Category Archives: Plunderin with Bootstrap Ginny

So, I was wonderin’ the other day about Italian pyrates. How come I haven’t read (more) about Italian pyrates? I was genuinely puzzled, but then felt like a wee bit of an idiot when I read and subsequently realized that Italy didn’t have colonies in the New World and seemingly, not much interest in theContinue reading “Ali Bitchin”

I’ve been plunderin’ and pillagin’ my way through the East Indies ala the Ubisoft video game, Skull and Bones, and part of that experience is ship cosmetics. Aye, outfitting your ship with guns, mortars, and oil barrels is essential to your success, but the look of your ship is (apparently) JUST as important. I don’tContinue reading “Pyrate Ship Figureheads”

Pyrate flags! What pyrate (enthusiast) doesn’t have pyrate flags displayed around their office, home, and/or on their vehicle?  Not just one, either…many, SO many pyrate flags! Aye? Just me? I think not. If you’re reading this and call yourself a pyrate, then I’m willing to wager my next piece of eight that you have ATContinue reading “Old Roger”

You may have heard of Sir Francis Drake, El Draque, one of the most successful British naval commanders, and the first Englishmen (and third man overall) to sail around the world. Drake’s world plunders brought much gold and wealth back to England, and with his defeat of the Spanish Armada in 1588, Drake became aContinue reading “Drake’s Magic Mirror”

I can brag that I have partied with Blackbeard on the beaches of Ocracoke Island. In fact, I attended THREE parties that Blackbeard hosted on Ocracoke. Bonfires on the beach, fresh meat roasting on the boucan, RUM!, laughter…best of all, the delicious taste of pyrate freedom! ARRR! Okay, it was a virtual experience via theContinue reading “Pyrate Parties”

It would be fair to say that the very popular image of a pyrate with a parrot perched on his shoulder can be accredited to Robert Louis Stevenson. Stevenson gave us the beloved pyrate anti-hero, Long John Silver, in the classic pyrate novel, Treasure Island. We pyrate brethren love our Long John Silver, but, alas,Continue reading “Screamin’ Parrots”

Ahoy, mateys! I’ve come across something that could be a great value to ye. No, not gold, silver, or jewels. No spices, frankincense, or rum in this chest o’goodies. Nope, today’s plunderin’ is all about runnin’ into a sea serpent and how to live to tell the tale. There’s a pyrate called Captain Mako whoContinue reading “Sea Serpents: How to Live to Tell the Tale”

When I think of pyrates, I envision salty, scarred men and women who are wiry, strong, and fiercely independent. They take what they need while living their best life on the high seas. And they love rum. I don’t imagine them growing old and retiring somewhere tropical with all of their life’s pleasures close atContinue reading “The Hundred Year Old Pyrate”

I was reading a book not too long ago, Pirates in the North Atlantic: Robbery Murder and Mayhem off the Canadian East Coast, by Dan Conlin, and I was dumbfounded to read that, (at least for a period of time), Ned Low, of all pirates, had pets. Plural. Not cats, Not parrots. Not monkeys. NedContinue reading “The Dog and Ned Low”

I was wunderin’…what, if anything, did pyrates fear?  What would make a pyrate change their best laid plans or completely abandon a plunderin’ party? What made them tremble and shake in terror? Twitching at the end of a hangman’s noose, for sure, must have been a pyrate nightmare. Krakens, luscas, evil mermaids…all good reasons toContinue reading “Pyrate Superstition”