Pirates on the Santa Maria

You want to do a haunted ship so what theme do you choose? Pirates, of course. Here we are during a set-up meeting. The pirate theme wasn't carried through very thoroughly but it was fun and a couple of special effects were well-done. I was one of the guides and I have no idea how many people I took through. I did get to take the last tour through. It was a small group - mother, father, and daughter. The girl was afraid to go on even after we gave her a "magic light stick" that repels the scary stuff. After seeing it work a few times she took the lead and wanted more.

Modern Pirates and a Spanish Galleon

Ever since a salvage operation announced that they found a treasure ship in international waters, the government of Spain has insisted that they own the ship. They recently arrested the captain of the salvage operation.

Odyssey Marine Explorations - which owns the salvage ship - claims it found the 17th Century galleon in international waters.

But Spanish Culture Minister Antonio Molina on Wednesday said the Florida-based firm was made up of "modern pirates".

Pirate Attacks Up

According to news reports, pirate attacks are up 14 percent over last year. Of course, these aren't the romantic pirates in tricorn hats and wide boots. These are nasty characters who are likely to take crews hostage or kill them.

Avast, it's the Mythbusters again

I've been a regular viewer of the Mythbusters since their first episode and I've seen every episode since then multiple times. But...

I have real problems with the special two-part pirate episode. It has nothing to do with historical pirates and little to do with history at all. The eyepatch one is especially bad since they pronounce it confirmed. What they confirmed is that if you cover one eye prior to going into a darkened room you can use that eye to see. They should have admitted that there is no historic basis for doing this. Going down a sail by cutting it is a hollywood myth and they didn't test it properly, either. In the movie clip they showed it the sail is billowing outward in the wind (which help to hide the slide beneath it). When testing the myth they tested it inside with a flat sail. Then there is the one about splinters being more dangerous than the cannon ball. Granted, a cannon ball that actually hits you is going to do more damage but the odds of being hit by a single ball are much worse than the odds of being hit by one of a shower of splinters. These might not be deadly, at least not until infection sets in, but they are more likely to cause serious injury. What they proves here is that a bullet is more deadly than birdshot - same principle.

Regardless, the pirate episode is on again tonight. I may watch the Bionic Woman instead.

Yo Ho, a pirate's vacation for me

We just finished a pirate's vacation down the East Coast.

First stop - Williamsburg. Blackbeard's crew was tried and hung here. The trial was in the state house but reenactments are done in the court house. Also, Jamestown Settlements has a wide selection of pirate gear, some of it serious.

From there we drove down the Outer Banks to Beaufort, NC. The Naval Museum there has artifacts fro Blackbeard's ship on display.

Next we went to Myrtle Beach. No pirate associations here but all the souvenir shops have pirate T-shirts and stuff.

We spent three nights in Charleston, SC including Talk Like A Pirate Day (TLaPD). I was wearing a pirate T-shirt and several people stopped to comment on TLaPD. There are lots of pirate associations here. Blackbeard blockaded the city. In retaliation, the city later captured a couple of pirate ships and hung the crews including Stede Bonnet, the gentleman pirate. Anne Bonney lived in Charleston for a while before turning to piracy and local legend has it that, instead of dying in jail, her father bribed the guards to let her free and she lived out her days in Charleston.

We ate at the Queen Anne's Revenge restaurant. They decorated with antique weapons, pieces of eight, and other pirate memorabilia. Also, the food was good.

We went south through Georgetown which has a two-masted ship that does pirate cruses. It also has a nice pirate-shop where I got a cutlass.

We spent the night in Savannah which does not have any direct association with pirates. We did have dinner at the Pirate's House Restaurant which has a pirate theme. They claim to be haunted by several pirates including the fictional Captain Flint from Treasure Island. The restaurant is a rambling building. Parts of it are the oldest buildings in Savannah.

We took two days to get back home. For our half-way point, we stopped at a tiny town called Hillsville. The only passable restaurant turned out to be the Hillsville Family Fish House. This had a nautical theme including some pirate figures and three huge murals.

For good measure, Disney showed the pirate episode of Kim Possible that night.

Monkey Island Parody

Here is a collection of "outtakes" from Monkey Island 2.

Happy Talk Like a Pirate Day

I'm posting this a bit early - it's 11:30 on TLaPD Eve.

To celebrate, here's a picture of one of Blackbeard's cannons. We were at the museum where they are on display yesterday and I took the picture then.