The Pirate Handbook Read online

  BATTEN DOWN THE HATCHES

  Originating in the navy, where it meant preparing for a storm by fastening down strips of wood (battens) over hatches/openings and canvas over doorways, it soon became synonymous with preparing for trouble.

  PRIVATEER

  Private person or warship authorized by a queen, king, or government (via a letter of marque) to attack and destroy or plunder the ships of their enemies.

  SHIVER ME TIMBERS!

  An expression of excitement or awe, the term has two origins. The first references a cannonball striking a ship’s mast or gunwales, sending splinters of timber flying like shrapnel. These shards, when embedded in flesh, would often become infected, resulting in amputation or death. The second origin has to do with sailing in heavy seas, when ships are lifted up and pounded down so hard that the timber is said to shiver.

  PRESSED INTO SERVICE

  To seize and, ultimately, force someone to work or, in this case, crew aboard a ship. Sometimes this is called being “press-ganged.” Also known as conscription.

  A GIFT POUND OF SUGAR IS BETTER THAN A TON OF HARD-FOUGHT CANE.

  In 1721, BARTHOLOMEW “BLACK BART” ROBERTS came across a fleet of forty-two Portuguese merchant ships off the coast of Brazil. Instead of battling the entire fleet, Roberts singled out the ship he believed to be the best source of both booty and information. After skillfully navigating his way to her, Roberts commandeered the ship and forced its captain to tell him which ship in the fleet held the greatest treasure. Armed with that knowledge, Black Bart successfully attacked the 40-gun merchant ship the captain named and plundered a huge cache of booty.

  MEASURING SPEED USING A CHIP LOG

  Used to estimate a ship’s speed, a chip log (a.k.a. speed log) is one of the oldest navigation devices. It consists of a wooden board attached to a line (log-line) with knots evenly spaced along its length, which is then dropped over the ship’s stern (rear).

  CUT a board into a circle twelve inches in diameter.

  CUT out one-quarter of the circle. This is the drogue.

  ATTACH log-line to drogue by way of a bridle: three lines connected to the vertex and to the two ends of the quadrant’s arc. Amount of line needed depends on estimated top speed of your ship. The faster the ship, the more line you’ll need.

  TIE knots on the line at precise intervals—23.3 feet apart.

  DROP log-line-tied drogue off the stern and count the number of knots that run out (or past a specific point on the deck) in fifteen seconds.

  CALIBRATE DEPTH WITH A LEAD LINE

  Also called a sounding line, a lead line measures depth of water. The lead is attached to the end of a long, thin rope with knots tied every six feet (fathom).

  Cast the lead out in front of the vessel.

  As the vessel catches up with the lead and the line runs perpendicular from the deck to the seabed, mark the level on the lead line.

  Leather indicators can also be tied to the knots at varying intervals to make identification easier for specific depths.

  [ fig. 6 ] LEAD LINE OR CHIP LOG

  THERE’S FAR MORE TREASURE ABOVE THE WAVES THAN BELOW ’EM!

  THERE’S FAR MORE TREASURE ABOVE THE WAVES THAN BELOW ’EM!

  After striking out in the “wrecking" trade (diving on sunken wrecks for cargo and treasure), SAMUEL “BLACK SAM” BELLAMY turned to piracy and hooked up with CAPTAIN BENJAMIN HORNIGOLD. They plundered many prizes before parting ways. The crew on Black Sam’s ship, the three-hundred-ton, 28-gun Wyddah, quickly elected him captain and went on to enjoy great piratical success under his leadership until hurricane winds and forty-foot seas swallowed the Wyddah and most of its crew off the coast of Cape Cod in 1717.

  GUTS AND SMARTS APPLY TO LAD OR LASS.

  After avenging her husband’s death and protecting the castle named in his honor (Cock Castle, circa late sixteenth century), GRACE O’MALLEY turned to piracy and led plundering raids twenty vessels strong against innumerable ships traipsing along the west coast of Ireland. Eventually, Captain O’Malley received a pardon directly from Queen Elizabeth I in exchange for promising to fight the queen’s enemies.

  OCRACOKE ISLAND—BLACKBEARD’S HIDEOUT

  On November 21, 1718, LIEUTENANT ROBERT MAYNARD weighed anchor and inched his two naval sloops—Ranger and Jane—toward Ocracoke Island, off the North Carolina coast. The Royal Navy had discovered that Blackbeard’s ship, Adventure, was anchored in the interior waters of Pamlico Sound. This was a great location for Blackbeard’s hideout due to the sheer difficulty of navigating through the many shoals and sandbars without grounding the vessel, which would undoubtedly yield a savage attack from Blackbeard. To avoid this consequence, Maynard hired two local pilots to guide his attack. The end result saw Blackbeard’s decapitated head hanging from Maynard’s ship’s bowsprit.

  [ fig. 7 ] BLACKBEARD’S DEMISE

  DROPPING ANCHOR

  BAHAMIAN MOOR

  If persistent current shifts are a problem in your chosen mooring area, the Bahamian Moor technique should work.

  Drop one anchor upstream.

  Drop another anchor downstream.

  As your vessel shifts 180 degrees with the current, the two anchors alternate acting as the riding anchor (under tension up-current) and lee anchor (no tension down-current), with the boat always pointing bow up.

  HAMMERLOCK MOORING

  When experiencing heavy weather, a hammerlock mooring is extremely safe.

  Anchor your boat as you normally would.

  Drop second anchor on a short line directly off the bow.

  Primary anchor will bear the majority of the load, but second anchor will steady the craft.

  Under heavy wind, secondary anchor will most likely be dragged to a new position (a.k.a. drudging); drudging is the intentional dragging of an anchor to reduce movement.

  DUAL ANCHOR MOORING

  When shifting winds are the problem, a dual anchor mooring is often the best remedy.

  Set two anchors on windward side, approximately 45 to 60 degrees apart.

  Anchor lines should form a V with boat centered at their crux.

  To accomplish in light wind, drop your first anchor, then travel the length of that anchor’s line across the wind at a right angle and drop your second anchor.

  To accomplish in heavy wind, drop the first anchor, then travel at a 45-degree angle upwind and drop your second anchor abreast with the first. Allow your craft to drift back between the two anchors and adjust the mooring lines accordingly.

  Having fill’d our water, cut our wood, and got our ship in a sailing posture, while the blustering hard winds lasted, we took the first opportunity of settled gale to sail towards Manila. Accordingly June the 14th, 1687, we loosed from Pulo Condore, with the wind at S.W. fair weather at a brisk gale. The Pepper Junk bound to Siam remained there, waiting for an easterly wind; but one of his men, a kind of bastard Portuguese, came aboard our ship, and was entertained for the sake of his knowledge in several languages of these countries.

  We were now afraid lest the currents might deceive us, and carry us on the shoals of Pracel, which were near us, a little to the N.W. but we passed on to the eastward, without seeing any sign of them; yet we were kept much to the northward of our intended course: and the easterly winds still continuing, we despaired of getting to Manila; and therefore began to project some new design; and the result was, to visit the island Prata, about the Lat. of 20 deg. 40 min. North.

  WILLIAM DAMPIER,

  A New Voyage Around the World (1697)

  starboard!

  CHAPTER

  THREE

  LIFE ABOARD

  “A merry life and a short one shall be my motto.”

  BLACK BART ROBERTS

  The pirate ship is the center of our existence. Aside from occasional shore excursions, work, play, and everything in between takes place aboard the ship.

  To assure that all goes smoothly, a true democracy must exist. Color, class, and creed are all non-facto
rs—every pirate is a free man and shares in all successes fairly. In fact, pirate ships are far more democratic than they’re routinely given credit for; by comparison, life aboard the ship is a much fairer existence than on a merchant or Royal Navy vessel. By signing the Articles, you go on account and are given all the rights and privileges that your mates enjoy, ensuring that you are an “equal among equals.” For example, a pirate captain, regardless of his heritage or past exploits, is voted into office by a majority vote. Every ship’s Articles establish the terms by which booty is distributed. Most Articles decree that any man seriously injured in battle, to the point that a limb is lost or requires amputating, will receive an additional share of the plunder (if not more), proving that there truly is honor among thieves.

  Each pirate also has the opportunity to distinguish himself and be promoted accordingly to a ship’s officer, all the while reserving the right to leave the “life of fortune” at a time of his own choosing. This is the polar opposite of the British Royal Navy’s class-based system, whereby crewmen receive no money, no title, no connections, few (if any) liberties, and, of course, no possibility of ever attaining an officer’s rank.

  Our democratic process applies to booty as well. All plunder is distributed by a fair system that provides slightly more for the captain and others in “management” or skilled positions, and equal shares for the rest.

  Leading the so-called “management team” is the captain. Like the Pirate Mentors detailed throughout this book, this position requires heaping mounds of courage, jack-of-all-trades knowledge, ruthlessness, seafaring skills (navigation chief among them), and a whole lot of luck to lead a crew of rough-and-tumble, desperate, and hard-core men such as we to

  In the Commonwealth of Pyrates, he who goes the greatest length of wickedness, is looked upon with a kind of envy amongst them, as a person of a more extraordinary gallantry, and is thereby entitled to be distinguished by some post, and if such a one has but courage, he must certainly be a great man. The Hero of whom we are writing, Black-beard, aimed at making his men believe he was a Devil incarnate. For being one day at sea, and a little flushed with drink, he says: “Come, let us make a Hell of our own, and try how long we can bear it.” Accordingly he, with two or three others, went down into the hold, and closing up all the hatches, filled several pots full of brimstone, and other combustible matter, and set it on fire, and so continued till they were almost suffocated, when some of the men cried out for air. At length he opened the hatches, not a little pleased that he held out the longest.

  CAPTAIN CHARLES JOHNSON, A General History of the Pyrates (1726)

  a life of rum, riches, and romance. The pirate captain needs to be “pistol-proof”—that is, an expert at ship handling, crew control, and naval warfare. He must also exude confidence and exert strong leadership whenever he’s in the crew’s presence, all the while keeping the men content and in good spirits. Captaining a pirate ship is like walking a tightrope over a pit of vipers—just one slip and he can go from reaping the rewards of countless treasures, to being marooned on a deserted island, finding himself impaled on a cutlass, or gargling on the barrel of a loaded flintlock.

  Since many pirates have suffered severe abuse while crewing under tyrannical captains in the merchant service and/or the British Royal Navy—many crewmen are pressed into service against their will—we are, as a result, not a trusting lot and want to ensure that our rights are protected at all times. By signing the Articles, we effectively split the ship’s command between the captain and the quartermaster, a sort of “checks and balances” system.

  Similarly, the captain can also be voted out if a majority of the crew is dissatisfied with his performance. The only time a pirate captain has absolute, unequivocal authority is when the ship is engaged in battle. In those instances, too many cooks don’t just spoil the soup—they get men killed! But as soon as the fighting’s done, the captain is returned to being “first among equals” and the democracy resumes.

  Other key roles aboard pirate ships include the elected position of the quartermaster, the appointed position of the sailing master, and the earned and highly respected post of the navigator.

  The quartermaster has the authority to adjudicate any and all differences between captain and crew. His essential duties include maintaining order among the crew, meting out justice when required, overseeing the distribution of sustenance, and selecting and distributing the plunder from a captured prize. Oftentimes, the quartermaster will become the captain of a captured ship and will either sail the newly acquired vessel solo or in consort with the primary pirate vessel.

  As one would expect, the sailing master’s chief responsibility is to over-see the navigation of the ship and to keep the sails properly trimmed at all times. And the navigator is tasked with making sure the journey through the expansive seas, ever-treacherous river waterways, and uncharted shallow shoals does not result in becoming lost at sea, wrecked on a reef, or captured by the authorities or pirate-hunters.

  Another vital role on pirate vessels is the position of gunner. The success of every encounter with a treasured merchant ship, Spanish galleon, or hated Royal Navy warship all boils down to one thing: superior firepower. The most powerfully armed and passionately engaged ship and crew will usually win the day. It is the gunner’s job to keep the cannons, ordnance, weapons, and crew in top-notch fighting shape at all times, regardless of the conditions at sea or, much more important, aboard the ship itself.

  Other key members of a pirate crew, for obvious reasons, are the “sea artists”—specialized positions that include the boatswain, cooper, carpenter, and surgeon. In many cases, the carpenter and surgeon are one in the same; scarily, they use the same tools! Pirates who are so severely wounded in battle that they are no longer able to fight often become sailmakers or cooks so that they can remain on account and continue sharing in the plunder of prizes.

  Not as obvious but equally vital to the crew’s overall mental health is the ship’s musician. This talented ruffian brings levity and merriment to the monotony and boredom of extended time at sea. And in battle, his music is used to motivate the crew to a fevered frenzy, not to mention scare the living daylights out of the prey’s crew.

  Unfortunately, living conditions for the crew of most pirate ships are atrocious, and that’s putting it mildly. Below decks is a dark, damp, and dreary environment, reeking with the combined stench of accumulated bilge water, unwashed bodies, and rotting meat and fish. Although meat is generally salted and preserved in barrels, it often goes rotten before the crew has a chance to enjoy their stores. The water smells awful and the

  SHIFT TIME

  Like military or merchant vessels, the custom aboard pirate ships is to divide shipboard duties into regular “watches,” each lasting four hours.

  Time is determined by sandglass, turned (restarted) every half hour.

  A ship’s bell sounds with each turn, beginning with one stroke half an hour after midnight, and adding an extra stroke every half hour after that.

  Watches are changed every eight bells—4:00, 8:00, and 12:00.

  COOPER (A.K.A. BARREL-MAKER)

  Because virtually all food and drink (especially freshwater) is stored inside wooden casks, no pirate venture can be successful without even a modestly capable cooper.

  BOATSWAIN

  Also known as the bosun, bo’sun or bos’n, the boatswain is the supervisor of the other deck-working crewmen.

  [ fig. 8 ] BARREL-MAKERS

  biscuits quickly become infested with ugly black-headed weevil maggots. Stormy weather and leaks in the weed-infested hull will send seawater sloshing down the hatchways, causing the bilges to constantly fill with foul, muck-laden water.

  The customary drill on pirate vessels is to fumigate the below decks with pans of brimstone or burning pitch, but nothing can prevent the permeating stink, ungodly filth, and rampant infestation of crawling and scurrying creatures that accumulates during long months at sea. Joining the vile part
y are the unending deluge of refuse particles, food morsels, rum spillages, and animal feces that collect in the bottom of the ship’s hull, becoming a breeding ground for rats, cockroaches, countless other night critters, and a wide range of health-squelching bacteria. So if you’re squeamish about such things, I suggest you seek “employment” elsewhere.