Name the Captain

[William Brand]

Before everyone panics…the thread is to name a Captain that is never present. Our Captain in the wind. Our absentee Captain. I just need a name for official documents, i.e. letters of marque etc.

What should the Captain of the Mercury be called? Let's name this mystery fellow! It's been yeeeeeeeears.

[Mission]

"Smith, or Smithee, if you like,"

[Captain Jim]

Captian Quicksilver comes to mind, but there already is a Quicksilver living in California (he came to the 2005 PiP). Perhaps too simplistic, too in keeping with the Mercury theme as to be too clever by half. Still, it has to be discussed.

[Mission]

If you want to go THAT route, I can give you the names of several medicines that contain Mercury: Calomel, Cinnebar, Hydragyri, the Blue Pill and Vermilion, for example.

[Captain Jim]

Cinnebar Quicksilver? Sounds like some sort of confection, an energy bar for skateboarders. I think a good, stout English name and a good stout backstory would probably be best. So first things first: Is he English, English Colonial or what?

[William Brand]

I say when in doubt, go Colonial English. I'm currently pouring through these pages for examples of men born in the 1600s.

http://www.s-gabriel...gPost1600.shtml

A few surnames that already stood out (due to the running joke of the 'absent' nature of our Captain) were Unsworth, Hyde, Trueman, Knott, etc.

[Jas. Hook]

Cap'n Mandrake

Jas. Hook

[William Brand]

There are a lot of good, stout English names from the period.

Thomas Baylyffe

James Shawcase

James Leightstrength

John Thorpe

Stephen Hargreaves

Richard Gunnage

Robert Fletcher

James Highfield

Samuel Hayworth

[Captain Jim]

So, is our Captain a stout fellow, well met and a true sea wolf, or a bumbling idiot we elected captain so he would go to his cabin and stay out of the way of our Quartermaster? Is the reason he is away so much that he is on important work for the ship or that we have sent him on a fools mission? "Captain! We need a left-handed keel straightener! One can be had in the village 30 miles to the North! Go quick!"

[Capt. Bo of the WTF co.]

For what it's worth, I like that Richard Gunnage name. I'd vote that way m'self.

Bo

[William Brand]

The name is more academic and for purposes of having a Captain by name when asked, but I think he should be someone well spoken of when spoken of, and given a certain dignity. The use of the absent Captain is also beneficial when describing the absent 'numbers' of crew members to any given inquiry.

"Where's your Captain then?"

"Our good Captain so-and-so is with a company of our men inland on business most pressing."

It lends us an opportunity to 'pad' our numbers by narration. I used it extensively at Fort de Chartres when the passing public would ask 'Where's your ship?". I would tell them that it was my privilege to be inland with some chosen men for the purpose of trading with the French and the Chickasaw while the good Captain had the keeping of the Mercury.

[Captain Jim]

Agreed. He's a good man and true. Now, why is he a pyrate again? I mean, the man's past can be a mystery that he doesn't talk about much, but we should know some things about him. Not too much detail, just enough.

[William Brand]

As the Mercury was 'born' in Key West, we could pay tribute to an early European tied to the history of the place.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Key_West

John Simonton

John Geddes

John Mountain

John Whitehead

John Flemming

Pardon Greene

Mathew Perry

David Porter (Commodore and anti-pirate)

[William Brand]

Agreed. He's a good man and true. Now, why is he a pyrate again? I mean, the man's past can be a mystery that he doesn't talk about much, but we should know some things about him. Not too much detail, just enough.

Pyrate? I think you mean Privateer, with all of the proper paperwork and backing of any given government of the moment. Pyrate is such an unforgiving word.

I say we make the man Colonial born, since the whole business of this Mercury crew began here, but give him strong family roots to a named English port town. Then I say we pick another port city of the day in the colonies for his nativity and go from there. Make him a true old salt.

[Mission]

So far, I'd vote for Simonton. It's such an interesting-sounding name. Not a big fan of the first name John, though. How about Richard?

[Captain Jim]

I kind of like John Whitehead. Historic, strong. The fort is located just off Whitehead street. (I'll take a walk down Whitehead Street, hang a left at the Green Parrot Bar..Sing it to Buffett's Migration.)

[William Brand]

I prefer Richard for two reasons. First, as a away of avoiding too many more Johns (since we have a few good men of that name in the company already), and second, because the name Richard is crazy popular on so many early passenger and colony lists.

[Mission]

The trouble with Whitehead is that it conjures the image of a zit for me. Although Richard Whitehead has a certain ring to it.

[William Brand]

The trouble with Whitehead is that it conjures the image of a zit for me.

Well it didn't for me until now!

EDIT: Back when we were naming the Mercury, the first name proposed was Speedwell (Which is also the name of the ship which brought the Pilgrims to Southampton to connect with the Mayflower). Since we've already borrowed the name 'Speedwell' for the ship we sailed on before transferring to the Mercury, we could draw from the passenger list of that historic ship, such as the Captain's name 'John Thomas Chappell'. Thomas Chappell is a good name, but even if we don't use it, Southampton is a good port city for our own Captain's ancestry.

[Captain Jim]

The trouble with Whitehead is that it conjures the image of a zit for me.

Well it didn't for me until now!

Yeah, thanks a lot.

[Mission]

Oh. Sorry.

"See if you can guess... what I am now?"

[Mission]

Southard is a cool name too. It's near the fort.

[Captain Jim]

You posted that onece today already, on another forum. You having skin problems or something? Deep into pyrate skin ailments?

[Captain Jim]

Southard is a cool name too. It's near the fort.

Pronounced "south ard" or "suth erd"?

[Mission]

I have Animal House on the brain. I finished a book on the making of the movie a week or two ago and so, of course, I went back and watched it again for the umpteenth time. Now all the lines are fresh...

Southard is pronounced in Key West as Suth-erd, although if we were to use it, I really like your other pronunciation.

I am probably a horrible one to be involving myself in this as I am just thinking about words and the way they go together where you two are considering the character and backstory of the Captain. So I will always choose the interesting name that rolls off the tongue over the one that would better represent your ideas.