Sailing with Charlie: May Skullduggery
Traditional pirates led a tough life but it was one of freedom and adventure – one with wooden ships and iron men, quite opposite to today’s plastic ships and jelly bellies
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Norman Island: The Real Treasure Behind the Legends
Unveil the intriguing history of Norman Island, a paradise in the BVI with a piracy past that inspired legends. Discover the hidden treasure, thrilling stories, and captivating snorkeling spots that make this island a must-visit for adventurers.
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Visiting Nassau and Paradise Island
In this issue, we will be visiting Nassau, the capital city on the island of New Providence. Approximately 70-80% of the less than half a million population for the entire country resides here. During the early 1700’s this was a pirate haven and you can learn about it at the Pirates of Nassau Museum. Here…
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Pirates of the Virgin Islands
The British Virgin Islands have long been associated with pirate activity. There’s fantasy, hearsay, hyperbole, myth and fiction – and a nugget of truth here and there. We know that Sir Francis Drake passed through these islands in 1595 in yet another raid on the hated Spaniard. He mustered a fleet of some 24 ships…
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Sailing with Charlie: Terminology and the Neophyte
Landlubbers often have a very hard time when it comes to understanding nautical terminology and undoubtedly it’s challenging; almost like learning a whole new language. Terms like gollywobbler, gooseneck, slippery hitch and barber-hauler are all part of this lingo as are more identifiable names like stemhead, turnbuckle and seacock. It certainly behooves a novice sailor…
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Free Charters: No Experience Necessary!
My wife and I live a life of splendid isolation aboard our 43-foot ketch Ganesh—a cruising life so wonderful I totally forgot how awful penny-pinching dirt dwellers can be. Stupidly, I invited an old acquaintance, Tony Chutzpah of Fort Liquordale, to cruise Bali with us. There was only one stipulation: He had to pay for…
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Sailing with Charlie: A Merry Life … Ho Ho Ho
Pirates, their history and lore are fascinating and have been very much in the public eye since the Pirates of the Caribbean movie trilogy several years ago. Everyone loves a pirate – but why? Because he represents freedom, an escape from responsibility, adventure, a whiff of sea air and a fair ration of debauchery. Pirates…
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The Strange Unreality of Yacht Piracy—and its Sad, Savage Reality
awakened by a group of Somali pirates creeping around inside their vessel. It must have been a horrible, disorienting moment.
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Security Aboard a Superyacht – What Courses to Take
Thoughts of security are placed on the back burner. But thinking about security should be paramount, for all crew, especially aboard a superyacht.
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A Pirate by Any Other Name
Many legendary pirates used the Caribbean for their greatest exploits, attracted by the riches and easy pickings that the New World had to offer. More often than not they attacked ships for food, rum, medical stores or for sought-after crew like doctors and carpenters. Today pirates of the golden era are glorified and romanticized thanks…
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The Darién: In the Wake of Discoverers and Pirates
After Columbus’ discovery of the ‘new world’ in 1492, the Spanish conquistadores subjugated islands in the Caribbean and then focused on South and Central America. The first colonies were founded in the Darién—a region between today’s Panama and Colombia. Instead of thriving cities, modern maps only show sparse settlements there. The jungle proved to be…
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A Pirate’s Life for Capt. Horatio Sinbad
In the early morning hours in August, there was a strange current in the air about the sleepy seaport town of Beaufort, N.C. It’s always a place where a seafaring soul can venture ashore without fear of standing out, yet there seemed an unusual number of earrings, eye patches, and bandanas adorning those making their…
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Arrrgh! Pirate Invasion in Tampa
A century-old tradition draws thousands to the city’s waterfront On Saturday, January 28, over 300,000 people gathered at Bayshore Boulevard in downtown Tampa to witness a Pirate invasion. The world’s only fully-rigged pirate ship, the Jose Gasparilla II, magically appeared at the south end of Hillsborough Bay. Hundreds of pleasure craft, intending to defend…
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Fatty Goodlander Releases Somali Pirates and Cruising Sailors
Somali Pirates and Cruising Sailors is why pirates and cruising sailors interact and the social, economic and personal cost of Somali piracy
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The Last Cruise of the Quest
They were totally lit-up on life. Their faces glowed with joy. They were the last people I’d expect to get into trouble – any kind of trouble.
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Sailing with Charlie – Pirates
The pirates of the world are those inhabiting first world industrialized countries while fun loving adventurers in the Caribbean have been taken for
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Cruising Tales – Sharing the Love of Your Life – Your Boat That Is – Part II
On a December afternoon in 1970 it must have seemed to Virgin Islanders that terrorists were attacking St. Thomas in the disguise of “pirates of the Caribbean.” Thirty-four sailboats of assorted sizes descended upon the St. Thomas waterfront under sail. Manned with cutlasses, the motley crew shot at each other with 10-gauge cannons and shotguns….
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Caribbean Pirates and Tall Tales
Bartholomew Roberts banned gambling on his ships and took 400 of them. Mary Read was raised as a boy. The real pirates were stranger than the films.
