Jeff Walker thought he was an "Alright Guy" and well if you know Jerry Jeff's story .......

Let's not forget Hunter S. Thompson's admonishment either .........

I too had an epiphany (into wind tho') >gack< on the bow as it rose and dipped ....

just thinking about it now makes me want to "call the harbor seals" again ...... landsman all the way, but ya gotta get on the boat ta get where yer goin'! So's ye can find the plunder!

[Dutchman]

hey mate, pack up and head to hampton june 5-7 for the hampton blackbeard festival. then come track us down, it wont be hard- dutch

[iPirate]

hey mate, pack up and head to hampton june 5-7 for the hampton blackbeard festival. then come track us down, it wont be hard- dutch

Arrr! I'd love to, Mate, but it depends on my work schedule. I'm working 7 days a week now to keep the mortgage hounds at bay.

At least my weekend job is almost as fun as being a pirate P-}

I work at the International Spy Museum in D.C.

[Dutchman]

DUDE!!! YOU SUCK!!!!! How did you land that job? anyone who has not made that visit and is near DC definitely needs to add that one to the list. I was working and my "target" decided that it would be an interesting side trip before we returned home one afternoon. Cool stuff!

[iPirate]

DUDE!!! YOU SUCK!!!!! How did you land that job? anyone who has not made that visit and is near DC definitely needs to add that one to the list. I was working and my "target" decided that it would be an interesting side trip before we returned home one afternoon. Cool stuff!

hehe... I've been working security for years and I saw an ad in the Washington Post about the museum having a job fair. I went down and applied and they hired me ^^

It is, bar none, the coolest job I have ever had. Doesn't pay much but lots of fun.

[Black Anne]

Welcome ipirate!

Yeah, that IS a cool job!

[William Brand]

Welcome aboard, Pat. You won't find a shortage of madness in the throng. This lot will get you drunk, convince you to to wear outlandish clothes and shoot guns in the air. If you're very lucky, that will all take place before noon and you'll get to do it twice more before you sleep five days in a row.

See PIRATES IN PARADISE

Yes. I never stop recruiting.