SCA Pyrate?

[Katerine_La_Rose_Noire]

Excuse me fer my ignorance...I be rather new to the Pyrate life, but wonderin' what the norm be? (Mod...sorry if this is in the wrong Forum...please change if I should've put elsewhere)

Kat

[the Royaliste]

The 'bunch' doesn't host any maritime events, nor care much for brethren of the sea, so as a fulltime sailor, I've little use for them.

[Rumba Rue]

I think you'll find the majority of us are not SCA and don't want to be.

SCA is ok for those willing to put up with the politics and such, but the rest of us lean more towards our own individual pirate groups in various states.

Rumba Rue

**I don't do SCA**

[Captain_MacNamara]

I've been in the SCA for 4 years now... There are many "layers" of play. We mainly play on the fringes of the SCA.

Although, this weekend, we became recognized and quite infamous for our... cannon demonstration...

[Hawkyns]

I'm in the SCA and I'm a pirate. Two different things. I've been in the Society 28 years, my persona is an Elizabethan soldier/sailor in the service of George Clifford, Earl of Cumberland. I also portray a pirate outside the Society, doing late 17th/early 18th c.

"Pirates", as most think of them, don't exist withing the Society. There are mariners and corsairs, certainly, but the true freebooting buccaneer is post period. They are not so welcome in the Society because too many pirates come in with post period clothing and weapons. Flintlocks, tricorns, and captain's coats are a product of the 17th c.

Rumba, you are correct about the politics. I'm a peer, been in more Royal Households than I care to think about, been an officer at all levels except Society, and am head of the Blackpowder Gunners Guild. Seen more heads roll, know where more bodies are buried, and dodged more incoming fire than a sloop up against a 3rd rate. It does get to me, and I have to take some time off, every so often. On the other hand, I have friends there that I've had for more than half my life, and I can't give up trying to make the Soceity better.

So, Cap'n MacNamara...... WTF??

Hawkyns

[Captain_MacNamara]

This is what I wrote on the SCA Gunners list

-----------------

well, that went over like a brick... I attained permission from the

Autocrat and the Land owner, AND the Baron... and then the seneschal

told me that cannons of any kind are fireworks and highly illegal.

I'm having trouble finding any laws specifically regarding signal

cannon. I have never, and will never shoot anything but a blank load

in my cannons... that's all they're for, is fire, smoke, and noise.

So where do I go to find the laws specific to my cannons?

Thanks in advance,

Duncan

-----------------

I fired one of my 3 inch (15-20 grain load) signal cannons to signal the beginning of a meeting. I had a firing lane set up, the cannon was loaded with powder, I cleared the lane and surrounding areas, yelled fire in the hole, and touched off the powder... and then someone blundered through camp, crossed the far side of the firing lane a good 20 feet away, and it scared the living sh*t out of him, which nearly got me thrown off site... we had been firing the same cannon, a little one so as not to be too loud, all day for people coming to see my "pirate camp".

In fact, the guy blundering through camp un-announced is the only one who had a problem with it... And that's his own fault for ignoring ettiquite!

Anyway, yes, I should have been a bit more careful, but it's not like I was firing my big guns... this is the extent of it's firepower:

In fact, that's even the cannon I had been firing... shoots a nice flame about 10 inches, with no wadding. Makes a nicer boom when there's wadding, and the wadding travels 3-6 feet... but for the incident, there was no wadding.

"Pirates", as most think of them, don't exist withing the Society. There are mariners and corsairs, certainly, but the true freebooting buccaneer is post period. They are not so welcome in the Society because too many pirates come in with post period clothing and weapons. Flintlocks, tricorns, and captain's coats are a product of the 17th c.

Yes, I agree... we can play a tad on the OOP side, but so do alot of other people. I mean, Pirates take the bad rap for the OOP stuff, but the person that asked me if my cannon was period at the event (a newbie) was wearing a modern shirt under a tabbard, with a modern belt and tennis shoes... at least all my garb LOOKS mostly period... lol

[Patrick Hand]

I use to be in the SCA..... when I was in Tennessee they were much cooler back East than out here in California.... had a hell a lot more fun... (awwwwwh and Pensic..... I'm the guy from down in "the Bog" that painted womens breast..... ( great job if you can get it....))(and a very interesting story goes with that.....)

Don't play with them sence I moved back to California.... if you think the poly tick are thick..... check out them damn bugs out west........

Tried it with one group... they were all Middle Eastern... so I did a Barbary Coast Corsair (sp)..... they were good nice people....... but it just wasn't any fun.......

will I ever play with the SCA again...... awh... heck..... maybe......

but they are not reenactors... just a party........

[Captain_MacNamara]

true, to an extent... I would say that the SCA has alot more free-range... as in, you can play at the level you want to play, and alot of people only want to party... but the party aspect of it makes for lots of free alcohol!

[Patrick Hand]

Humm... thinking about it, the S.C.A. would be a good group to "recrute" from.

There are a lot of people at events who like to dress up, party, and have a good time, but some of them are lacking in "direction" (ok how many nobles from Transalvania traviling around Europe were there ? (I've meet five different ones...))

Reenactors tend to avoid the S.C.A. because of it's low level of authintisity... But there are people in the group who might want to play pyrate also........

[Duchess]

I tried the SCA once, in Wisconsin, when I was 17. Went to a meeting, talked to a "board" and was told that I was certainly welcome to apply. I could present my research paper with full bibliography/references and a proposed character development at the next months meeting and they would review it and perhaps consider an interview. I could expect a tentative decision on acceptance several months after that.

The back of my hand to that, so I joined a renaissance festival instead...

The Duchess

[Captain_MacNamara]

hmmm.... that's odd... isn't how we do things down here in Ansteorra... (Oklahoma and Texas). You get a few of the anal-retentive types, but mostly... you're allowed to play at the level you want to. I frequent SCA events and Ren Faires, and I find it a toss up between the two as to where I have more fun... except the SCA events are geared more toward having fun and the Ren Faires are geared more toward selling stuff.

[Duchess]

I thought it was odd too. A few years after that, through the fest I met some other members of that SCA group. Their take on it was the folks in charge were of the more "picky" type. And that perhaps they didn't want the liability of an "unattached" underager hanging around. Who knows...

The Duchess

[Captain_MacNamara]

Well... my crew kinda sails on the fringes of the SCA... kind of a middle ground. We don;t really ahve any pirate re-enactors around here that I've noticed... if you ever find yerself in our waters, yer welcome aboard the 'Iron Lotus' any time

[Duchess]

Thanks be to you for that Captain!

I've just relocated to Washington, though I'm sure I won't be out here forever. Most of me heart is in the midwest.

The Duchess

[blackjohn]

The back of my hand to that, so I joined a renaissance festival instead...

The Duchess

whoa... the medicine and lack of sleep is playing tricks on my eyes... for a sec I thought you wrote "so I joined the resistance instead."

[Duchess]

The back of my hand to that, so I joined a renaissance festival instead...

The Duchess

whoa... the medicine and lack of sleep is playing tricks on my eyes... for a sec I thought you wrote "so I joined the resistance instead."

Well, I might have done, if there had been one available!

Don't feel to bad. I once spent nearly a month trying to figure out the meaning of a roadside billboard. On it was a picture of a guy in a long tasseled hat driving a jeep. For that length of time I always read the sign as "Feed the weasle", until one day, driving past at a slightly later time of day, I realized the actual words were "Feel the wind in your tassle."

So Viva La Resistance!

The Duchess

[Raeadh`ani]

The 'bunch' doesn't host any maritime events, nor care much for brethren of the sea, so as a fulltime sailor, I've little use for them.

Well, on the same coin, there are those of us who are in the SCA because there are little to no groups in our area that we can get to easily which do host "maritime events", so the SCA is all we have. It's either that or the buckskinners, which is worse than the SCA when it comes to anything maritime.... and the sca, as I've noticed cares more for the brethren of the sea than many let on.. at least in my area.

[capnwilliam]

Ah, 'tis my beautiful Privateer armourer, Rae!

I used to be active in the SCA: was the nautical guild's patron for Meridies. But I noted a general lack of interest in things nautical - even among people who would have had by definition a nautical aspect to their persona, such as Vikings, or Crusaders (tough to WALK from Europe to the Holy Land).

What really turned me off, though, was the politics: as some others have noted in this message chain. Made me feel like I was back at the office!

Capt. William

[Captain_MacNamara]

Our group just came back from a very successful event for "reviving" the maritime traditions... a couple of our local baronies have hosted pirate events in the past, and it IS popular around here with most people. Just not the stiff-necked anal-retentive types. But even most of those liked our cannons. Some people just don't like to have fun, but I decreed there would be no politics in our group when we started, and so far it's worked.

[Francois]

I found the SCA after doing the ren fair Thing. I wanted to fight rapier without the choreographing and fake repatition. I developed a French persona in the Elizabethan period. Only because I always liked the French Musketeer. I was very fortunate to hook up with a great group that allow everybody to play out there own thing and they accept you for who you are. I have heard many people complain about the SCA and have run into some people I dont care for, for one reason or another but I wont let that stop me from enjoying myself. Although I don't like the way the fencing is done in the SCA. Most people fight to always win and not for fun. There isn't much in the way of period style fighting which kinda sucks also. This lead me to getting to know Hawkins better who introduced me to Piracy black powder and real period fighting, without the SCA restrictions. Thank god he lives 40min away. We fight without amour and as if our life depended on winning with our safety parameters and no choreography. So the out come is realistic and different evreytime. Anyway I've meet a lot of great people in my area who are in SCA. I play for the fun of rapier fighting and getting in garb. In closeing hanging out with Hawkins, and being a crew member on his cannon crew I have learnd a lot and found that I'm a Pirate at heart.

[Captain_MacNamara]

The people I rapier fight with fight for fun... though I haven't learned a "style", I do have one of my own. I also fight as though my life depends on it, and am pretty fair with a blade for a newbie. But I've opened a whole new door with my Gunnery crew... It seems that I've awakened a long-dormant interest in period-ish gunnery in my area. :)

[Hawkyns]

Although I don't like the way the fencing is done in the SCA. ---. This lead me to getting to know Hawkins better who introduced me to Piracy black powder and real period fighting, without the SCA restrictions. Thank god he lives 40min away. We fight without amour and as if our life depended on winning with our safety parameters and no choreography. So the out come is realistic and different evreytime.  --- In closeing hanging out with Hawkins, and being a crew member on his cannon crew I have learnd a lot and found that I'm a Pirate at heart.

Aww helll *shuffles feet* s'nuthing...

Seriously, there are things the Society is good for but it does limit you. I do not like the way they water down their fighting rules to the lowest common denominator in order to let everyone play, even those who should not be on the field. I've fought a lot of styles over the last 25 years or so. I prefer a modified re-enactment/stage/martial arts style that takes from many sources. SCA rapier is too dependant on masks and is too competitive. In doing that, it takes too much from modern fencing and not enough from period sources in most cases.

So Francois and a few of us get to play a better game that looks more real and, without armour or masks, makes you think about what you are doing. I'd love to be able to introduce black powder to the SCA battlefield, but that has been expressly forbidden except for signal cannon.

There are people working better rapier styles in the Society, in particular the sidesword experiment which uses heavier blades and percussive cuts. No competition as of yet, which I think is a good thing. At the Known World Academy of the Rapier, I ordered a new rapier and dagger for sideword that will give better hand protection with a period design. We also did a fair amount of work with close combat, unarmed combat, and other styles more related to the reality of 16th century street combat, not the stilted salon styles which are more common in Society "period" combat. Fighting according to Silver's manual, and at a range which allows your off hand to be able to reach out and grab or push your opponent is a good thing.

Let me emphasize that this is experimental, not approved everywhere, and subject to strict oversight in the Society. The advantage we have is that we can learn techniques in the Society and then take them out into re-enactment where we can use them in the ways originally intended.

Hawkyns