Pirates be the rock stars of their age, but event modern rock stars such as the Back Street Boys want to be pirates as well, arrrrgh!  So their costume designer contacted us fer their 6thBSB cruise from Miami to Grand Turk. They be a bit older than I remembered them, but they do look quiet dashing in arrr pirate garb.

Tampa Bay History Center just open the new Treasure Seekers Exhibit. They asked me to give a talk about Pirates and their Weapons for their Sangria and Stories series. 

Here be Tiger with some of the guest at the 1 hour talk about pirate weapons. Tiger dressed up and talked about blunderbuss, plug bayonets, flintlock pistols, boarding axes, and daggers. He covered how they were used and carried, as well as some of the myths.

They got to hold and examine each weapon and compare them to the antiques in the museum. If ye have been there, it be worth visiting, arrrrgh!

In October I took a OLLI-USF course called: "The Making of a Museum Exhibit: Treasure Seekers: Conquistadors, Pirates n' Shipwrecks". At the Tampa Bay History Center, the class got a behind the scenes glimpse into the creation, construction and promotion of the museums newest $11 million expansion schedule to open in mid-Feburary 2018.

The center's leadership walk us through the basics of exhibit design, artifact acquisition, display and hosted a private tour of the new gallery in the middle of construction of the 8500 foot expansion will feature Conquistadors, Pirates and Shipwrecks as well as the new Touchton Map Library..  

It will be a wonderful place fer those interested in pirates, sea navigation and local history. It will feature a 17th century bronze ship's bell, a 17th century bronze astrolabe, and a 18th century 6 pounder cannon recovered from a Barbary coast pirate ship shipwrecked in the Mediterranean.  The pirate sloop is being built by the team from Creative Arts, who we worked with on their History Channel Museum Men TV series two year back.

If a Pirate's Success was measured by the sheer number o' ships captured then Bartholomew Roberts be the most Successful Pirate in the Golden Age of Piracy! Posthumously he would be known as "Black Bart," n' while bein' an incredibly accomplished rogue, he is also known for his strict pirate code n' a lack of alcohol. Roberts preferred tea o'er rum! While this may have made him seem like a bit of a dandy, his crew would be unlikely to judge him, for they profited greatly from their Cap'n!

On Bart Roberts' ship a pirate was not allowed to gamble, party below decks after 8:00 in the evenin', or allowed to neglect the maintenance of their blackpowder or melee weaponry. Seducing or kidnapping a woman or a boy, n' bringing them aboard the ship was punishable by death. These be examples o' the policies that he enacted aboard his ships. With his achievements he was allowed to have strict policies.

O'er the course o' his three year career in piracy, Roberts was able to take 400-500 ships. Before he became a pirate, Roberts was a crewman aboard a slaver ship known as the Princess. When pirates captured the ship off the coast of Africa in 1719 he was pressed (forcibly recruited) into the crew as a navigator. He was quite reluctant, but when pirates see an asset, they do not take no for an answer.

Half a year into his pirate career, Roberts was chosen to be the Captain of his kidnappers. He began a pirating spree from Africa to Brazil, the Caribbean n' up the coasts to Canada. Off the coast of Brazil, Roberts was able to covertly capture a Portuguese treasure ship (the wealthiest in its fleet) n' extract it from a guarded fleet o' 42 ships with a two war ship escort. It took weeks of studying n' planning but the haul was estimated to set most men up for life. O'er three years Roberts was estimated to have made the equivalent of 100,000,000+ British Pounds in plunder.

His career was cut short by pirate hunters however. He died fightin' n' became a pirate legend! 

Show Pirate Fashionsyar Pirate Loot n' Swag! We love to see Arrr wares on ye rogues n' vagrants when ye go ashore! Email us photos inyar pirate garb n' just let us know where ye were adventurin' n' what ye be wearin'.

Ye may also be featured in Arrr Newsletters to the Pirate Fashions Brotherhood across the seas! We've had pirates carry Arrr Swag from the Ybor City Pub Crawl to Live Theater Shows for Treasure Island or Pirate Festivals! 

Keep a weathered eyefer Arrr piratical exploits as well! We've had Arrr products n' designs appear on the Starz Show- Black Sails, AMC's Turn, Salem n' Blackbeard's Outfitfer Ubisoft's Assassin's Creed: Black Flag. Additionally,arrr products have appeared in museums n' pirate venuesfer entertainment!   

Pirate Fashions has its own supply o' Cannon foryar ships! When we talk about cannon itbe important to remember that the second ye put'em on a ship they are henceforth referred to as guns. Takefer example the Swivel Gun! It's a small cannon thatbe designedfer ships n' gun emplacements.

Swivel Guns themselves be a convenient weapon, unlike their larger counterparts they were mounted on a stand or fork that allowed them to "swivel" n' turn in a wide arc. They were small enough that they could be taken ashore by a 2-3 man team, n' used in impromptu land based combat or fortifications. Ye could even mount one on a longboat as ye escape a ship or make your way to a hostile coastline!

A breech loaded gun could be fired in relatively rapid succession using canisters of preparedblackpowder n' projectiles called Mugs. One pirate could feasibly use a swivel gun independently to wreak havoc on sailors aboard enemy ships, they made deadly anti-personnel weaponsfer tightly packed groups aboard a deck. A muzzle loaded swivel gun was still quite a force to be reckoned with!

Check out Arrr Supply o' Cannon n' start building upyar Arsenal!

http://bit.ly/2pvdJ3w

If webe plannin' an outfit from the top we recommend assemblin' the following.

Frock coatsfer the high caliber pirate lookin' to strike the most dashing figure.

Waist coatsfer a hot sunny day at sea, essentialfer any semblance of piratical clout.

Simple or Fancy shirts to convey that ye be a sailin' man (or woman,) we have many options dependin' on the look ye be goin'fer!

Slops n' Knee Breeches, ye have the options to go historically accurate or a little more Hollywood look dependin' onyar preference!

Sashes, Bandanas n' Socks. All o' which should contrast with the rest ofyargarb n' show ye mean business.

Tricorn Hatsfer obvious reasons! They certainly go a long way to protectyar skin from the harsh Caribbean Sun.

Leather Gear to carryyar weapons n' supplies. A baldricbe the most important part o' this so that ye can carryyar blades n' pistol. 

Footgear which could take the form o' authentic buckle shoes n' rope sandals. Or go the badass route n' getyarself some goodol' fashion leather boots!

We also recommend ye get a pouch to store all ofyar treasures, as well asyar wallet, phone n' keys!

Learn more about the propergarb o' Buccaneers on Arrr Website!

http://bit.ly/2pla3Ry

Arrrgh! We constantly be bringin' in new clothing, gear n' weapons from Arrr adventures across the Seven Seas! Arrr Fresh Plunder section be the place we stock all of arrr ill gotten loot that we bring into port. 

Recently we have added authentic new Buckle Shoes, n' the Ducks Foot Percussion Pistol! 

Don't forget to also submit pictures o' yar new garb to Pirate Fashions so we can see yar adventures. http://bit.ly/2oXPmNT

Most of the time when we be recallin' famous pirates throughout history we remember them based on a theatrical reputation. Morgan was cunning, Blackbeard was fearsome n' Vane was cruel. Calico Jack Rackham be a different story!

Rackham is memorable because of his fashionable Calico coat, n' the company he kept with Anne Bonny n' Mary Read. But he is still regarded as one of the famous pirates in the Golden Age of Piracy.

Much o' his life is considered a mystery until 1718 when history documents him as an officer aboard Charles Vane's ship. Vane himself had a warlike n' brutal reputation, often torturing French dignitaries n' merchants fer pleasure. To his crew he was likely just a cunning bully.

At some point during their time together thew crew held a vote to attack a French Man o' War off the coast of New York, for which an overwhelming majority, including Rackham voted yes- attack the ship. They were sure it would be loaded with wealth n' plunder, as well as be a new ship for a pirate squadron they were developing.Vane n' just 15 pirates voted against retreating from the ship, n' he loudly touted that the Captain always has final say.

Not long after the crew, lead by Rackham voted Vane out of Captaincy for being a coward and let him leave with his followers, a ship n' a respectable amount o' supplies.

Most of his adventures could be regarded as shenanigans past this point. Famously he captured a loaded British merchant ship off the coast of Jamaica, but he n' his crew lost the treasure when they evaded bounty hunters.

Jack was more famous for his affair with Anne Bonny. She fled a house wife life to sea with him, n' she took well to piracy alongside her friend Mary Reid. At one point Rackham even challenged Reid to a duel on account of her connection to Bonnie, he then discovered she was in fact a woman!

When the crew was captured, Bonnie and Reid escaped the noose because they were pregnant. Jack himself was not so lucky! http://bit.ly/2lRL7nb