Who is What?

[William Brand]

We should probably discuss who came aboard when and why at some point, if we ever have to play that out in any way. I always imagined that William Brand came aboard some time in 1716 or 1717, after serving on several different ships between the Watch Dog and the present (or 1720).

[silas thatcher]

my story has kinda been that i was serving on a merchant ship out of providence, rhode island when overtaken by the mercury... having had enough of the harsh discipline of a merchant ship, i decided to join the ranks...

at the time ( dangit !! i even forgot my own dates.... i have to look those up again ) war was over, and sailors were a penny a dozen... even lesser paid than before, and the fact that sailors of the time were treated as disposable rubbish, prodded my decision to leave that world behind when the opportunity arose...

[Raphael Misson]

We should probably discuss who came aboard when and why at some point, if we ever have to play that out in any way. I always imagined that William Brand came aboard some time in 1716 or 1717, after serving on several different ships between the Watch Dog and the present (or 1720).

I was kind of kidding about the 1707 thing (2007 (my first PiP) => 1707). Since pirates seem to have rarely operated for more than a year or two, I can't imagine the Mercury would have even been a pirate vessel in 1707.

Plus it seems from my reading that captured surgeons weren't usually kept for more than a couple of months. They were traded out for the next surgeon they found when capturing ships. (There are some exceptions, but the examples I've read involve poorly (and often informally) trained surgeon's mates who enlisted with pirates and one surgeon who just decided he wanted to become a pirate when he was captured. (Peter Scudamore - on Bart. Roberts crew. Scudamore was hanged.))

[William Brand]

I did a brief, historical write-up on the Mercury years back as a possible template for her past. It involved the finding of the Mercury under another name after she had been swept ashore in a storm or battle by a previous crew. It also explained her alteration from a Bermuda Sloop to a Brig-Sloop. I don't recall the dates specifically, but as Captain Jim proposed the careening crew on December 13 of 2006, we could say that the crew found the sloop on December 13, 1716. As the name Mercury was accepted as the sloop's name on January 29, 2007, we could say that was the day she was reborn as a completed Brig-Sloop in 1717.

This time frame would have given the crew a month and a half to make the repairs and alter the rigging of the damaged ship. It would have also given them sufficient time for to cannibalize their own ship for timber, line, canvas, ship's stores and great guns. This also gives us a narrative timeline to place our characters soundly between 1716 and 1720, plus any history of those pirates who knew each other before.

So tentative timeline...December 13, 1716 to January 29, 1717 (all dates below coinciding with their respective dates in Pub discussions, i.e. 1716 for 2006, and 1717 for 2007)

December 13, 1716 - The Whole Company discovers the damaged remains of a Bermuda Sloop and decides to abandon their own well worn craft in favor of the newer vessel, due to her lighter, quality construction and favorable line. They anchor offshore, using their ship as a defense for the careening of the newer sloop.

December 14, 1716 - Work begins on what will become the Mercury. She is properly beached and careened. Line and tackle are set for the removal of her damaged rigging. Men are sent inland to make a survey of materials, to discover fresh water and food, and to assess any possible threats to the Whole Company.

December 14-29 1716 - A loose tarp and canvas encampment springs up along the treeline over time as more and more goods and tools are brought ashore. Clothes are swapped, mended and traded among fellow pirates.

December 30, 1716 - Having discovered the presence of pirates ashore, the locals begin a tentative and limited trade with the Whole Company (This date specifically coincides with the discussion on the Pub about having women in the crew at PIP).

January 9, 1717 - Patrick Hand, pirate son of a printer, suggests that a new name be chosen for the found ship, offering Speedwell as the first of many names to be considered.

January 10, 1717 - The longboat is named the Gullah by Harry Smid.

January 19, 1717 - The crew first considers changing the ship's rigging from one mast to two. This is debated by the Whole Company over the course of many days and they eventually decide upon a brig-sloop rigging.

January 28, 1717 - Dorian Lasseter suggests that the name of the new ship should be Mercury. This name quickly eclipses the popular choices of Morning Star and Solstice.

January 29, 1717 - Mercury is accepted by the majority as the new name of the Brig-Sloop and she is launched upon her career of infamy and fortune.

From that point on in 2007 we began discussing various details of the Mercury encampment under the thread entitled 'The Mercury, 1720 Careening Camp'. If you haven't read it in awhile, I highly recommend re-reading it now.

https://pyracy.com/index.php?showtopic=9815&st=0

[Raphael Misson]

Very well done. Bravo!

[RedJessi]

I'm another who has no real character - open to idears.

[theM.A.dDogge]

you my dear...are a real character.....tehehehe

[William Brand]

I'm another who has no real character - open to idears.

Use what you know. I always recommend that you model who you are after your true self as you would be 300 years in the past. Many of the pieces of history that make up William Brand are grafted directly from real life events, people and places of my own life. They are of course altered and even exaggerated against a large backdrop of sea and bloodshed, but they still stem from real turning points in my life.

It's easier to reference the timeline of your imagined self when referencing memory as much as imagination.

[Red Cat Jenny]

against a large backdrop of sea and bloodshed

I love when you use phrases like this. It brings instant vistas into the immagination..and that big grin.

I'll let you know what I come up with...you have me thinking now

[William Brand]

We have some 39+ pirates in the Mercury camp this year, with some tentative members not yet listed, and I couldn't be happier to see such a throng. We constitute the largest single presence at the festival and I am glad to see us well positioned to compliment the Archangel and English in combat and force. With Captain Sterling recruiting a glorious number of pirate hunters to the festival, gone are the days when a few English fought a handful of pirates. We've gone from a bar fight to actual skirmishes.

Here are the names of those connected to us this year. Take the time to get to know these names and send a shout out to people you haven't met.

William Red Wake, Captain Jim, Michael Bagley, Kate Souris, Patti, Morgan, Tommy (pyrate name to be determined) X, Natalie (tentative, Red Jessi, Rev.Sam, Mission, Silas Thatcher, Andrew, Miles, Alex, Iron Jon, Paula, Boogater, Black Syren, Oderlesseye, Anne Coates-Sharpe, Maeve O'Treasaigh, Liam Strongheart, Aeva, Niko, Melissa, Dana Farnsworth, Kelli Farnsworth, Tudor Smith (Mercenary Wench, Mister Tignor, Trish Gallatin, Shannon Gallain, Nick Strojny, Ashley Strojny, Abigail Roughnight, William Blackheart, Tartan Jack, Red Cat Jenny, and the newest member, Mark Dilly (madPete)

I'll be putting together materials prior to the event, so I'll need mailing addresses from everyone eventually if you want the 'packet'. This will contain maps, charts and the like for your use at PIP. You can send addresses to me by Private Message.

[RedJessi]

you my dear...are a real character.....tehehehe

Why I oughta..... *grumble*

Coming from you, that feels like quite the insult!

[RedJessi]

I'm another who has no real character - open to idears.

Use what you know. I always recommend that you model who you are after your true self as you would be 300 years in the past. Many of the pieces of history that make up William Brand are grafted directly from real life events, people and places of my own life. They are of course altered and even exaggerated against a large backdrop of sea and bloodshed, but they still stem from real turning points in my life.

It's easier to reference the timeline of your imagined self when referencing memory as much as imagination.

Given that GOAP predates Freud, I think I will need to make some more significant changes. heee!

I am going to try to do more reading on the subject in the coming weeks, and hopefully I can craft something....at some point. lol

[Raphael Misson]

You should be a blacksmith.

Then I can say, "Here's to ya, blacksmith!"

And someone else can say, "And to the future!"

Edited September 14, 2009 by Raphael Misson

[RedJessi]

You should be a blacksmith.

Then I can say, "Here's to ya, blacksmith!"

And someone else can say, "And to the future!"

Ye really must do somethin' about this Delorean obsession ye have lad. Piratin' is nae about goin' back to the future!

[Raphael Misson]

You should be a blacksmith.

Then I can say, "Here's to ya, blacksmith!"

And someone else can say, "And to the future!"

Ye really must do somethin' about this Delorean obsession ye have lad. Piratin' is nae about goin' back to the future!

I already did something about my Delorean obsession. (It was an expensive lesson that I prefer not to repeat.)

[RedJessi]

You should be a blacksmith.

Then I can say, "Here's to ya, blacksmith!"

And someone else can say, "And to the future!"

Ye really must do somethin' about this Delorean obsession ye have lad. Piratin' is nae about goin' back to the future!

I already did something about my Delorean obsession. (It was an expensive lesson that I prefer not to repeat.)

The cabinets or the car?

[William Brand]

Dorian has offered to play a 'Master Gunner' which suits me just fine. After all he has years of experience on cannons at Pennsic, Fort Niagara, Lockhouse, Fort Taylor and other gatherings, and he stepped up and did an excellent job as a safety Officer just two weeks back. As I said before, go with what you know.

[Iron Jon]

I think Mission unofficially nominated Paula and me as the Mercury cooks!?!

[Captain Jim]

Yes, yes I think he did. See what happens when you provide food to Pyrates.

[Mission]

I think Mission unofficially nominated Paula and me as the Mercury cooks!?!

You should take that with a grain of salt. (Hah!) That guy seems loopy to me.

"Confidentially...this guy's crazy!" -Daffy Dumas Duck

Mission also nominates himself and madPete to be the unofficial Mercury sous chefs. (You'll have to wait for Chapter 8 to understand that one...)

[madPete]

yeah... I'm especially good with Lox and Caviar

Don't tell me you have pictures of that... please...

[DSiemens]

Hello. I'm new aboard and thought this be as good a place as any to introduce my self to the crew. Daniel Siemens the name. I have no pirate name or or persona as of yet. I have always enjoyed pirates for as long as I can remember and enjoy celebrating talk like a pirate day. The TLAPD facebook page led me to Mutiny Magazine which led me here. I think it would be fun to build the name and character get some clothing together and join some pirates in person but all in due time I suppose.

For now I am a shipwright with an enthusiasm towards pirates. As I learn a bit more maybe it can be said I'm a shipwright with an emphasis on pirate ships. I am currently doing some research to build a small RC pirate sloop and hope to have it sailing this summer. I have two other bottle builds to get done first before I can really pursue it though.

If there are any questions any one has on pirate ships or ships in general I'd love to help you with the research. I have many connections to the model ship building community and what ever I don't know off hand I can find out.

Thanks for having me aboard.

[Mission]

Welcome to the Mercury crew, Daniel.You should definitely try a re-enactment if it piques your interest. I hung around here for almost four years before diving in and it has turned out to be well worth the diving. Based on your blog, your cool little scratch-built ships and your being a shipwright, I would think the perfect character for you would be a carpenter or a carpenter's mate. Acquiring tools (or even making them with your skills) for that position probably wouldn't be all that difficult. (If you wanted to have a specific character, that is. The Mercury has more able seamen than most crews of which I know. The nice thing about starting in that role is that all you need to do is assemble a basic kit.)

Thank you for detailing how you got here. I have been on the fence about doing something for about a week and your comments have helped me to reach a decision.

I hope to see you at an event some day! IMHO, you can't beat either the Key West Fort Taylor Pyrate Invasion or the Put-in-Bay Pirate Festival for your first exposure. It's a bit of a haul from Denver, but madPete makes the journey from Arizona every year to Key West and QM William Red Wake often comes from Utah, so it is worth the trip.

[madPete]

Welcome!

We celebrated Talk like a Pirate Day at work one year, and in my googling around ran across this site and got totally hooked.

After absorbing much of this site, I made my first event at FTPI in Key West (Pirates in Paradise at the time). T

I can only say you will make lifetime friends, learn a lot and have a ball. The people in our crew are friendly, instructive and welcoming. Don't be shy.

Keep reading the various threads here, especially the clothing threads as you will need some kind of kit.

We're planning on a presence at Utah pirate festival this year in Sept if that is closer for you. We have several Mercury members going to support that. I have another friend in Denver who would do pirates if something was to come together for an event in Colorado.

Hook up with William, he has drawings of the Ship Mercury and others in exquisite detail if you are interested in ships!

mP

[Captain Jim]

Welcome aboard, mate. As far as choosing a pyrate name, don't try too hard. Actually Daniel Siemens, Carpenters Mate, sounds about right just as it is. Think of it more as a reenactor name. Using your own name makes the character a little more natural-feeling for you as well. Also, I don't know how many pyrates started out with very fancy, swashbuckling, Hollywood-sounding names only to revert back to their real names or names based on their real names. Causes quite a bit of confusion when they do that.

And, yes, do get a copy of the drafts for the Mercury. Fabulous work.