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EJ, UnIncorporated
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Piracy!
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Avast, ye scurvy dogs!
Piracy! Or, as I prefer to think of it: preemptive maritime recovery operations. Almost gives it a government feel, doesn't
it? Oh, wait... they've probably already got that.
Perhaps I should rephrase: Privateering! Ah, yes, a letter of marque to scour the world of the cold-hearted cutthroat
scourge of the sea!
It's all in good fun, folks. We few daring folk choose to celebrate the freedom and excitement of the golden age of piracy.
In this case, the venues are usually Tall Ship festivals and renaissance faires, but it still gives like-minded folk a chance
to get together, sing sea shanties by the sea shore, cross swords, swill rum, fire cannons and say "Arrrr!" until our cheeks
vibrate.
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| Theodore Sebastian at your service |
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| Sea Dog on the town... |
Lieutenant Theodore Sebastian, assistant to Sir Francis Drake, relaxes after the Spanish Debacle
of 1588...
Mr. Sebastian is dressed in a black Kerik (jerkin sleeves detatched), perfect for a London night in the company of Elizabeth's Court. Mr. Sebastian is a former English
soldier and has fought from the Barbary Coast to Antwerp to Santo Domingo, capital of Hispaniola, in the service of the Crown.
| At Lake Casitas, Ojai, California |
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| After swordplay |
Ahh... a time to ponder mortality (a perfectly normal activity after crossing swords with a fiery red-headed pirate. See:
picture on the right). The background is Lake Casitas at the Ojai Renaissance festival (the "Ren faire with a pirate flair"). Jenny and I usually camp out for a night or two, swat mosquitos, knock back some rum and enjoy some piratical company.
Though we'll hang out with our fellows from the Port Royal Privateers, a variety of sea dogs and scallywags will drift in
for this two-day bonanza.
There are, of course, a whole variety of events that PRP folk will crash (er, make appearances at). To find out where we'll
show up next (at least invited), check out the PRP website by clicking on the picture above.
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| Pirate Jenny! |
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| Bloomers?! |
Ah, here she is. How demure. How charming. How disarming. How disarming? Usually with a flash of cleavage and a flick of her
wrist and you find your cutlass sailing across the room. Damn! How did she do that? Disarming indeed!
Truly, my partner in crime...
The Hardware
| The spoils of war... |
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| ...Or pirate booty? |
Wish as we may, treasure will never jump into your sea chest on its own. To give it a nudge, you need to have the right tools
for the job. To that end, may I proudly present...
"Spike"
| The sword that sacked the Spanish Main |
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| Reverse-gripped for your safe viewing |
The basket is steel with brass pinning. Originally a steel cavalry sabre, the blade was replaced and fashioned for stage combat,
crafted from aircraft grade aluminum. The blade is light, stiff in combat, but flexible enough to be bent into a "U" (just
get out of the way when it snaps back).
The blacksmith is Tony Swatton of "Sword and the Stone," a friendly if over-worked giant of a fellow, especially given the recent run of work on Zorro 2 and now the POTC sequels.
Most of Tony's original work will have a comma in the price tag, but for budget swords, the way to go is pick a solid and
aesthetically pleasing basket made by one of the Italian or Indian sword factories, then chuck the steel blade and get an
aluminum (if you're going to use it for stage combat).
| The Mark of the Master |
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| As made by Tony Swatton |
Even Jenny's sword is custom, though it didn't start that way. Purchased a few years ago, it's solid basket and nautical themes
seemed appropriate for her pirate persona. When we brought "Spike" into the family, we had to convert her sword
to an aluminum blade as well. This turned out to be... complicated.
The sword is based off of a fairly popular template, with similar baskets found in sword shops around the country. The
blade is usually crappy iron (as hers was), but it did come with a well-themed scabbard. To keep the scabbard, we had to get
a custom blade ground down to match the original.
Jenny was actually there to see the birth of her blade, from cutting the template from a sheet of aluminum with a band
saw to grinding the groove to final polishing. The difference in weight is significant - it is now far easier to handle (especially
now that most of the weight actually rests in her hand).
Unfortunately, the inside of the guard is a little close for her hand size and doesn't allow for easy wielding. At some
point soon, we'll be shopping for a basket with more generous room, something conducive to the kind of wild stage combat we
do (and we'll get a standard Swatton aluminum blade, plus scabbard with lock and chapin when we do).
While we'll likely keep her old sword in our armory for sentimental reasons, we're not above hearing offers. If you have
a small hand and a fat purse, drop me a line. Anything is possible.
| Jenny's cutlass |
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| More than it appears... |
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