At Sea

The boom of cannons, horrible shouts, clangs, fiddling and curses bring you to your windward rail where you see a fearsome crew of buccaneers. The black flag demands surrender and the red flag offers no quarter. To those that resist, their motto is, "Dead men don't bite!". Can you find all forty... "thieves"?

Arriving onto an unfamiliar shore can be a dangerous affair. Even a prearranged meeting may be fraught with danger. Messages can be intercepted, native inhabitants may seek violence, and friends may become foes. So, it is best to be wary and prepared. From the viewpoint of looking from land to sea through the keyhole of the mangroves the scene reflects the turbulent shape of a hurricane.

Signed articles compensated crew members hurt while pursuing their trade, allowing disability compensation arrangements for the loss of a limb or eye. Crippled pirates were retained in the crew, and respectfully treated, Long John Silver being a popular example. Such a crewman prepares the vessel by whetting a keen edge on the blades aboard while the ship is at anchor.

Few women pirates have been documented. Apart from a Chinese pirate queen, an Irish captain, Anne Bonney, and Mary Read, history makes little mention of female buccaneers. Piracy and a life at sea was not all that appealing to most women of the time.

Pirates aboard a skiff during a chase to obtain a prize for plundering use stealth and surprise as an advantage for success with attacks at dusk or predawn . Maneuverable boats were preferred, trusting marksmanship and ferocity to carry the venture. Many merchant vessels employed only few crewman and they would not risk death for the ship's cargo.