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Santa Maria Pirate Weekend, September 2012 - Columbus, OH
Photo: The Dufrenses
The pirates coming to attack the Santa Maria
Chapter 4th: Speaking of Sunday afternoon on the Santa Maria, including the Sunday battle; The Rieske cannon crew; The after battle rush; A look at some of the kids that came aboard to spend some time with the pirates; What boys do for fun after the battle; A profile of Danie; Friends and family time with the Needhams and The group photo and what that entailed.
We again set out in the Green Black Sheep and headed for our traditional battle-starting point under the bridge. Captain J had to fly home that morning, which he did most reluctantly. However, since Bryan had arrived last night, we had our third crew member for the boat. Bryan offered to row, but Mark Gist decided he would do the honors today. (You will note that your ship's surgeon somehow always gets out of this task. In fact, I am never even asked, I just get in the front of the boat and shoot the deck gun.)
Photo: Mission
Mark Gist rows while Bryan steers and I take photos and watch.
The battle itself went pretty much the way it did on Saturday. Since Mark was rowing and he was the captain, he decided not to row back and forth in front of the Santa Maria like we did when Captain J was rowing. Instead, we tucked in between the 
Photo: The Web
No, not like THAT!
mole and the ship and shot at them from there.
They returned fire and we had a nice little spate of black powder-generated noise going on for a while. I had 6 charges and I didn't have any problems with them, so the deck gun was able to add its full-throated voice to the clamoring guns in battle.
 Photo: Mission The Santa Maria defenders prepare for attack |
 Photo: Dolphin Danie Watching the pirates |
 Photo: Dolphin Danie"We salute you dogs of the sea! Now, we'll shoot!" |
Photo: Dolphin Danie
Captain John Rieske, his assistant and their mortar
The Rieskes were on shore adding to all the smoke and noise with their mortar. Yesterday we had rowed over to them so that we could trade insults as I mentioned in Chapter 2nd. Today we never made it that far, which is a real shame, if only from an insult-trading perspective. (I should talk. In fact, that's the whole problem - I never talk when it comes to trading insults. Verbal assault is not a big part of my skill set when it comes to battling.)
 Photo: MissionJohn swabbing the mortar to put out sparks |
 Photo: Dolphin Danie John pricking the gunpowder load |
 Photo: Dolphin Danie A dramatic mortar-fire image |
Photo: Mission
The post-battle rush of people aboard the Santa MariaAs is frequently the case, there were crowds of people around when we pulled the Green Black Sheep back up to the dock. The battle always seems to be a big draw for getting folks onto the ship. I quickly made the way to my table and started explaining surgical instruments to all who would listen. (No one had uncovered them today. On one hand, when they take the trouble to uncover them, you know they're really interested. On the other, you really don't want people messing around with your stuff. Especially when they might accidentally lop off a finger with it.)
The crowds stayed pretty strong for about an hour or so and then they tapered off. I actually prefer it this way. If we had unceasing throngs for the entire time we were open, I'd be exhausted.
Photo: Dolphin Danie
Captain John Rieske, his assistant and their mortarNaturally there were a lot of kids at the event. There are always a lot of kids for the Pirate Weekends on the Santa Maria. They climbed all over the ship and many of them asked thoughtful and interesting questions. (At least that was my impression.) Some just stood and pointed at the instruments on my table asking, "What's that?" over and over again. In some cases, they'd ask that even before I finished explaining the last instrument they asked about. (What am I, a trained monkey?)
I imagine this is a wonderful learning experience for kids, though. For example, people are often fascinated to discover how small the Santa Maria was when they hear that there were 40 sailors aboard and they didn't usually go into the hold. What's even more amazing is that the Niña and Pinta were even smaller, as the boy and his dead at right discovered.
The little girl below is learning that you can't actually look into a water barrel and see anything during without a light. And the two kids below right are learning how the roadways in the United States would work if they were on wooden stairs. (The people going the opposite direction are always on your left.) Of course, the kids in England always climb stairs so that the people going in the opposite direction are on your right.
 Photo: Mission Checking how much water is in the barrel. |
 Photo: Mission "Hello, water! Are you in there?" |
 Photo: Mission Ships passing in the...day. |
No comment on kids and ship-board activity would be complete without a nod to Zach and Zeke. Usually Zeke was the one I noticed running around in a spate of frenetic activity, but here we find Zach poking around one of the grate-covered vents that go between the hold and the main deck of the Santa Maria.
 Photo: Mission Zach looking through the vent |
 Photo: Mission Zach removing the vent grate |
 Photo: Mission Zeke and Dennis looking in at Zach |
Photo: Mission
Photo: Mission
There
were again a lot of kids dressed as pirates. I know that some of them were little boys, like you find at left, but a lot of them were little girls, too. I continue to be fascinated by this because it just seems so different than when I was a kid. I'm guessing that Captain Jack, Elizabeth Swann and Angelica Teach must appeal to something in them.
Whatever the case, they were all over the ship and I thought I'd share some of the photos of them with you. I think my favorite photo from the whole weekend is of that little girl you see below left. We'll call her the Coy Piratess.
Then there was the girl with the upside down sword. Trying to attack that way may also be a good way to end up spending some time with the ship's surgeon after the dull side of the blade bounces off the enemy and causes the sharp side to smack into her.
The lass seen below center-right is clearly angling for a spot at the top. (I'd be careful if I were Captain Mark. )
The girl below right is a repeat visitor. She is turning the capstan in this photo. (She dashed up the stairs and started twirling it, explaining to her father that her younger brother was down in the hold trying to turn it in the opposite direction from underneath. Some things never change.)
 Photo: Mission A coy pirate? |
 Photo: Mission You're holding it wrong... |
 Photo: Mission "You scurvy dogs! Get back to work!" |
 Photo: Mission "I'll confuse him!" |
Photo: Mission
Dennis takes the family out to buy a new musket. Honest John: "Looking for a new
used musket, are ye, sah? You can't go wrong with that little beauty, I assure you."
After the battle flash of visitors began to slow, people went back to goofing around on the ship. Of course, when I say, "goofing around," I mean it in the most complimentary way. For example, Dennis Dufrense got hold of a musket and started playing with that. I have no idea whose musket it was. It sort of reminds me of one of Mark Gist's or Dan's.
For some reason John Rieske was involved in this little scenario. Unfortunately, the closest I got was the photo that you see at left, so I have no idea what was being discussed. Lucky for you when this occurs I just make stuff up. In this particular case, the whole thing looked like Honest John's Used Musket Shoppe to me.
 Photo: Dolphin Danie "It looks pretty well used to me, John..." "It was only used on Sundays at church by a little old lady from Pasadena." |
 Photo: Dolphin Danie "It has a nice feel to it. It's kind of long - reminds me of the Hatfields & McCoys." "Well this is the 1700s, so that hasn't happened yet. No need to worry about it. That's a musket that you whole family will be proud to own, I guarantee it, sah." |
"Below we have a father and his son Dufrense looking over the side of their vessel at something. We approach the pair ever so slowly so as not to spook these creatures in their natural habitat. Soon the younger son joins the activity. Apparently there is something quite fascinating over the side of this ship. Either that or it's just a case of 'Monkey see, monkey do.' Finally, the female offspring join the activity. Look! The father is pointing out the object of interest to his family unit. A classic example of the natural Dufrense learning cycle."
 Photo: Dolphin Danie Dennis & Zach Looking |
 Photo: Dolphin Danie Zeke wants to get in on the fun |
 Photo: Dolphin Danie "Now that over there is what we call a mole, kids!" |
You may have noticed that I think Dolphin Danie is cool. (I believe I may have mentioned it.) So I thought I'd share a bit more about her so you can appreciate her coolness.
Photo: DB Couper
Danie is home-schooled by Trudi along with her siblings. Trudi told me that she and Elizabeth were put into a regular school for a year or two during one of Dennis' stationing with the Marines and they didn't like it very much. Danie particularly likes creative projects and history. When I asked her what she liked about reenacting pirates, she said she really just liked reenacting and history in general.
While she isn't old enough to have a career yet, she says she wants to do "anything creative, be it writing, graphic arts, photography, drawing, sewing... (does reading count? I LOVE reading!)" Note to Danie: you can get a career in reading, but from what I've learned it doesn't pay well and it usually involves things like reading to see if manuscripts are any good or editing material. Either way, you end up reading reams of really awful stuff.
As for editing... *shudder* - just kill me now. (As the grammatical quality of my Journals will attest. Thank God Jana and sometimes Shana copy edit some of my stuff. It's wonderful being a third twin.)
Danie also noted that "one thing I would love to do is scuba dive, and learn to sail," which is actually two things, but they're sort of related.
Photo: Mission
She's already done a number of creative projects, many in conjunction with the Brethren of the Great Lakes pirate group to which the family belongs. "So far I have done numerous posters, a calendar (I am currently working on the one for 2013) a coloring book, and have worked on several magazines with my mom.
Out of them all, I think I enjoyed putting together the coloring book the best. 'Cus color[ing] books [are] awesome! And cus’ I like to draw and color, ever since... well, I can't remember a time when I didn't like to draw. I mean what kid doesn't enjoy a fresh notebook that is so full of possibilities, just waiting for you to put them down with vivid drawings done in pencil and crayon?"
Absolutely.
"(No? OK, then. I'm just a geek I guess.)"
Danie was the catalyst for bringing the Dufrense family into the larger pirate family. As she explains it, some of their friends "practically dragged us to [the] Michigan Pirate Festival 2010. We thought it would be just like a story time with little kid crafts," but they soon discovered that the event held classes including ones "on the food they ate and the medicine aboard ship, you know, historical stuff."
I may have been at least partly responsible for bits of the medical session, although I didn't contribute to it directly. At the 2010 Spring Santa Maria Pirate Weekend, Rosabella - 
Photo: Mission
who was with the Brethren of the Great Lakes until she moved out of the area - took a bunch of photos of my instruments up close for a presentation. She tried to get me to come out to their event and present for them, but it was a three hour drive one way and during school nights that just isn't possible.
But back to Danie. After they left their first class at the Festival, Danie realized that she had left her camera in the classroom and had to go back and get it. (I believe this was held in the local library, although I am not entirely sure.) As she explained it, "Count d'Booty saw me run back into his class and made a joke about it. I laughed nervously, then he made a comment around the lines of "Y'know, you probably get better pictures with that thing than I do this" and held up a little 'point and shoot' pocket camera. I said maybe, and showed him some of the shots I had gotten and offered to send them to him to use for marketing and whatever if they needed them."
They later ran into him again in town when Danie was with her family. She says, "I still thought it was a little
awkward talking to a pirate. I mean come on! He's a PIRATE!!!
Photo: Screen Cap
"It's not the years, honey, it's the mileage."
[But they] started talking, and then our whole family decided that this would be a cool experience and an adventure worth starting... now look at us!" Indeed. You may recall that I explained in the 2012 Sping Santa Maria Journal that Trudi, initially not in favor of hand-sewing costumes for her large brood decided to relent after meeting the pirates.
We also discussed movies, because I am huge movie geek (as regular readers will attest.) She explained that she had many favorite movies including "Finding Nemo, The Hunger Games, Star Wars (Clone Wars and the trilogy), The Patriot, Tangled. Plus some older movies like The Labyrinth, Indiana Jones..." Older movies? OLDER movies? Jeez, I can still remember the transformative experience of watching Raiders in the theater. A movie geek was born that day. I mean, I loved the first Star Wars movie (I saw that in the theater too), but it was Raiders that made me a true movie fan. Older movies...
Photo: Mission
Part of the Needham ClanThis brings us to the Needham friends and family section of the Surgeon's Journal. On Saturday, Dan and Jennie's sister Linda Jane Needham stopped by the ship from out-of-town to visit with them. With her were Needham nephews Scott Wilson (taller) and Skyler Mills (not taller). They toured the ship and chatted with Dan and Jenny.
A good friend of Jenny's, Marsha Hamilton came by the ship on Sunday to help out for a bit. Jenny particularly wanted her to meet me because she was transcribing her great- or possibly great-great or even great-great-great-etc grandfather's American Civil War medical journal for publication.
She explained to me that there were several competing theories of medicine before the war started and her relative subscribed to one that was out of favor with the military. (I believe it was a water-based theory that suggested that drinking lots water and letting nature take its course was the foundation of that theory. I guess that would be the "pee your way to health" method. Note that I may be confusing it with one of the other theories as she told me there were four of them at that time.)
Anyhow, the military preferred the heroic theory espoused by John Rush, which is pretty similar to almost everything I have read about golden age of piracy medicine. It features bleeding, purging and other humor-based treatments. (Most of which did absolutely no good whatsoever.) Rather than be deterred, her grandfather took all the necessary tests to enter service as a military doctor, hiding the fact that he didn't subscribe to the heroic theory. He got in and, based on what she told me, sort of practiced his less drastic procedures on the sly.
 Photo: Mark Gist Marsha working at the Kid's Table |
 Photo: Dolphin Danie Marsha Hamilton on the Santa Maria on Sunday |
Photo: Mission
People watching all the complex staging required for the group photo
I was busily working my table, explaining procedures to an interested group when it was announced that the pirates wanted to take a group photo. George's dad was there with his camera. So I reluctantly told my students that I had to go over and be in the photograph, but that it would only take a minute and I would be right back to finish the explanations.
It did not take a minute. It took fifteen. George's dad is something of a photography perfectionist and he kept moving us around, repositioning us, asking people to turn a certain way or look a certain way and so forth.
The tourists seemed to find this all rather entertaining and gathered around to watch. Since it was taking so long, I gave my camera to a woman (seen in the photo with her kids at left) and asked her to get one for me. I haven't seen George's dad's photos since he doesn't like to put stuff on-line for some reason and I couldn't wait to get the disc because I was illegally parked. So all you get is the photo the woman took for me.
Photo: Mission's Camera
From left, back: Gary, Dennis Dufrense (brown hat), Mark Gist (in blue with black hat & beard) and Captain John Rieske.
From left, center: Richard (white shirt & black hat), Jennie Gist, Danie, Marsha H., Zach, Dan Needham, Mrs. Rieske and Rieske
Helper kid. Left Front: Mission, Elizabeth, Ruth, Traci holding Alexander and Bryan. Squatting and drinking is Zeke Dufrense.