John Drake set himself the task of writing the backstory of Treasure Island, answering such questions as "who was Captain Flint?" and "Where did the treasure come from and why is it buried on Treasure Island?" This was spread over three books: Flint and Silver, Pieces of Eight, and Skull and Bones.
Flint and Silver introduces us to the characters. By the end, Long John Silver is marooned on the island along with a crew. In Pieces of Eight, Silver's crew fortifies the island for Flint's inevitable return. By the end of the book, Silver is in possession of some of the treasure, the ship the Walrus, and his beloved wife Selena. Flint is in custody of the Royal Navy.
Skull and Bones picks up from there. The book has many twists as Flint, Silver, and Selena take separate journeys that all lead to London then to Annapolis and Savannah. It is the weakest of the three with no strong plot. It is more like one thing after another. It also lacks any exciting battles. There is a battle at the end but the lead characters are more spectators that participants.
Of the three books, Pieces of Eight (the middle one) is the strongest. While it has many twists and turns, it also builds to the inevitable confrontation on the Island. It is possible to read this one separately from the others.
All three books are well-researched and written in a style that sounds both old-timey and nautical. They are eminently readable. I recommend all three.
Thursday, September 27, 2012
Wednesday, September 19, 2012
Navigation in the Golden Age of Piracy
I've been doing presentations on navigation for twenty years but I seldom have enough time to get into the details. It has been a while since I have posted more here than just even write-ups so I am overdue for something with some meat on it.
Navigation breaks down into three parts - figuring where you are going, recording where you have gone, and computing where you are. All of this applies to open water navigation. Simply following the coast does not require any special skills or knowledge.
The first part of navigation is known as "loxodromic navigation". This consists of figuring the proper heading to get from one point to another. To sail from New York to London you sail at 73 degrees. Since period compasses had 32 points instead of 360 degrees, this meant sailing East-northeast.
Loxodromes are also known as rhumb lines.
Because maps are a flat projection of a round surface, getting the rhumb line correct can be difficult. Also, maps of the period were not particularly accurate so you might sail to the proper place on the map and discover that you are still in the wrong place. My navigation display includes a map of the Atlantic in which Florida is too small and at the wrong angle. Anyone sailing for Florida using this map would hit land far east of where it shows.
In general, large scale maps were worse than small scale ones.
In addition to these problems, the wind seldom cooperates. Chances are that you will not be able to sail a direct course to your destination. That means that you have to keep track of where you have gone in order to figure where you are. This is known as "dead reckoning".
There are special tools used for dead reckoning navigation. The first is the sand glass. This is a half-hour glass. Every half hour it is turned and the current speed and heading are marked. A board called a "traverse board" was used for this. It had a face that looked like a compass with eight concentric circles of 32 holes (256 holes total). The first time the glass is turned a pin will be placed in the innermost hole corresponding to the current heading. The second ring of holes is used for the next reading and so on for eight turnings of the glass.
At the same time the ship's speed would be measured by throwing the end of a knotted line overboard and timing it with a small sand glass. When the glass ran out you would count the knots that had unspooled. Nautical speed is still called "knots" because for centuries it was measured by knots in a string. There was a scale for recording this at the bottom of the traverse board (to save space it was usually two scales of four hours each). At the end of a four hour shift the board would have eight measurements. These would be recorded for the navigator. He would then plot out the position on a chart.
The navigator would also have to estimate drift. This was done by dropping a weighted line in clear water and seeing how much it bowed away from straight. There were no tools to help with this. It had to be done by eye and experience.
All of this gave crude approximations and in heavy storm sailors often stopped measuring speed or direction. A navigator could check his calculations using the sun and the stars. There were several tools that could be used for this including the quadrant, the astrolabe, the cross staff, and the backstaff (which was only suitable for measuring the sun). None of these could give longitude (east and west), only latitude (north and south).
Sighting the North Star was the easiest. Whatever angle it is at is your latitude. But it is a star and harder to see in clouds or a haze. Also, as Columbus noted, the North Star moves slightly during the night.
Finding the latitude with the sun requires several sightings taken around noon. The highest one is local noon. This angle is subtracted from 90 (because it is relative to the equator instead of the north pole). The high point of the sun moves from one day to the next as the Earth tilts on its axis. Twice a year on the equinox the sun is directly above the equator and no other measurements need to be taken. The rest of the year the navigator needs an almanack. This gives the correction for the date but it requires the navigator to know the approximate latitude. After this correction has been applied then the navigator has his latitude.
It was notoriously difficult to get a good reading on the sun or the north star while on a moving ship. Because of the crudity of the instruments, latitude figured on dry land could be off as much as 80 miles. On a ship that could be 300 miles.
There were other ways of checking your location. Islands often have clouds hanging over them that can be seen even when the island itself is below the horizon.
The sea bottom can be a source of information if it is shallow enough to measure. Depth was measured with a sounding lead. This was a long piece of lead attached to a long rope. The rope was marked at six foot intervals with standard markings. The first fathom was normally a leather strip with two ends. The second one had a leather strip with three ends. The third one had a white rag. The fourth had a red rag. Etc.
The bottom of the sounding lead had a hollow spot that was filled with brown tallow (meat fat). Just before the lead was dropped a fresh coat of white tallow would be applied. This is soft and sticky enough to bring up the soil from the bottom.
A detailed chart would indicate what sort of bottom was in different areas and indicate the depth.
Even if you were out of sight of land you might discover some useful information. Rivers will deposit silt miles from land so they can be detected while in open ocean.
Even with all of these tools, navigation was a hit-and-miss art. Some navigators would play it safe by going to the correct latitude first then sailing east or west to their destination. This was an opportunity for pirates. They could increase their chances of finding prey by cruising back on forth along well-traveled latitudes.
Navigation breaks down into three parts - figuring where you are going, recording where you have gone, and computing where you are. All of this applies to open water navigation. Simply following the coast does not require any special skills or knowledge.
The first part of navigation is known as "loxodromic navigation". This consists of figuring the proper heading to get from one point to another. To sail from New York to London you sail at 73 degrees. Since period compasses had 32 points instead of 360 degrees, this meant sailing East-northeast.
Loxodromes are also known as rhumb lines.
Because maps are a flat projection of a round surface, getting the rhumb line correct can be difficult. Also, maps of the period were not particularly accurate so you might sail to the proper place on the map and discover that you are still in the wrong place. My navigation display includes a map of the Atlantic in which Florida is too small and at the wrong angle. Anyone sailing for Florida using this map would hit land far east of where it shows.
In general, large scale maps were worse than small scale ones.
In addition to these problems, the wind seldom cooperates. Chances are that you will not be able to sail a direct course to your destination. That means that you have to keep track of where you have gone in order to figure where you are. This is known as "dead reckoning".
There are special tools used for dead reckoning navigation. The first is the sand glass. This is a half-hour glass. Every half hour it is turned and the current speed and heading are marked. A board called a "traverse board" was used for this. It had a face that looked like a compass with eight concentric circles of 32 holes (256 holes total). The first time the glass is turned a pin will be placed in the innermost hole corresponding to the current heading. The second ring of holes is used for the next reading and so on for eight turnings of the glass.
At the same time the ship's speed would be measured by throwing the end of a knotted line overboard and timing it with a small sand glass. When the glass ran out you would count the knots that had unspooled. Nautical speed is still called "knots" because for centuries it was measured by knots in a string. There was a scale for recording this at the bottom of the traverse board (to save space it was usually two scales of four hours each). At the end of a four hour shift the board would have eight measurements. These would be recorded for the navigator. He would then plot out the position on a chart.
The navigator would also have to estimate drift. This was done by dropping a weighted line in clear water and seeing how much it bowed away from straight. There were no tools to help with this. It had to be done by eye and experience.
All of this gave crude approximations and in heavy storm sailors often stopped measuring speed or direction. A navigator could check his calculations using the sun and the stars. There were several tools that could be used for this including the quadrant, the astrolabe, the cross staff, and the backstaff (which was only suitable for measuring the sun). None of these could give longitude (east and west), only latitude (north and south).
Sighting the North Star was the easiest. Whatever angle it is at is your latitude. But it is a star and harder to see in clouds or a haze. Also, as Columbus noted, the North Star moves slightly during the night.
Finding the latitude with the sun requires several sightings taken around noon. The highest one is local noon. This angle is subtracted from 90 (because it is relative to the equator instead of the north pole). The high point of the sun moves from one day to the next as the Earth tilts on its axis. Twice a year on the equinox the sun is directly above the equator and no other measurements need to be taken. The rest of the year the navigator needs an almanack. This gives the correction for the date but it requires the navigator to know the approximate latitude. After this correction has been applied then the navigator has his latitude.
It was notoriously difficult to get a good reading on the sun or the north star while on a moving ship. Because of the crudity of the instruments, latitude figured on dry land could be off as much as 80 miles. On a ship that could be 300 miles.
There were other ways of checking your location. Islands often have clouds hanging over them that can be seen even when the island itself is below the horizon.
The sea bottom can be a source of information if it is shallow enough to measure. Depth was measured with a sounding lead. This was a long piece of lead attached to a long rope. The rope was marked at six foot intervals with standard markings. The first fathom was normally a leather strip with two ends. The second one had a leather strip with three ends. The third one had a white rag. The fourth had a red rag. Etc.
The bottom of the sounding lead had a hollow spot that was filled with brown tallow (meat fat). Just before the lead was dropped a fresh coat of white tallow would be applied. This is soft and sticky enough to bring up the soil from the bottom.
A detailed chart would indicate what sort of bottom was in different areas and indicate the depth.
Even if you were out of sight of land you might discover some useful information. Rivers will deposit silt miles from land so they can be detected while in open ocean.
Even with all of these tools, navigation was a hit-and-miss art. Some navigators would play it safe by going to the correct latitude first then sailing east or west to their destination. This was an opportunity for pirates. They could increase their chances of finding prey by cruising back on forth along well-traveled latitudes.
Monday, August 13, 2012
Michigan Pirate Festival
The Michigan Pirate Festival was last week. It is actually multiple events. The first happens at the public library and runs Monday through Friday. This was a highly successful, kids-oriented event. There were long lines each day and thousands attended. Late Friday afternoon has a "pirate sail-in". The sail-in had to be cancelled this year because of bad weather. Waves ranged from 4' close to shore to 5'-7' further out. It was also raining much of the day.
On Saturday and Sunday the festival moved and expanded to Harbor Island. This is the part that we participated in.
The festival was set up as a large square. A timeline of historic pirates was on one side. The far side featured ren-fair pirates. The isles in-between had vendors. The middle of the square was devoted to entertainment, much of it kid-oriented.
We were set up beside the Forsaken. We brought my boat the Firefly which was mounted with my swivel gun. I also brought my cannon, a navigation display, and some weapons. Beside us was Mission the Pirate-Surgeon with his ever-popular display of early 18th century medical equipment. The Forsaken had a large set-up with a tavern, their gibbet and pillory, and a couple of other tents.
Across from us was Shenanigans in Leather with SOS Boss doing their own kids' activities.
Further down in the other direction was a different pirate display, some Civil War "pirates", a viking, a Corsair, and some Romans. The Romans brought some siege equipment and a cross. They were big on crucifying people. They even crucified Tinkerbell a couple of times.
The kids area included some famous literary pirates such as Captain Hook who was accompanied by Peter Pan and Tinkerbell and the Dread Pirate Roberts who was accompanied by Princess Buttercup. There was also story-telling, a puppet show, and a trio of mermaids in kiddy pools. There was also a pair of Captain Jack Sparrows (not counting the Jack Sparrow puppet).
Beyond that was a stage that featured fire dancers and an abbreviated Romeo and Juliet. The dancers were accompanied by a couple of electric guitars and a drum set.
Over in the corner was a tavern with what sounded like a decent Irish band. I was too busy to go over and listen to them.
Saturday was cool, sunny, and windy. We brought a shade fly for Mission but the wind pulled the stakes out of the ground (which was still soft from the previous day's rain) and we gave up. We did get the fly to stay up on Sunday which was a little warmer but overcast with less wind.
There was a rather confused battle both days. This involved some of the pirates taking Caesar captive and his being saved by the Forsaken. We were on the same side as the forsaken so we hauled the cannon and the boat to one end of the field (the swivel gun was still mounted on the boat). The other side had a Civil War cannon.
The battle started with Tinkerbell delivering a message to Caesar who had her crucified for her efforts. She probably gave some kids nightmares on Saturday with her acting although once she was up on the cross she said, "I can see my house from here."
After the end of the battle on Saturday the Romans demonstrated their siege equipment. The "Medieval" trebuchet was less than impressive although a different weapons whose name escapes me was able to send an arrow an impressive distance.
On Sunday they fine-tuned the trebuchet and launched some mellons. One wild shot nearly dropped a mellon of Mad d'Dogg. The final one went straight up and almost hit the trebuchet.
We had a stead stream of people although the festival never seemed crowded. We heard on Sunday that 4,000 people had attended on Saturday. I'm sure that the Sunday attendance was at over 2,000.
The festival itself was enjoyable and most of the people who had been at Put-in-Bay were there so we had plenty of friends with us.
On Saturday and Sunday the festival moved and expanded to Harbor Island. This is the part that we participated in.
The festival was set up as a large square. A timeline of historic pirates was on one side. The far side featured ren-fair pirates. The isles in-between had vendors. The middle of the square was devoted to entertainment, much of it kid-oriented.
We were set up beside the Forsaken. We brought my boat the Firefly which was mounted with my swivel gun. I also brought my cannon, a navigation display, and some weapons. Beside us was Mission the Pirate-Surgeon with his ever-popular display of early 18th century medical equipment. The Forsaken had a large set-up with a tavern, their gibbet and pillory, and a couple of other tents.
Across from us was Shenanigans in Leather with SOS Boss doing their own kids' activities.
Further down in the other direction was a different pirate display, some Civil War "pirates", a viking, a Corsair, and some Romans. The Romans brought some siege equipment and a cross. They were big on crucifying people. They even crucified Tinkerbell a couple of times.
The kids area included some famous literary pirates such as Captain Hook who was accompanied by Peter Pan and Tinkerbell and the Dread Pirate Roberts who was accompanied by Princess Buttercup. There was also story-telling, a puppet show, and a trio of mermaids in kiddy pools. There was also a pair of Captain Jack Sparrows (not counting the Jack Sparrow puppet).
Beyond that was a stage that featured fire dancers and an abbreviated Romeo and Juliet. The dancers were accompanied by a couple of electric guitars and a drum set.
Over in the corner was a tavern with what sounded like a decent Irish band. I was too busy to go over and listen to them.
Saturday was cool, sunny, and windy. We brought a shade fly for Mission but the wind pulled the stakes out of the ground (which was still soft from the previous day's rain) and we gave up. We did get the fly to stay up on Sunday which was a little warmer but overcast with less wind.
There was a rather confused battle both days. This involved some of the pirates taking Caesar captive and his being saved by the Forsaken. We were on the same side as the forsaken so we hauled the cannon and the boat to one end of the field (the swivel gun was still mounted on the boat). The other side had a Civil War cannon.
The battle started with Tinkerbell delivering a message to Caesar who had her crucified for her efforts. She probably gave some kids nightmares on Saturday with her acting although once she was up on the cross she said, "I can see my house from here."
After the end of the battle on Saturday the Romans demonstrated their siege equipment. The "Medieval" trebuchet was less than impressive although a different weapons whose name escapes me was able to send an arrow an impressive distance.
On Sunday they fine-tuned the trebuchet and launched some mellons. One wild shot nearly dropped a mellon of Mad d'Dogg. The final one went straight up and almost hit the trebuchet.
We had a stead stream of people although the festival never seemed crowded. We heard on Sunday that 4,000 people had attended on Saturday. I'm sure that the Sunday attendance was at over 2,000.
The festival itself was enjoyable and most of the people who had been at Put-in-Bay were there so we had plenty of friends with us.
Monday, July 23, 2012
Mermaids
I watched Pirates of the Caribbean 4 - On Stranger Tides again last week. That and some news articles on the popularity of mermaid tails got me to thinking about these creatures.
These days we think of mermaids as friendly and human-like. Disney's Little Mermaid acts just like any teen-age girl.
The mermaids in PoTC/OST are different. Grown men throw themselves into the sea rather than face the mermaids. It turns out that they have good reason for this behavior. With the exception of Barbossa and a small landing party, the entire crew is killed by the mermaids.
The mermaids of legend were not much better. They were not as direct but they were often sirens, luring ships into shallow waters where the ship would run aground and its crew would drown.
Other times they were simply a bad omen. Seeing a mermaid meant that you were in danger (possibly because they liked the shallows). Blackbeard seems to have believed this. According to Wikipedia:
Anything that Blackbeard was wary of was dangerous, indeed.
These days we think of mermaids as friendly and human-like. Disney's Little Mermaid acts just like any teen-age girl.
The mermaids in PoTC/OST are different. Grown men throw themselves into the sea rather than face the mermaids. It turns out that they have good reason for this behavior. With the exception of Barbossa and a small landing party, the entire crew is killed by the mermaids.
The mermaids of legend were not much better. They were not as direct but they were often sirens, luring ships into shallow waters where the ship would run aground and its crew would drown.
Other times they were simply a bad omen. Seeing a mermaid meant that you were in danger (possibly because they liked the shallows). Blackbeard seems to have believed this. According to Wikipedia:
The logbook of Blackbeard, an English pirate, records that he instructed his crew on several voyages to steer away from charted waters which he called "enchanted" for fear of merfolk or mermaids, which Blackbeard and members of his crew reported seeing.
Anything that Blackbeard was wary of was dangerous, indeed.
Thursday, June 28, 2012
It's Great to be a Pirate
Facebook is still full of posts about the Put-In-Bay Pirate Fest. The same thing happened after the last pirate event on the Santa Maria - people were excited about it for days. I'm thinking about how this compares with the 17th century colonial and English Civil War events I spent decades going to.
The numbers were similar. Except for a very few anniversary events, 17th century events were never huge and have been shrinking for the last 15-20 years. We had around 20 at Put-in-bay and close to 40 at the Santa Maria. This is more than I have seen at a 17th century event in years.
People mixed more. Most 17th century events are military events with participants coming as part of specific units. The units tend to keep to themselves. When events were bigger, some units took the distinction between officers and common soldiers a little too seriously. I remember seeing officers watch as soldiers pitched their pavilions for them. These same officers got steak while the common men got stew.
I don't see much of that in pirate reenacting. There are different crews but at the last couple of events no one cared. Even at larger pirate events the crews mix a lot more than at military events.
All of this is good. There is less friction and everyone gets along better. The end result is that everyone enjoys themselves more and wants to do more with that group of people.
The numbers were similar. Except for a very few anniversary events, 17th century events were never huge and have been shrinking for the last 15-20 years. We had around 20 at Put-in-bay and close to 40 at the Santa Maria. This is more than I have seen at a 17th century event in years.
People mixed more. Most 17th century events are military events with participants coming as part of specific units. The units tend to keep to themselves. When events were bigger, some units took the distinction between officers and common soldiers a little too seriously. I remember seeing officers watch as soldiers pitched their pavilions for them. These same officers got steak while the common men got stew.
I don't see much of that in pirate reenacting. There are different crews but at the last couple of events no one cared. Even at larger pirate events the crews mix a lot more than at military events.
All of this is good. There is less friction and everyone gets along better. The end result is that everyone enjoys themselves more and wants to do more with that group of people.
Monday, June 25, 2012
Put-in-Bay Pirate Fest 2012
PIB Pirate Fest IV, the Revenge is over and was a success. This was the third one we have been officially involved with.
I think that we had a few more people than last year although not everyone from last year came. We had several new faces this year. All of them were at the spring Pirate Event at the Santa Maria and were still enthusiastic.\
Our display area was bigger this year with around eight display areas. As with the Santa Maria, the biggest attraction was the gibbet and pillory that the Beach Brothers brought.
The Festival made it worth their while - Billy Beach won the costume contest along with a trip to the Cayman Islands. His younger brother Clint won it a couple of years ago.
Since the event is on an island, most of us met on the mainland and transferred belongings to a few of vehicles that the festival provided ferry passes for. Several of us arrived between noon and 1:30 so we ended up with two vehicles and nine pirates crossing at once - most of us in pirate garb. This was enough to earn Thomas and Ed free beers from some ferry passengers.
The opening ceremony involves a "pirate fleet" attacking the the town. The fleet consists of a couple of decorated boats and a barge full of cannons. This time we joined in. Originally we were going to take both boats out but the seams of the Firefly were too dry and it took on too much water. After bailing it out, we transferred into the Black Sheep and attacked from there. We had ten people in the Black Sheep at once.
Afterwards we set up camp and went to a local restaurant for dinner. Eventually we ended up at Hooligan's Irish Pub to listen to the band.
The "pirate village" (that is our display plus some vendors) officially opened at 11:00 which let us eat a leisurely breakfast before setting up. Saturday was significantly cooler than previous years with a cool breeze.
In addition to the display and the costume contest, we also had a battle at the area fenced off for cannons. It was a quick affair with the surviving attackers killed by cannon fire but I still had enough time to get off around a dozen rounds.
We had dinner at Pasquale which is owned by the event organizer and put in an appearance at The Boat House which was pushing the pirate theme hard, then back to Hooligans.
Sunday had much lighter crowds. There was an antique car parade. After that we repeated the battle and began breaking down camp.
Most of us went back on the same ferry. While waiting for the ferry, most of the people still in costume posed in knee-deep water. Once on the ferry, Clint managed to get nearly everyone on the ferry to put up their hands for a picture. I guess he was pirating the ferry.
I think that we had a few more people than last year although not everyone from last year came. We had several new faces this year. All of them were at the spring Pirate Event at the Santa Maria and were still enthusiastic.\
Our display area was bigger this year with around eight display areas. As with the Santa Maria, the biggest attraction was the gibbet and pillory that the Beach Brothers brought.
The Festival made it worth their while - Billy Beach won the costume contest along with a trip to the Cayman Islands. His younger brother Clint won it a couple of years ago.
Since the event is on an island, most of us met on the mainland and transferred belongings to a few of vehicles that the festival provided ferry passes for. Several of us arrived between noon and 1:30 so we ended up with two vehicles and nine pirates crossing at once - most of us in pirate garb. This was enough to earn Thomas and Ed free beers from some ferry passengers.
The opening ceremony involves a "pirate fleet" attacking the the town. The fleet consists of a couple of decorated boats and a barge full of cannons. This time we joined in. Originally we were going to take both boats out but the seams of the Firefly were too dry and it took on too much water. After bailing it out, we transferred into the Black Sheep and attacked from there. We had ten people in the Black Sheep at once.
Afterwards we set up camp and went to a local restaurant for dinner. Eventually we ended up at Hooligan's Irish Pub to listen to the band.
The "pirate village" (that is our display plus some vendors) officially opened at 11:00 which let us eat a leisurely breakfast before setting up. Saturday was significantly cooler than previous years with a cool breeze.
In addition to the display and the costume contest, we also had a battle at the area fenced off for cannons. It was a quick affair with the surviving attackers killed by cannon fire but I still had enough time to get off around a dozen rounds.
We had dinner at Pasquale which is owned by the event organizer and put in an appearance at The Boat House which was pushing the pirate theme hard, then back to Hooligans.
Sunday had much lighter crowds. There was an antique car parade. After that we repeated the battle and began breaking down camp.
Most of us went back on the same ferry. While waiting for the ferry, most of the people still in costume posed in knee-deep water. Once on the ferry, Clint managed to get nearly everyone on the ferry to put up their hands for a picture. I guess he was pirating the ferry.
Wednesday, June 13, 2012
Nautical Phrase Myths
While at Opsail 2012, I heard three completely different mistakes about the origins of words or phrases. There is a lesson to be learned here.
The first one came from a group representing the "World of 1812". There was a display of military items and someone asked if a piece was a carbine? A costumed boy in his late teens said, 'no, it was a musket.'
I looked at the piece and pointed out that it was carbine length. This was easy to verify because the display included a full musket. The boy confidently claimed that they called everything a musket, regardless of the length and that carbines did not exist until rifles were invented.
It so happens that I had looked up carbines recently and I know that the word goes back 200 years before 1812 (1590 to be exact). I mentioned that I have a 1640s carbine and I think he got the idea that I knew what I was talking about. At least he stopped arguing.
There were two problems here. The first is that you have to be very careful about your source material when you start arguing with the public. They have the world at their fingertips. I could easily have used my smartphone to show him that the gun in question is sold as a "1809 marine carbine" or have shown him the Wikipedia entry on carbines.
The other problem is that you should not assume that wearing a costume makes you an expert.
The next myth was much worse because of its source. The Bounty had a display of the mess area with signs above that offered information. One of them said that sailors used their elbows to keep their food from sliding around. Sailors were prime candidates for press gangs on shore so anyone who ate with his elbows on the table was at risk of being pressed.
It doesn't take a minute to debunk this. Just try eating while holding your plate still with your elbows. You can't do it.
The admonition against elbows on the table was referring to people who bent over their food, supporting themselves with their elbows and shoveled the food into their mouths. The idea is that you should sit up straight, supported by your back instead of your elbows. This is an example of trying to attribute a nautical explanation to everyday things.
Since this was on an official sign, the Bounty has no excuse.
The last example has nothing to do with Opsail. It just happened to come at the same time. A trivia slide on Pawn Stars said that "Mind your Ps and Qs" refers to the tab that a sailor would have with the ship and referred to quarts and pints.
I have heard the quarts and pints explanation before. Attributing it to ships is new.
The expression itself should be taken at face value. The letters P and Q look similar and "Mind your Ps and Qs" is a warning to be extra careful. The part about the bar tab just adds a little to the explanation. It is still based on the two looking alike. This is making a simple explanation more complicated. The part about it being the tab on a ship is an example of attributing everything to a nautical origin.
Note, you can make a strong case for it coming from printers since type is backwards which makes it easy to mix up the two.
The moral of all of this is to check your sources, don't needlessly complicate things, and remember that a story that is too good to be true probably is false.
The first one came from a group representing the "World of 1812". There was a display of military items and someone asked if a piece was a carbine? A costumed boy in his late teens said, 'no, it was a musket.'
I looked at the piece and pointed out that it was carbine length. This was easy to verify because the display included a full musket. The boy confidently claimed that they called everything a musket, regardless of the length and that carbines did not exist until rifles were invented.
It so happens that I had looked up carbines recently and I know that the word goes back 200 years before 1812 (1590 to be exact). I mentioned that I have a 1640s carbine and I think he got the idea that I knew what I was talking about. At least he stopped arguing.
There were two problems here. The first is that you have to be very careful about your source material when you start arguing with the public. They have the world at their fingertips. I could easily have used my smartphone to show him that the gun in question is sold as a "1809 marine carbine" or have shown him the Wikipedia entry on carbines.
The other problem is that you should not assume that wearing a costume makes you an expert.
The next myth was much worse because of its source. The Bounty had a display of the mess area with signs above that offered information. One of them said that sailors used their elbows to keep their food from sliding around. Sailors were prime candidates for press gangs on shore so anyone who ate with his elbows on the table was at risk of being pressed.
It doesn't take a minute to debunk this. Just try eating while holding your plate still with your elbows. You can't do it.
The admonition against elbows on the table was referring to people who bent over their food, supporting themselves with their elbows and shoveled the food into their mouths. The idea is that you should sit up straight, supported by your back instead of your elbows. This is an example of trying to attribute a nautical explanation to everyday things.
Since this was on an official sign, the Bounty has no excuse.
The last example has nothing to do with Opsail. It just happened to come at the same time. A trivia slide on Pawn Stars said that "Mind your Ps and Qs" refers to the tab that a sailor would have with the ship and referred to quarts and pints.
I have heard the quarts and pints explanation before. Attributing it to ships is new.
The expression itself should be taken at face value. The letters P and Q look similar and "Mind your Ps and Qs" is a warning to be extra careful. The part about the bar tab just adds a little to the explanation. It is still based on the two looking alike. This is making a simple explanation more complicated. The part about it being the tab on a ship is an example of attributing everything to a nautical origin.
Note, you can make a strong case for it coming from printers since type is backwards which makes it easy to mix up the two.
The moral of all of this is to check your sources, don't needlessly complicate things, and remember that a story that is too good to be true probably is false.
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