Talk Like a Pirate Day! Arrrrggh!

[minaret]

Originally Posted by Steady Hand

And I have seen several films of "Mutiny on the Bounty" but I don't hate all captains of sailing vessels.

I also enjoyed Jack London's "The Sea Wolf" and never thought all skippers were as brutal as Wolf Larsen of the SV Ghost.

I can appreciate the fictional characters (pirates, sea captains) and studying them or even liking them as characters or stories does not mean I condone their behavior or would act like them.

Same with the "Talk Like a Pirate Day" characters. Har!

By the way, I know some cruisers may have a pirate flag (Skull and Crossbones) aboard their boats, and that does not bother me either because I know they use them in jest or fun with their friends, not in anger or seriously. I have seen a few while in races and just chuckled seeing the other crew was in good spirits, sometimes with water balloons at hand.

In short, of course there are times for being serious, but there are also plenty of times to laugh and not be too serious.

The skull and cross bones is actually a very early Christian symbol. It represents the tradition of the Essenes using ossuaries. To fit a persons bones into an ossuary, you must first put in all the small bones, then the femurs (longest bones in the body) crossed, with the skull on top. It was flown by the Knights of St. John, who owned and operated from Malta. They were famous for fighting against Muslim pirates from North Africa. This is even where the term Jolly Roger comes from. The history of "piracy" is much longer and more complex than many would give credence to. There have been "pirates" of every nation and creed, with very wide range of goals and methods. Let's not forget that some of the early ideas of democracy and free society were first championed by people who were sometimes described by others as pirates. The mutiny at the Nore would be a fine example of "piracy" leading to positive political change, done for all the right reasons. One could even say it fostered some of the early ideas for unionization.

[Steadman Uhlich]

The Talk Like a Pirate Day has come and gone.

I am sure it was a lot of fun for some around the USA (and perhaps around the world) as it is a day meant to be full of fun and humor.

My interest in some of the funny or entertaining or interesting things about Pirates as characters (in fiction and film) has not diminished or ended.

So, you can expect some more discussion about some Pirates in movies in a future thread. Yar!
________________

Should Current Events Prevent Discussion of Topics?

It is unfortunate that a recent terrorist capture of hostages in the Philippines has occurred, but it has nothing to do with Hollywood films or books about Pirates on the high seas. My sincere sympathy goes to the men and women who were taken hostage, but I don't think they would blame a 1934 film of Treasure Island for their predicament. Nor should they.

I seriously doubt they would expect people to stop talking about or researching or enjoying Hollywood Pirate films or books because they were captured by some terrorist group. And I doubt they would object to children (or adults) dressing up in costumes of 18th Century Buccaneers or Pirates on Halloween or any day. In fact, since they are sailors too, it is likely they might have done the same at some point in their lives, or perhaps watched and enjoyed some classic Pirate films, like Treasure Island.

To the best of my knowledge, no one is "glamorizing" the lives or actions of real current day Somali or Philippine Pirates. I, too, would find that distasteful.

The incidents of real current day pirate attacks have been extensively covered in numerous threads on this forum, and in serious manner, as befits the serious nature of current real pirates and violence they cause.

_________________

Will future discussions of Hollywood Pirate movies offend some CF members?

Possibly. But why? They have the ability to not read those threads.

For those who don't distinguish between fact and fiction or between Hollywood films and actual current events, I respectfully suggest you should not merge the two or mistake the two. Let's not confuse those serious threads with this one or with others focused on Hollywood pirates as it would be like confusing a film about hunting real rabbits with one about Elmer Fudd hunting Bugs Bunny.

A current Johnny Depp depiction of Captain Jack Sparrow in a Disney movie (or earlier movies of similar kind) is harmless and really has not much to do with the real historic Blackbeard or current day real Somali Pirates or real Philippine Terrorists. It would be like saying Captain Ron (fictional character) is similar to the real historic Captain Cook. They are obviously NOT the same, despite both having been in command of some sailboat. As it happens, there were (fictional) Pirates in the Captain Ron film, and that was a funny comedy.

If you think any mention of pirates will offend you, the simple remedy is to not read those threads that have the word "pirate" in the title. That would include a future thread I will start titled something like "Pirate Movies and Characters."

Some of the stories, characters, creatures, and effects in Hollywood Pirate movies are as fanciful as dragons and unicorns and mermaids or the Kraken. In fact, those fanciful creatures do appear in the recent Disney films.

For anyone to conflate the discussion of Pirates of literature or Hollywood films (mostly fictional or fantasy) with ANY current real Pirates (Somali or Philippine or elsewhere) seems to be stretching credibility as much as any Disney film. In other words, "You can't be serious."

To conflate is to merge two things, in an unreasonable manner. For example, despite the fact that many people die each year in automobile accidents, it would be a conflation to say that the recent comedy animated film "Cars" by Pixar films should not be mentioned, discussed, shown, enjoyed, or laughed at, because "cars are killers." It would be a conflation to suggest that people watching the animated film Cars are likely to drive more recklessly, endangering other drivers. To say those things in a public forum that is focused on all things related to automobiles and driving would be beyond credibility or reasonableness, in my opinion. Similarly, to say that we should not discuss Pirates (fictional or real) in a forum focused on sailing topics (including jokes, books, films, videos, websites, blogs, etc.) and all things related to sailboats and sailing the seas, seems to be unrealistic.
_________________

How to go forward?

For those who enjoy Hollywood pirate movies and characters, keep a watch for a future thread I will start focused on that topic, "Pirate Movies and Characters." .

For those who don't like the discussion of fictional or historic Pirates or how they are depicted in Hollywood movies or in literature, then just ignore the thread or future ones and focus your attention on something that will not cause you discomfort or unease or bring up memories of dead friends.

There are plenty of threads in this forum in which I am sure your opinions will be respected and your participation will be helpful, as I know I have previously enjoyed your participation in them and generally and sincerely respect your experience as a sailor and cruiser.

[spiv]

I have been living aboard 5y and nearly at the end of my trip around this beautiful world of ours.
I avoided all the trouble spots, there is so much to see of the nice ones that it would take several lives to go and see them all.
Nobody likes real pirates, rapists, thugs, but I love Jack Sparrow!!

Please leave all derogative comments out of this lighthearted thread, just do not read it and do not post on it, please!!

Long Live Jack Sparrow, Arrrrrr

And, whatever you do......

[Steadman Uhlich]

Originally Posted by minaret

The skull and cross bones is actually a very early Christian symbol. It represents the tradition of the Essenes using ossuaries. To fit a persons bones into an ossuary, you must first put in all the small bones, then the femurs (longest bones in the body) crossed, with the skull on top. It was flown by the Knights of St. John, who owned and operated from Malta. They were famous for fighting against Muslim pirates from North Africa. This is even where the term Jolly Roger comes from. The history of "piracy" is much longer and more complex than many would give credence to. There have been "pirates" of every nation and creed, with very wide range of goals and methods. Let's not forget that some of the early ideas of democracy and free society were first championed by people who were sometimes described by others as pirates. The mutiny at the Nore would be a fine example of "piracy" leading to positive political change, done for all the right reasons. One could even say it fostered some of the early ideas for unionization.

Minaret,

Thanks for posting that! You added a lot of interesting facts and lore that is interesting to me.

Please Note: I will be starting another thread soon (not today) that will be focused on "Pirate Movies and Characters." (That is the title I have in mind.)

[Steadman Uhlich]

Originally Posted by spiv

I have been living aboard 5y and nearly at the end of my trip around this beautiful world of ours.
I avoided all the trouble spots, there is so much to see of the nice ones that it would take several lives to go and see them all.
Nobody likes real pirates, rapists, thugs, but I love Jack Sparrow!!

Please leave all derogative comments out of this lighthearted thread, just do not read it and do not post on it, please!!

Long Live Jack Sparrow, Arrrrrr

And, whatever you do......

Ahoy Stefano!

Welcome aboard the discussion.

I appreciate your experience AND your POV and your positive contribution to the thread.

And, congratulations on your upcoming completion of your Circumnavigation! That is an honorable and admirable accomplishment for any sailor. I am sure with a 5 year circ, you have many stories and great memories.

Please Note: I will be starting another thread soon (not today) that will be focused on "Pirate Movies and Characters." (That is the title I have in mind. I will probably put it in the Library forum here.)

[StuM]

Just to really throw the cat among the pigeons - let's bring religion into this

pirate « Search Results « Church of the Flying Spaghetti Monster

[Steadman Uhlich]

Originally Posted by StuM

Just to really throw the cat among the pigeons - let's bring religion into this

pirate « Search Results « Church of the Flying Spaghetti Monster

Stu,

You got me chuckling with that one.

Thanks for adding some levity to the discussion.

The Pastafarians have official church garb or costumes (Pirate costumes).

Here are two of the Pastafarian Missionaries (yes, that is what they call themselves).

[minaret]

Originally Posted by Steady Hand

Stu,

You got me chuckling with that one.

Thanks for adding some levity to the discussion.

The Pastafarians have official church garb or costumes (Pirate costumes).

Here are two of the Pastafarian Missionaries (yes, that is what they call themselves).

Check out the Pirate Fest pics I posted the last time we had this silly argument.


http://www.cruisersforum.com/forums/...day-67972.html

[Delancey]

Nice to see some less emotionally affected people join the discussion who are able to discern the difference between a criminal act perpetrated by individuals on the high seas and a terrorist act committed by a group of individuals with an agenda in a marina.

My heart goes out to the victims and the families in the Philippines.

I only wish others would make the further distinction between piracy and plain old crime because crimes that occur at anchor or in a marina do not occur "on the high seas" and therefore quite simply do not constitute acts of piracy.

In my opinion calling them piracy is inaccurate at best and at worst does a disservice to the victims because doing so obfuscates the truth behind their tragedy and it makes me wonder that people who do this don't have some of agenda that they would paint the tragedy as something it is not.

It's also nice to see some people recognize that random crime can happen anywhere but that areas of high pirate activity are well known. The Horn of Africa and The Straits of Indonesia are no less infamous than the Southern Ocean in wintertime.

I personally feel we should have as little sympathy for cruisers who make the choice to go to those areas despite warnings as we have for cruisers who make the wrong passages at the wrong time of year despite the warnings.

It's also nice to see that some people recognize that parody is a form of protest and that those who would seek to ban it or impose limits on other people's right to enjoy it have already effectively surrendered themselves to the perpetrators. After all laughter is the best medicine. Arrrrrgh!

[Cormorant]

Prepare to be boarded. . . .

[Bulawayo]

A very good post until I reached the part "I personally feel we should have as little sympathy for cruisers who make the choice to go to those areas despite warnings..... "
Being blunt, this shows a complete lack of understanding. Once you get into Asian waters, there are three routes to continue; the Southern Ocean, via South Africa or the Red Sea. All three could be criticised by people who are not prepared to understand the routes involved. All three routes can (presently) be undertaken if reasonable precautions are followed. I keep reading of doomsayers making negative comments....likely based on media sensationalism. Read also various official (e.g. UK Government) and you'll see dire warnings about many area's of the world. These do not recognise actual current happenings. Typically, numerous small boats are still transiting the Horn of Africa (myself included earlier this year) yet panic is being generated due to the events that are happening on the ground in Yemen. These are unhappy times but should be kept in proportion. Remember there has now been an extended period (in the order of two years) since any event was reported in that particular area. This could be debated and debated without resolution. The Vasco race is also using this route which tells what actual sailors are doing - and not those sat just behind a keyboard.
As for South Africa and the Southern Ocean; there is really no less or greater risk, they just are a different category, but still have the potential to create undesirable situations and the opportunity for people to start hurling incorrect and provocative statements around ............
Issues shall continue all around the world and by stopping and saying any victim should never have gone there, or similar comments, really does not help and sets a precedence for other nasty elements to create their own no-go zone.

The post by Steady was, I am sure, made in a light hearted spirit and should be left at that.

Originally Posted by Delancey

Nice to see some less emotionally affected people join the discussion who are able to discern the difference between a criminal act perpetrated by individuals on the high seas and a terrorist act committed by a group of individuals with an agenda in a marina.

My heart goes out to the victims and the families in the Philippines.

I only wish others would make the further distinction between piracy and plain old crime because crimes that occur at anchor or in a marina do not occur "on the high seas" and therefore quite simply do not constitute acts of piracy.

In my opinion calling them piracy is inaccurate at best and at worst does a disservice to the victims because doing so obfuscates the truth behind their tragedy and it makes me wonder that people who do this don't have some of agenda that they would paint the tragedy as something it is not.

It's also nice to see some people recognize that random crime can happen anywhere but that areas of high pirate activity are well known. The Horn of Africa and The Straits of Indonesia are no less infamous than the Southern Ocean in wintertime.

I personally feel we should have as little sympathy for cruisers who make the choice to go to those areas despite warnings as we have for cruisers who make the wrong passages at the wrong time of year despite the warnings.

It's also nice to see that some people recognize that parody is a form of protest and that those who would seek to ban it or impose limits on other people's right to enjoy it have already effectively surrendered themselves to the perpetrators. After all laughter is the best medicine. Arrrrrgh!

[Sea Dreaming]

Speaking as a Pastafarian, talk like a pirate day was great fun. I took the fun to work and me and my coworkers created pirate names for all 50 of our "crew" of "The Corsair Bovine" (I work in the corporate offices of a large dairy)

I took craft materials and anyone who wished could make an eye patch. My work group was particularly involved and most of us wore pirateish clothing. Baggy pants, tall boots and "poet" shirts were most common. And every single one of us wore an eye patch.

The day happened to coincide with a coworkers birthday too. A long standing tradition for birthdays is a clamor band. Everyone brings a noise maker and kazoo to play "happy birthday" to our aging victim. Imagine that scenario with everyone wearing an eye patch! Those who weren't using a mouth instrument did their level best to keep in character singing in a gruff voice.
Honestly we were terrible movie pirates, but this just added to the laughter. I can't wait to do it again next year.

[Delancey]

Bulawayo, point taken.

My comment was meant in reference spivs remarks about having simply avoided the trouble spots and wasn't intended as a criticism but rather meant to emphasize that if you don't go looking for trouble you are much less likely to find it.

I highly doubt few who choose to transit the Red Sea route or other high risk areas do so without an assessment of the risks and that they have deem them acceptable and so it is difficult for me take pity when the risks turned out to be greater than they had anticipated or were able to manage because in the end it was their choice.

Cruising is a choice and that choice involves risks. The high seas are lawless by definition. People who take to the high seas must be aware of the risks and be prepared to suffer the consequences of their actions because in the end they have no one to blame but themselves.

Saying arrrrgh! once in awhile doesn't amplify those risks.

[mikereed100]

President Obama, a closet Pastafarian, celebrating Talk Like a Pirate Day with one of the faithful.

[minaret]

Originally Posted by Sea Dreaming

Speaking as a Pastafarian, talk like a pirate day was great fun. I took the fun to work and me and my coworkers created pirate names for all 50 of our "crew" of "The Corsair Bovine" (I work in the corporate offices of a large dairy)

I took craft materials and anyone who wished could make an eye patch. My work group was particularly involved and most of us wore pirateish clothing. Baggy pants, tall boots and "poet" shirts were most common. And every single one of us wore an eye patch.

The day happened to coincide with a coworkers birthday too. A long standing tradition for birthdays is a clamor band. Everyone brings a noise maker and kazoo to play "happy birthday" to our aging victim. Imagine that scenario with everyone wearing an eye patch! Those who weren't using a mouth instrument did their level best to keep in character singing in a gruff voice.
Honestly we were terrible movie pirates, but this just added to the laughter. I can't wait to do it again next year.

The real reason salty pirates wore an eye patch: to preserve night vision for spotting their prey! If you go below to prick the chart at night, even a candle will destroy your night vision. It takes at least thirty minutes to get it back. By using one eye above deck, and the other below, the salty dog preserves his ability to spot his victim! Just have to switch the old patch side to side. Mythbusters even did a bit on it. They didn't have red lighting for the interior back then.


Sounds a bit like "The Crimson Permanent Assurance", lol!

https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=7YUiBBltOg4