Pirates of Paynetown

[historyfanatic]

LAKE MONROE: Paynetown State Recreational Area near Bloomington, Indiana

Greetings to Sailors, Gentlemen of Fortune, Pirates, Privateers and other "businessmen":

There's a new pirate event on the books and it's NOT on the coast! For us land-bound pirates the invitation has been sent to entertain indecency at the Paynetown State Recreation Area the 18-20 of August for "Pirates of Paynetown".

As of right now the event promises:

Cannons, Boats, Period Camps, Music, Chantey Singing and Games pertaining to Pirates and Individuals of Questionable Character from the Early Carribean Era to Barbary Coast.

Reenactor Benefits:

You get to go to a PIRATE event!! (duh)

If you have a 17th-19th Century period watercraft, you can put in to Lake Monroe for FREE! (How often does the parks system allow that??)

Discharge of black powder flintlocks and cannons is encouraged!

Pirates get to camp on "The Pointe" - A shady penninsula of land jutting out into Lake Monroe.

Pirates get full access to the sandy beach and are allowed to take boats in and out of the water on the beach.

Plus lots of other benefits!

This sounds like a really fun event and I am looking forward to attending. It is not a juried event, but historical realism is encouraged and plastic/polyester, etc will not be allowed.

If you have any questions or would like to talk to the people in charge, (might be a good idea to let them know if you are coming...) please contact:

Jennifer Aynes

Interpretive Naturalist

Monroe Reservoir

4850 South State Road 446

Bloomington, IN 47401

(812) 837-9967

[blackjohn]

WOW! Sounds like fun! Wish I could be there...

[historyfanatic]

Blackjohn,

Yeah, it should be neat. I'll be bringing my naval carronade and two boats. A friend of mine is bringing his boat and cannon and we'll probably do some sort of naval battle. Looks like we might even have a handful of British soldiers to chase us around and cause general mayhem...

P.S. I was planning on coming to Hampton this year, but the car broke down on Wednesday and was in the shop until friday afternoon. Didn't feel up to a 14-hour drive after that. I will try to be there in '07.

[Rateye]

Aye mate, I tried doing a search for anything related to the event yer talking about. Only I havn't found a thing.

If ye got any links to be offering for the skivey on this event, please post it.

Rats

[historyfanatic]

Ok, well, Indiana Department of Natural Resources is poorly funded and doesn't have spiffy websites for their events, but if you want more information, the best way to get it is to contact Jen Aynes at the Paynetown State Recreation Area. Her e-mail is monroeinterp@dnr.in.gov. You can also reach her by phone at: (812) 837-9967.

For more info on the site itself, go to:

Indiana DNR website for Monroe Lake

Look at the "Paynetown SRA"

Here is a Mapquest map to the Lake. From there, follow signs to the Paynetown Site:

Map to Monroe Lake

This is a detailed map of the Monroe Lake area. Paynetown is in the middle-top area and is right next to the Office and Visitor's Center off Highway 446.

Hope that helps ya, mate! It's gonna be a blast and I hope ye can make it!!

[LadyBarbossa]

Sounds very tempting, m'dear.

If fortune smiles upon me, I'll be there. But fortune has to smile upon me first.

Not sure if any of the Tall Ships in the Great Lakes will still be around by then.

All the more reason why I beg pray that we need a permenant Pirate Vessel in the Midwest.

~Lady B

[historyfanatic]

You could possibly get your wish m'lady... There is a small contingency of individuals who are very interested in building a 30' sailing vessel near Louisville, KY. Albeit it is small and on a river, there will be nothing to keep us from taking it to places like the gulf, or even getting a large trailer and hauling it up to the lakes. Keep in touch on that one!

[LadyBarbossa]

Indeed sounds like a fine idea. Always in need of Piratical vessels around here.

Though... if I had to convince some folks on donating money for a worthy piratical cause to fund a ship... it would look similiar to this...

Now THAT to me is a Pirate ship. :)

~Lady B

[historyfanatic]

Yeah, that's a beaut! I wish we could, but I'm afraid the one we're gonna build is gonna be a lot smaller. But it'll be bigger than what I've got now!

Here is one of the boats that I will be bringing to Pirates of Paynetown: She's 17' and has a mini swivel gun on her deck! Her name is "Trollop". I'm sorry this picture is so far away, but it's hard to take pictures of yourself when you're sailing. I will have Trollop and another small boat at the event to add to the mayhem!

[historyfanatic]

UPDATE:

As of right now, it's looking like we'll have 4-5 period boats and three large artillery pieces, plus 4-5 swivel guns. There will be a naval battle, boat race, duel and cannon demonstration. Plus period music and a pitch-in dinner for pirates on Saturday night. After dinner THE TAVERN WILL BE OPEN!!! There will also be children's activities including a treasure hunt and more! Prizes will be awarded to the crew that wins the boat race sponsored by Taylor-Rose Historical Outfitters!!

It's gonna be a blast!!!