Unless you own a real ship (which of few pirates do) when you imagine your character what sort of ship takes the crew in search of plunder? Perhaps a sloop, snow, galleon, or galley. Maybe the exotic with a dow, xebec, junk, or catamaran?
Unfortunately I get seasick.....(http://i7.photobucket.com/albums/y287/RumbaRue/sick2.gif)
aw quit laughing....I know lots of seasick pirates. :o
They say the surest cure for sea sickness is to sit under a tree. ;)
El Lobo del Mar is a 32-gun Spanish-built frigate. She was appropriated from a Spanish warlord and refitted for the Account. She's fast, and runs well before the wind to a broad reach. ;D
Why, what a co-incidence!
I just happen to have a 32-gun Spanish-built frigate appropriated from a Spanish warlord and refitted for the Account! ;)
You mean that ship you appropriated half of from a certain pirate as community property? That ship? I think I know it... ;) :D
Briggs! Get the tape measure and a roll of masking tape!
*glares*
This is my half, this is your half.....and I have 16 guns.
AND the bathroom!
We won't be dividing the bed again, will we? That didn't last too long when we tried it before... ;) ;D
The Libertine's a brigantine - coz I liked the rhyme, k?
I sailed this (or at least rode on, drank tequila, and listened to pirate stories) for 3 hours a few years ago:
(http://i222.photobucket.com/albums/dd210/northbaydreamer/Ren/100_09091024x768.jpg)
It is authentic and was build before 1900, it got a 1 cylinder engine put in in 1930, which is it still using to chug around Cabo San Lucas. Does this count?
Here's what me and the crew errr "sail". She be the Highlander's Kiss. Being land-locked privateers, she's got wheels and sails at the top speed of 35 mph. Excellent for parades with a smaller mast. She's got five working guns, and currently five more are being built.
(http://i146.photobucket.com/albums/r267/AngelhoodD/ship2.jpg)
Well, I've parked docked many a ship..
Pay no attention to that one...it was defective when I got there.
(http://i37.photobucket.com/albums/e65/welshwench/big1.jpg)
Quote from: Welsh Wench on November 15, 2008, 01:36:58 PM
Briggs! Get the tape measure and a roll of masking tape!
*glares*
This is my half, this is your half.....and I have 16 guns.
AND the bathroom!
I agree with Wench on the bathroom...I mean, really, MadJack, what're YOU gonna do with a sauna and goodness knows what Wenchie added with the remodel...or hasn't that happened yet?
Here be our vessel, Hellion, formerly HMS Hellion, but we had a disagreement with the management
(http://thebrigands.com/hms_hellion.jpg)
And, yes, we travel on the highways etc with full rigging up ( though it takes one hell of a lot of gas to do that)
Quote from: Capt Robertsgrave Thighbiter on November 22, 2008, 04:50:01 AM
Here be our vessel, Hellion, formerly HMS Hellion, but we had a disagreement with the management
(http://thebrigands.com/hms_hellion.jpg)
And, yes, we travel on the highways etc with full rigging up ( though it takes one hell of a lot of gas to do that)
Outstanding sir!
Of course for myself I would worry that the temptation to roll down the windows and fire a broadside at fellow drivers on cell phones would end my days of piracy.
Aint that the truth! We got more then our share here in NYC. Thats why we have the cannon ports!
What you cant see in this pic is the ships wheel steering wheel, lashed to the real one. Mounted to the deck ( roof) is the swivel cannon ; a miniature ships telegraph; our timoneer at a second ships wheel; our quarterboard (with HMS struck out in red paint) and the railing for the gallery ( windows) on the stern; and a half dozen mini belaying pins mounted on the larboard pin rail.
Right now, laid up in ordinry, with all her rigging etc removed for the winter. Planned for next spring: mount a figurehead i got to the front bumper, a furled sail for the bowsprit yard; a stay and backstay, more belaying pins for the starboard pin rail, more cannon ports, and by then i susspect her red anti fouling will need to be redone, this time with copper.
Its a sickness, I tells ya!
Since I was on Submarines for 20 years, I imagine my ship as a very stylized and magically enhanced verion of the first submarine, the Turtle...lol!
Look it up!
But picture it a hundred times bigger, with a propeller shaft driven by pedals, pedalled by mighty warriors. Warrior pirates, but more like privateers with allegience and a cause.
You couldn't go deep in the Turtle, but then, who needed to back then? They didn't have sonar or radar or airplanes to detect you!
Just hover under the surface...men pedalling dilligently to spin the prop shaft...come up UNDER your victim's vessel...bore a hole into the hull, attach your charge of gunpowder with a timed fuse, and then pedal like hell out of there! BOOM!!!!
Down she goes to Davy Jone's Locker!
And if you wanted to pillage it first?
Pedal in close under the surface and just wait until an hour before nightwatch is relieved by the morning watch...when watches are the most vulnerable to surprise. Surface slowly, kissing the hull broadside...run up your rope ladders, silence the watch, board the ship, and take her without a shot!
Aye...a Submariner Pirate Ship...that IS the way to go!
I always fantasized when I was in the Navy of doing this to foreign whaling vessels...why not?...they would never know what hit them, and it would be great practice for the fire control and torpedo men...lol!
Kev
Quote from: Obadiah Jib on November 22, 2008, 11:40:42 AM
Quote from: Capt Robertsgrave Thighbiter on November 22, 2008, 04:50:01 AM
Here be our vessel, Hellion, formerly HMS Hellion, but we had a disagreement with the management
(http://thebrigands.com/hms_hellion.jpg)
And, yes, we travel on the highways etc with full rigging up ( though it takes one hell of a lot of gas to do that)
Outstanding sir!
Of course for myself I would worry that the temptation to roll down the windows and fire a broadside at fellow drivers on cell phones would end my days of piracy.
AWESOME!!! We saw your modified Astro Van at the CT Renfaire this year...you even stayed at the same hotel we did...lol! VERY cool! We have an Astro too, but different style of "conversion" van...lmao!
Kev
Bushnell's little submersible always facisnated me too, especially when I was a kid. Most folks don't realize how early the actualization of an even older dream for Man took place.
Dolphins,eh? What boats? THough not in the service, I've been on a few 688 class subs, we're a subcontractor and I was lucky enough to receive invites. Amazing pieces of equipment.
Hijacking over.
I always pictured Hellion as a 12 gun brig, shallow draft and not very weatherly but just the ticket for cutting out larger ships. Not armed particularly well, with 6 pounders, except for an iron 18 lb carronade mounted amidships on the larboard side. Its our last resort, but one shot between wind and water pretty much concludes all arguements.
I was on the Hartford, the Philidelphia, the Memphis, and finally, the Hampton. 688s and 688Is, Los Angelos Class. Great technology, mostly good times, no regrets...but I have a HELL of a lot more fun now making and selling catapults at Renfaire!
Now we set sail in our Terra-bound submarine, Excalibur. She is our fully self contained 27 foot 1977 Itasca motorhome that we live and travel in fulltime doing Renfaire...updated and modified, although a work in progress, she runs like a dream and all systems are perfectly functional!
(http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_38HsgV8oSKI/R2VTElJWN1I/AAAAAAAAAAc/70cWr-JXIUg/s320/000_1233.jpg)
The Helm:(http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_38HsgV8oSKI/R2VV3FJWN5I/AAAAAAAAAA8/K9tvAxUAQWU/s320/000_1348.jpg)
People ask us if our little vessle gets crowded with my wife and myself, our 2 German Shepherds, our Himilayan cat, and our Cayuga duck...to which I reply, "its a lot more room than living on a Sub! Granted a Sub is a 120 feet long, but its crammed with 120 smelly sailors...lol!
Kev
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=F_RZTusUzM8 (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=F_RZTusUzM8) ;)
The Liberty Belle - 84' Double Masted, Gaff Rigged Schooner
She's long and broad, low in the belly, and she'll lay on the wind like a lover... and when she's full and by with the bone in her teeth nothing built can catch her!
(yeah, she's real... and she's berthed in the Conch Republic... and I have sailed her, and lived aboard, as well)
I sail on the Ship of Fools
I called my first ship the Flattery because it got me nowhere. ;D
Quote from: Mad Jack Wolfe on December 30, 2008, 06:57:22 PM
I called my first ship the Flattery because it got me nowhere. ;D
Love it!
Maybe you were using the wrong kind of fuel, Jack. ;)
When I looked at Jack's post, I thought he said the name of the ship was the Flatulence.
Then I read Wenchie's post: "Maybe you were using the wrong kind of fuel, Jack."
And thought: OMG
I think I need reading glasses.
Nah, the Flatulence just puttered around. It was almost as if the Royal Navy could sniff us out anywhere! :o :D
Sounds like a... pungent tale, that one, perhaps worth writing down in the logs...? ::) :D
The Good Ship Lollipop~
A 2 masted Brig all of 12 foot long. 2 years in the doodlin' stage now.
(http://i133.photobucket.com/albums/q42/MikeWithTheEvilBlackHat/cap_019.jpg)
Quote from: Mad Jack Wolfe on December 30, 2008, 06:57:22 PM
I called my first ship the Flattery because it got me nowhere. ;D
Oh, and here I thought it was
Flattery that got Jack everywhere... ? ::) :D
Quote from: Welsh Wench on December 30, 2008, 07:47:38 PM
Maybe you were using the wrong kind of fuel, Jack. ;)
Actually, it was a matter of mastering how much heat to apply, where, when, and for how long. The fuel has never been a problem... ;)
Me and me crew sail aboard the brig Adventure, a nimbler square rigger I've never seen, she's stiff, she's yar, and she's weatherly, and her lines are true and clean.
Now that sounds like a lovely ship to be sailing upon Blackbead. :) (says this Lady of Adventure) :)
A Happy New Year to you all and may the sailing be smooth for you.
Quote from: Mad Jack Wolfe on December 31, 2008, 07:49:09 AM
Quote from: Welsh Wench on December 30, 2008, 07:47:38 PM
Maybe you were using the wrong kind of fuel, Jack. ;)
Actually, it was a matter of mastering how much heat to apply, where, when, and for how long. The fuel has never been a problem... ;)
Spontaneous combustion--
1. A substance with a relatively low ignition temperature begins to release heat.
2. The heat is unable to escape, and the temperature rises.
3. The temperature rises above its ignition point.
4. Combustion begins, if sufficient oxygen is present.
But only if you are
fortunate careless.
Quote from: Anna Iram on December 31, 2008, 08:46:49 AM
Now that sounds like a lovely ship to be sailing upon Blackbead. :) (says this Lady of Adventure) :)
A Happy New Year to you all and may the sailing be smooth for you.
And that be a lovely sentiment, m'Lady! Yes, a most Happy New Year to ye! In the coming year may ye always have fair winds, dry powder, cold grog, biscuits free of weevils, and a full treasure chest!
*I be sailing on a rumrunner... Of course you all had to know that one*
The Jolly Roger is a three-masted, square-rigged sailing galleon with 110 pieces of working rigging and nine fully functional sails. She is 80 feet overall with a 16-foot beam and weighs 47 gross tons. Constructed of wood with an oak frame, her hull below the waterline is cypress and her topsides are yellow pine and she has teak decks.
It is a two-thirds replica of the Nina, one of Christopher Columbus' 17th century galleons.
It was built in 1986 at Snug Harbor, in St Petersburg, Florida.
I was fortunate to have been there when they were building it. The cypress wood was hand steamed and bent for the hull.
Unfortunately I missed the launch party.
The ship was originally called The Lady Barbara and is now sailing around the Grand Caymans.
A good friend of mine was the builder. And if you happen to be at Ohio Renfaire, he was the man who built the pirate ship there.
OK so I don't sail on it but it was really cool. Tony even had a few parrots on his shoulder the whole time he worked on it.
(http://www.piratesofthecaymans.com/img/photo/jollyroger/JR1.JPG)
That is all kinds of awesome, WW!
(sigh...)
How is it that just thinking about a ship can recall the creak of timbers shifting and the singing of the wind in the lines... ? I had to go get the brass polish out of the cabinet just to get a clearer picture, though. It's so easy to recall the exact glint of newly polished brass fittings shining in the Florida sun, a deck newly stained and sealed, the anchor being cranked and sails snapping into place as they're fulled and flush from the scented Caribbean breeze!
Shakedown, anyone???
And I know that ship. I've seen her more than once, and it was love at first sight. Now I really, REALLY want to go back to Grand Cayman!
Anyone ever been to the Mystic Seaport in Mystic, CT? If not and you are in the area and love tall ships, you HAVE to stop in and go and see them! These aren't just reproductions, these are the real deal whaling vessels that built the early New England economy. Okay, so they aren't pirate ships, but it wouldn't take a lot of imagination to pretend they are! And they are seaworthy for the most part! You can tour them and climb the LOWER rigging and see the rest of the living history museum...it is an AWESOME place to go if you love oldtime maritime history, pirate or no.
The Charles W. Morgan was MY favorite ship there...and I spent a lot of years right down the road from here starting when I was a wee lad of 15. My mother took a job at the Seamen's Inn as a waitress...btw the BEST clam chowder on the planet!...and because it is a part of the seaport, I was allowed to spend ALL day exploring the ships and museum when I was a kid for free! Lots of daydreaming and very formative to who I am now...lol!
Just a little way down the road is the Coast Guard Academy in New London, CT...and you can go see the USS Eagle, and STILL commissioned vessel that they use to train cadets in oldschool seafaring knowledge. It is also the vessel that SM Stirling used as the backdrop for one of my favorite set of novels.
Then skip down the road to Groton and check out the Submarine museum at the Groton Sub Base...see a scale replica of Hubble's Turtle, and of course the USS Nautilus, SSN 571, the very FIRST nuclear submarine ever built, and STILL a seaworthy and commissioned vessel after all these years!
And finally for the daring, out of Mystic Harbor there is a three masted ship that will take you out on cruises, from just a day to a couple of weeks...its a barefoot cruise ship and youwork while onboard, to a point anyway...I forget the name of the ship and the company, but I'm sure you can look it up.
So if you are between faires during the warm weather season, check out Mystic, CT and the surrounds! Plymouth Plantation in MA is pretty darn cool as well!
Kev
Ahhhh... daydreams can take me places I haven't been in... well, longer than I want to remember, lets say!
But the memory of salt spray kissing my lips, the tilt of the deck underway, and the feel of being suspended between sea and sky with rudder and sail connected only by the great wheel... that never falls too far out of mind, and is easily recalled each time I glimpse a tricorn in the threads, or the flash of a frock coat or ostrich plumes fluttering in the breeze!
Thanks for all the really great pirate dreams, everyone!
*sigh*
the gentle rocking of a ship...so soothing!
Spiritin' away me spirits, running from them what thinks they can take back me booty
Happiness is a hold full of rum and nothing but time and waves on my mind.
(http://www.uscg.mil/history/gifs/Prohib_17.jpg)
*There be the deck of me rum runner... good times... good times indeed*
MMMmmm...
the sweet smell of salt spray, DFM, and oakum.
Takes me back...
My ship was flat bottomed and slapped the waves in a high squall, causing the whole keel to shudder.
*Sigh* good times in the Carribean, even better times in the Medditeranian!!
Ah to be out in the middle of the Atlantic puddle again.
That's a shade of blue I have yet to set eyes on since.
My ships called the The Wild Thing. It is painted whited and is shaped like a viking ship. I enslave kittens to row it around the world and use them to pillage villages.
(http://i237.photobucket.com/albums/ff232/HarleyDAngel/pirate_kitten_03.jpg)
Quote from: Angelhood on November 16, 2008, 10:48:51 AM
Here's what me and the crew errr "sail". She be the Highlander's Kiss. Being land-locked privateers, she's got wheels and sails at the top speed of 35 mph. Excellent for parades with a smaller mast. She's got five working guns, and currently five more are being built.
(http://i146.photobucket.com/albums/r267/AngelhoodD/ship2.jpg)
angelhood
who built this vessel??? and where.
Bloodwake is a 2 masted tops'l schooner of 14 guns, Serger is a pretty little sloop of 8 guns. I used ta sail on the Last Jest, a brigantine of 14 guns.
I've been abaord that brig in the Caymans (Not the Jolly Roger, unfortunately, but it's sister ship). That was a blast! If any of you swabs are in those waters, I would check it out.