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Pirates of Paynetown 2010 - Bloomington, IN
(Photo: Mission)
Chapter 5th: Why Andrew had to retaliate; How the boat crews formed
for battle; What happened in the ship-to-ship fighting; Who fired cannon
and What happened when the pirates took to land. Also comments on a very
strange battlefield romance, hat games and other oddments.
The ominous party on the bottom of the previous page announced that we were going to engage in more ship-to-ship than ship-to- shore fighting . This made sense from a ship point of view because not many soldiers showed up at the edge of the water where the boats were during the battle. Arriving at our little reserved boat beach, we found Priddy Princess captain Andrew Priddy involved in a contretemp (left) over the sale of his boat the previous night during the Sailor's Divvy. I didn't explain this then, so let me now. Michael Bagley had put Andrew's boat on the auction block and had planted several folks to bid it up very quickly. It got to about $2G before Andrew turned bright purple and Michael fessed up.
(Photo: Mission)
Following that bit of fun, everyone started shipping their boats
into the water. (This was where I had to lose my socks - so much for
that promise!) Andrew's boat was the newcomer to the battle scenario.
He had Nathan and a guy in a top hat whose name I know not with him.
Their boat was to be the target of the pirates. (Heh heh.) Everyone had
their eye on that top hat. Meanwhile, the pirates were out enjoying another traffic jam in the
middle of the water while they waited for the battle to commence. Mike
Dollinger's boat the Wespe was out again with the same crew (below
left.) So was Jay Henderson's boat the Tantrum (below
center). The Mercury crew (us) was smaller than Sunday,
so six of us loaded into the Green Black Sheep (below
right). Mark Gist served as the captain and hand cannon shooter
with Michael Bagley and Jay Babcock rowing the boat. Silas Thatcher (red
kerchief) and Sam were our gunners. I was in the back, steering. (A bad
choice. I knew I should have taken that left turn at Albuquerque!)
(Photo: Mission) |
(Photo: Mission)
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(Photo: Jessica Bagley)
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(Photo: Mission)
We in the Green Black Sheep all stood - or, rather, sat -
ready to fire (right). In preparation, Mark Gist to arose
to fill our craft's hand cannon with black powder (below left).
Finally the order was given for the attack to begin. A lot of the effort was
focused on attacking the Priddy Princess per the plan. (Below center.
That wee craft firing on them in the right side of the picture is
called...well, I don't know what it's called. That's why I haven't
mentioned it yet. It contains Tracy Garland (firing) and young Bradley.)
Of course, we would have fired on the PP without the plan because
it also contained event organizer Nathan Logsdon. Some of our
shooters also fired upon the land, perhaps for dramatic effect, because
it sure didn't do any good. (Below right: Silas Thatcher
unloads his weapon toward the shore.)
(Photo: Mission)
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(Photo: Mission)
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(Photo: Mission)
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(Photo: Jessica Bagley)
The British folks on land weren't just sitting there merrily humming
"The hills are alive...with the sound of gunnnn- fire..." while
our boats shot towards shore. No! They
were manning the cannons and waiting for those of us in our boats to get
within cannon shot range. (At left.) Had we been smart, we
would have stayed well clear of the cannons. We weren't and we didn't. (Not because we
were stupid, but because we knew they didn't have any cannon balls. Did I
ruin the mood? Sorry.) Some exciting cannon-fire photos were caught like the crew
below left. (Note to young readers who've
never re-enacted: those two people in the foreground are not
talking on their cell phones. They are covering their ears. It's hard to
hear someone on a phone when your ears are ringing from cannon fire.) Chole Black got
in on the action as the person in charge of firing the gun. Below
center, Chole sets off a charge as load rammer Brandon Scott
covers his ear. Below right, she cover her face in
embarrassment because she totally missed.
(Photo: Thatchers)
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(Photo: Jessica Bagley)
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(Photo: Jessica Bagley)
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(Photo: Thatchers)
(Photo: Thatchers)
Eventually shooting at the Priddy Princess without any ammo got
sort of boring, so the pirates decided to make landfall and attack the
Paynetown British defenders. At left, the
Tantrum lands, disgorging Chris Anderson and Jay Henderson. That's Mike
Dollinger coming down the beach.
At right, Stephen Priddy and Nathan come running from the Princess in a dramatic moment - preparing to attack. The pirates took up offensively defensive positions on the beach. Below left are girl I don't know, Chris and Suzanne Larner at the ready. Below right we find Jay Henderson, Suzanne (still behind the sign) and guy and girl I don't know.
(Photo: Jessica Bagley)
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(Photo: Thatchers)
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(Photo: Jessica Bagley)
The colonials or British defenders or whatever they were weren't just
standing around. They were...well, they do kind of look like they were
just standing around at right, don't they? Maybe they were
posing. Or perhaps they were waiting for the opportune moment.
I know exactly two people in that photo - the guy in the kilt is Michael
Stevens and the girl crouched down on the ground is Andrea Logsdon. The
rest...who knows? Anyhow, the defenders eventually got into the swing of things and
started priming and loading their weapons in preparation for the pirate
assault (below left). Can't you just hear all the cocking of
weapons and clicking, like in the movies? Unfortunately, it is almost
nothing like that. So you might want to get your ears checked. Once the
defenders got their weapons loaded, they fired a volley at a safe 30
degree angle. (Below center - they wouldn't want to hurt
anyone, you know.) I promised to give you a better shot of Andrea Logsdon,
and here we are (below right). I call it, "Andrea -
stand and deliver!"
(Photo: Thatchers)
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(Photo: Thatchers)
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(Photo: Jessica Bagley)
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(Photo: Thatchers)
While all this battle sturm und drang was occurring, the Green Black Sheep
was just pulling into port. It did not quite produce the intense, ordered,
rushed scramble of pirates that the other boats had. In fact, I just
stayed in the boat with Jay Babcock and took poorly thought-out photos of the land battle
(below left) that started between our crew and the crew of the Priddy Princess
(who arrived several pictures ago.) Our crew went after them with
gusto, as can be seen from the photos below. They raced onto
the shore and accosted Andrew Priddy (in the dark blue jacket), Nathan
(who doesn't appear anywhere in the photos below except as a corpse on the
beach, and the guy with the top hat whose name I do not know (in the top
hat. Obviously). After dispatching, several of the Thatcher camp came
forward to attack Sam, which is something I think we can all appreciate.
(Photo: Thatchers)
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(Photo: Mission)
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(Photo: Mission)
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(Photo: Mission)
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(Photo: Mission)
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There are few events I have attended that can compare with Paynetown for the sheer volume of corpses that turn up after a battle. If I were giving awards for number, manner and type of corpses, I would definitely have to bestow it upon this event. The beach was littered with the things just like last year, creating a really decent idea of what results from a real battle as well as an opportunity for your ship's surgeon to practice his trade. Of course, all my surgical instruments required for this opportunity were sitting on the table several pages ago, so all I could do is stare at them while Michael stole their possessions (below right.)
(Photo: Thatchers)
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(Photo: Thatchers)
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(Photo: Jessica Bagley)
While we were all fooling around on the beach wading through fake corpses,
interesting things were going on in the heart of camp. Since the pirates had defeated
the British, they were busily going about taking camp, harassing the
prisoners and deposing the Governor, Gavin
Kelly. At left we have the pirates (including Mike
Dollinger in the print shirt) corralling the captured British prisoners
(one of whom is Andrea Logsdon - the one in glasses, in fact) with the
help of some women in bikinis. There are no tourists during times of war.
Below left, Tracy Garland gives a poor soldier a bad time with her gun
and...something...what it that? A sword? A branding iron? A Nganga's juju
stick? That's the Governor there looking on helplessly. Then the pirates
led the Governor off to what was doubtlessly a horrific fate, below
right. Or maybe they were just taking him out for tea. It's hard
to say for certain.
(Photo: Jessica Bagley)
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(Photo: Jessica Bagley)
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Now, amidst all the gunfire and slaughter and taking of cities by pirates, I think it is appropriate to take a moment and recognize that even during open warfare, love can blossom. Take the case of Sam and Carol. (Carol is Connie Thatcher's friend and her old boss.) Yes, Sam and Carol were in the midst of battle when they fell together in a pile in the surf. Sitting there, arms akimbo and legs a-tangle, they traded meaningful glances over their weapons (she - a dainty axe, he - a sensible belaying pin). This lead to dancing on the beach amongst the corpses, weapons still at ready...*sigh*...how can anyone comprehend the ways of love? Of course, real life set in and Sam said one of those things he's forever saying and the next thing you know she goes all Lizzie Borden and Alfred Hitchcock camera angles on him. (If you knew Sam, you'd probably understand.) Still, the point is that even in the middle of a conflict, love finds a way. (It ended in a grisly murder in this case, but it did find a way.)
(Photo: Thatchers
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(Photo: Thatchers)
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(Photo: Thatchers)
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(Photo: Thatchers)
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Another interesting little vignette occurred that I think it's worth drawing attention to that concerns the guy with the top hat. No, I don't know his name (even though he has appeared in both of my Paynetown Journals.) Yes, I think the top hat is funny. Thus you have this. Like me, pirate Michael spotted the guy with the top hat from the Priddy Princess lying prone and apparently mortally wounded following the above-described skirmish. Of course, pirate re-enacting is all about the hats. OK, it's not, but hats are certainly the most poignant part of the fascination with period clothing. No one wants to sit and prattle on about their constantly bagging long period socks - well, almost no one. The longish and hot waistcoats are not a source of great interest either. And who would wish period pants with no pockets on anyone but their enemy? (Besides, if we all started switching pants, well...I think you see the complications involved.) But hats! Ah, hats! If someone has a hat that is not a tricorn (which are as common as dirt at pirate events), then you have something! So Michael naturally wanted to try on the top hat. The guy is playing dead, right? This resulted in the series of events below.
(Photo: Mission)
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(Photo: Mission)
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(Photo: Mission)
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(Photo: Mission)
(Photo: Thatcher's
Collection)
Speaking of hats, there wasn't quite as many people trying on the Patrick
Hand Original Planter's Hat, although Kate Bagley indulged (at left).
Of course, my pal Grace Thatcher had missed out on the
Thatcher
pictures from the Fall Columbus '09 Journal that started all this
silly wearing of my hat, so she had to don the chapeau. That's Zach behind
her. I think he's jealous that she gets a photo with my hat, so he's
making his own darned hat! He gets points for creativity, if not
execution.