josephinebardot

  A pretty good pirate ship just came up for sale, and I began thinking… If you have the ship, what else do you need? What are the things that a ship needs to do business on the water? It helps to remember that, in the 18 th century, a ship was very much like a space station. It was headed into a hostile environment and needed to carry with it all the supplies necessary for itself and its crew. We will assume that your pirate ship comes with all the sails and rope it will need, and with cannons and a Jolly Roger. So the first thing you will need is another full set of sails. Sails wear out, tear, and are sometimes carried away by the wind. Without sails to move the ship, it is dead in the water, and everything on it will probably die as well. So you need to have spares for everything, one set at least. Plus a lot of spare canvas, to make things like canon cartridges and hammocks. You will also need enough rope to replace every piece of cordage on the ship, at least tw...

  We all know that pirates were law-breakers. That’s kind of a definition of the job. But what were the laws, anyway? What was the British legal system like in 1715? The beginning of this answer is: A lot different than it is today. British law was undergoing a rather radical change at the time, from a medieval system primarily designed to punish people who stepped outside the system, to a system designed to deter crimes against property. This change was driven by the rise in what we would call the upper middle class. Unlike previous people with money, their wealth was not tied up in land, but in property such as homes, carriages, artwork and fine clothing. These people wanted to protect their possessions, and also their business dealings. Because of this, England set out on a course of new laws designed to deter undesirable behavior. Crimes like shoplifting, robbing a house or rioting were punishable by death. The list of crimes that fell under this category gre...

  It’s that time of year again, when we all dress up in our best costumes and hit the town for some fun with friends. Here are all of the great Halloween events on St. Pete Beach! Halloween at Shark Tales Waterfront Restaurant Join Shark Tales Waterfront Restaurant  on Saturday October 29th for a full day of Halloween festivities! Live Music all day and night featuring Seranation from 8-12!! Pumpkin Pie eating contest at 10PM (This is sure to be something you won’t want to miss!) Bobbing for apples all night long for free shots! Make sure to get you creative caps on because Shark Tales will be giving away some money for their Halloween Costume Contest! Most original – $250 cash+$250 bar tab Best Couple – $250 cash+$250 bar tab Sexiest – $250 cash+$250 bar tab Halloween at the Toasted Monkey Beachbar & Sportsgrill Head over to the Toasted Monkey on Saturday October 29th for their 2nd annual Halloween party! They will have a Costume Contest, ...

  That’s right, our quaint little beach town has been nationally ranked again by TripAdvisor! After all the votes were counted, St. Pete Beach as well as Clearwater beach were ranked #3 and #4 out of the Top 25 Beaches in the United States! You may be wondering which beach scored the top spot in this years rankings? Well another cute beach town just south of us named Siesta Key ranked #1 in the U.S. What is there to do on St. Pete Beach? St. Pete Beach is home to a wide variety of family-owned businesses that offer plenty of fun activities for the whole family! Maybe you would like to go Parasailing above our shores or take your family and friends out on St. Pete Beach Charters for a fun day of fishing on the gulf. No matter what type of adventure you are looking for, there are plenty of things to do on St. Pete Beach! The best activity is boarding a dolphin cruise in St Pete Beach, FL . You can witness the beautiful and fun-filled activities of dolphins along with your ...

1. Boyd Hill Nature Preserve Boyd Hill Nature Preserve is comprised of nearly 250 acres of undeveloped land that lies along Country Club Way in St. Petersburg. The preserve’s distinct natural areas are connected by a number of trails and a boardwalk, making it a convenient destination for families looking to stretch their legs and appreciate the great outdoors. The preserve includes woodlands, lakes, and marshes and is home to a variety of wildlife that are relatively easy to see, especially during the lowlight morning and evening hours. The trails stretch for nearly six miles; there are covered picnic areas along the way, and overnight camping is available as well. 2. Florida Holocaust Museum The Florida Holocaust Museum is located on 5th Street in St. Petersburg and has been a poignant historical attraction since it was opened to the public in 1998. The museum includes nearly 30,000 feet of space dedicated to the men, women, and children who suffered and died dur...

  The word “pirate” means a “seagoing robber,” and the word covers a lot of ground, from our jolly friends in 1717 to the modern-day outlaws in Somalia. However, there have been many variations in the types of pirate. Below are some of the major variations. Privateers   In the days before governments kept massive standing armies and navies, a sudden outbreak of war brought unusual problems. Buying existing ships and arming them was prohibitively expensive, and building ships could take years. To get around these problems, governments authorized private ship-owners to attack enemy ships.                           The paperwork involved was called a “letter or marque,” and the captain/ship that carried one was called a “privateer.” Privateers were authorized to attack and capture enemy shipping. The preferred targets were merchant vessels, becau...

  As I was watching a pirate era movie with a friend, she kept commenting on the odd guns that pirates used. It’s true, the pistols in pirate movies look very little like a modern gun. But their strange appearance is a true example of form following function. Firearms from the Golden Age of Piracy worked using a mechanism called a “flintlock,”  This followed the “matchlock” and was the highest form of firearm technology for over a hundred years. Matchlocks had set off the powder charge in a musket with a simple burning fuse, the “match.” Before going into battle, the match was lit, and as long as it burned the gun could be fired by pulling the trigger mechanism, which brought the slow-burning match into contact with black powder. (an example of a matchlock can be seen in Disney’s animated movie Pocahontas. I especially like the part where John Smith blows on the burning match to make it flare.) Obviously, carrying around a device with a burning fuse attached had i...

  Winter in Florida is bright and sunny as it is in the summertime. You’ll still want to bring along the sunscreen, just in case. St. Pete Beach is a great town, nestled on the gulf coast of Florida and perfect for a winter getaway. Take a look at the mini guide to staying in St. Pete Beach this winter season. It’s St. Pete Beach If you want to fit in with the locals, it’s definitely St. Pete Beach. You don’t want to get confused by saying St. Pete Beach is the same thing as St. Petersburg. They are two different towns, which are relatively close to one another. It can sometimes be hard searching for things to do in St. Pete Beach because of most of the time, Google thinks you’re inquiring about St. Petersburg. Make sure to spend your days on the beach, it’s all in the name. Plus it has the longest stretch of undeveloped public beach in the whole county. With plenty to do in St. Pete Beach you won’t go wrong picking a late night beach bar to unwi...

  It’s universal knowledge that periodic vacations help us maintain longer, happier, and more productive lives, yet, 52 percent of Americans start each new year with lost, unused vacation time, according to Project: Time Off. The American population let 705 million vacation days slip through the cracks in 2017 alone. Our careers are very important, but so is our family life and overall health.  Why Vacations Are Important There’s something to look forward to  – We all prefer to have something planned on the horizon, even if it’s months from now. Having an upcoming vacation can help relieve the stress of work or a busy family life. You’ll catch up on sleep  – All vacations are different, but most getaways include many long-overdue nights of uninterrupted sleep. You can finally sleep in for the first time in months! Vacations offer new perspectives  – Families and couples usually travel to new or exotic places. These locales often hel...

The rocky coast of Cornwall (in England) has been home to smugglers and wreckers for as long as anyone can remember. It was also home to a strong female pirate – Mary (sometimes Elizabeth) Killigrew. Mary was the daughter of a Phillip Wolverton, Lord of Wolverton Hall, and a former Suffolk pirate. She was born some time before 1525, and was married to Henry Knyvett, who died in 1547. Mary's second husband was Sir Henry Killigrew, a pirate who was later made a Vice-Admiral by Queen Elizabeth I. These were the days when piracy was something of a national pastime in England. Because of its official Protestant religion, (among other things) England was at odds with Spain, and Spain was in the process of looting gold, silver and emeralds from the New World. There was money to be made in stealing from Spain. Sir Henry was heir to Arwenack castle, a Cornish stronghold near what is now the town of Falmouth, and in a position to control the mouth of the river Fal – the th...