Tangents

[Red John]

Well spoken mates, and thank ye. But as for interest waning in any permanent degree, Nay I say! All is well and well on the way!

I just spent a long weekend on Ocracoke Island, NC, where Blackbeard's last fight was reenacted with three wooden boats, one brigantine, one sloop, and one periauger! (The "Pirate Jamboree" on Ocracoke Island) So much action in the harbor that the USCG had to come and take a look - and lots of pirates, almost all historically-accurate ones, all over the village and the island all weekend. It was a great time, incredible the way the pirates basically took over the island for the weekend! And it was the first year of this festival, no less! So there are new events coming along, and new folks to them, and so I don't despair a'tall.

The economy has hit all things fun, educational, historical, etc., very hard, as we all had to focus more on our day to day responsibilities. But things are coming back from what I see. Soon as the next POTC comes out, there'll be the crowds of curious types around more than maybe now. My observations of the recent times are that while there may be fewer CJS's about these days, there are more and more historically-accurate folks coming on board. As always, the dedicated souls at events like Ocracoke and Hampton and the like in other locales make all the difference - can't thank them enough for everything. And those that keep the Pub going for all of us. And, for ye record, thanks to ye all, mates!

Yours, aye-

John

[Jib]

Coastie do you think the new pirate series on Stars entitled "Black Sails" could be the kickstart the hobby and the Pub might need to enjoy a resurgence? It looks pretty impressive from the trailers.

Red John you positive attitude is inspiring! I attended three pirate themed events this past summer (one small festival and two Tall Ship events). I noticed the public was still very excited to see pirates (some times it was hard to get a break to use the toilet)! Management however, was much more reluctant to hire pirate entertainers... even just allowing us in the events for free and not paying for our services. I saw that as a desire to save money at any cost.

[William Brand]

Well, with the show airing very soon, it will be interesting to see if it draws people here to the Pub again.

[madPete]

Well spoken mates, and thank ye. But as for interest waning in any permanent degree, Nay I say! All is well and well on the way!

I just spent a long weekend on Ocracoke Island, NC, where Blackbeard's last fight was reenacted with three wooden boats, one brigantine, one sloop, and one periauger! (The "Pirate Jamboree" on Ocracoke Island) So much action in the harbor that the USCG had to come and take a look - and lots of pirates, almost all historically-accurate ones, all over the village and the island all weekend. It was a great time, incredible the way the pirates basically took over the island for the weekend! And it was the first year of this festival, no less! So there are new events coming along, and new folks to them, and so I don't despair a'tall.

The economy has hit all things fun, educational, historical, etc., very hard, as we all had to focus more on our day to day responsibilities. But things are coming back from what I see. Soon as the next POTC comes out, there'll be the crowds of curious types around more than maybe now. My observations of the recent times are that while there may be fewer CJS's about these days, there are more and more historically-accurate folks coming on board. As always, the dedicated souls at events like Ocracoke and Hampton and the like in other locales make all the difference - can't thank them enough for everything. And those that keep the Pub going for all of us. And, for ye record, thanks to ye all, mates!

Yours, aye-

John

You've got my interest!

mP

[Captain Jim]

^{I see that there is an encampment at this event; is there camping for us pyrates ashore?}

[Red John]

Aye, there was an encampment, and folks did camp there in their historical set-ups, one large-ish camp fire in the center of camp, cooking, music, etc. There were also the vendors that camped with their shops in the merchants' area by the waterfront encampment (the camp was b/w the merchants and the water).

If you're asking about regular camping, not in a historical encampment, there are (at least) two regular ones near/not far from the main area of events, both have RV sites and regular camping, and there's the NPS National Seashore/Ocracoke campground a little outside of town. There may be other options too that I'm not read in on.

Be great to see everyone there - once they put out info on this year's event I'll do a post on events and maybe here too just in case.

Yours, aye-

John

[Captain Jim]

Thank you for the information and I was referring to the historical encampment. Trying to map out more places for the Oar House careening camp to appear.

[landlubbersanonymous]

One word: Facebook. ...

:::Ooooh the guilt.::::

[Stynky Tudor]

It's no secret that Facebook took a bite out of our traffic. But unlike Pyracy Pub, Facebook can't hold on to conversation (at least not right now) instead it gives us, short frenetic bursts of communication that quickly get lost and drops beneath the waves.

You might not see a lot of obvious activity on Pyracy Pub, but we have a huge readership and steady growth. We get between 1 and 3 new registered users a week and another 1 or 2 through Facebook. There are a large number of unregistered lurkers that heavily access content, from Captain Twill to The Skull and Quill Society props to Mad Jack Wolfe and Honour Bright for El Lobo Del Mar and William Brand for The Watch Dog. Some percentage of that automated crawlers and search engines.

In February of 2013, Pyracy.com hit her 10 year anniversary and we're still here. And as stupid of a financial decision as it might be, I don't have any plans of shutting her down.

If nothing else, Pyracy.com hangs it hat on conversations that you can refer back to, community and persistence.

[William Brand]

Here, here! May it stand forever. I love this place for the archives and conversation.

[Captain Jim]

'Tis the archival nature of the forum that makes it such a gem. Even over at the Book of Faces Authentic Pirate Living History Group most new topics start out by referencing the Pub. The Pub itself has become one of the go-to references for pyracy. There is an awful lot of information tied up in here, the great majority of it with citations and references. I came here just today to search "Bosun's Whistle" and got what I needed. May it live forever.

[William Brand]

If that's the thread I'm thinking of, it's worthy of a revival. You should bump it with some new information.

[Captain Jim]

Done, and with a new reference.

[Mission]

Just to do clear, I am a huge fan of the Pub and its database-like content. (Something I told Stynky years ago.) I have always been a proponent of sharing info here and do so regularly. I highly suspect that FB will be replaced by something else, the same way that Yahoo groups and mail lists got replaced.

I often bring up the Pub threads at APLH because it seems silly to have to repost things we've spent years discussing and collecting material about here.

I encourage everyone to do likewise. (While slow and sometimes tetchy, the search function can be invaluable.) Keep adding new info too. I personally think this forum will be around a lot longer than the free sites based on web history to date. (So long as Stynky is willing to back it.)

Plus this site is (fairly) easy to search, unlike a lot of the free sites.

[Lily Alexander]

I hate the book of face for discussions. Groups aren't designed for it and it's a pain in the arse. Long live the pub.

[Silver]

been there, done that and i HAVE the T- shirt to prove it. most of what is being posted on face book has been sent aloft here and discussed, a long time ago. when i see a subject come up on any of the pirate sites that i know we have covered. i post you can find it at the pyracy pub at pyracy.com., have had several likes for putting them on course.

[William Brand]

Once, when I was very small, a kid put a firecracker in my big wheel. He just dropped one into those holes on the back of the big wheel where the seat was placed. I ran up to see what he had done and it went off just as a looked in the hole. Burned and bruised my eye. I don't know why I thought of it just now, but I just wanted to say, 'Thanks again, random firecracker prankster from my past!'.

Ahh memories.

[Captain Jim]

Ya almost got yer eye patch ya did.

[William Brand]

Better luck next...wait.

[Jib]

I must confess that while others might seek out the pub for education and research, for myself it's fuel for the imagination. I look forward to checking out the various threads. I love looking at new pictures in the gallery. It's also a great way to take a mental vacation while checking out the exciting pirate themed activities that fellow pub members are posting.

[William Brand]

The imagination/mental vacation reason come as no surprise to me at all. The 'Fiction' section of the Pub is responsible for a huge percentage of our regular traffic. A lot of people are tuning in to read and escape.

[Hook]

I find rum works bettar. I dinna have ta read more than the label that way.

[William Brand]

I miss peanut butter twix before they changed it.

[Morgan Dreadlocke]

102 degrees in the workshop right now. Tryin' to make some swag for sale at the Bisbee pirate invasion, but its too dang hot for the cnc computers. 

[William Brand]

54 minutes ago, Morgan Dreadlocke said:

102 degrees in the workshop right now. Tryin' to make some swag for sale at the Bisbee pirate invasion, but its too dang hot for the cnc computers. 

You're one of many craftsman to talk about shops being too hot this week.  For some it was outright unhealthy hot.