FUCK YEAH AUBREY-MATURIN!

"There is a systematic flocci-nauci-nihili-pilification of all other aspects of existence that angers..."

Thu, 01 Sep 2011 12:00:06 -0400

“There is a systematic flocci-nauci-nihili-pilification of all other aspects of existence that angers me.”

- Master and Commander (Patrick O’Brian)

spiffingsailor: HMS Surprise, by Geoff Hunt.

Wed, 31 Aug 2011 12:00:06 -0400

spiffingsailor:

HMS Surprise, by Geoff Hunt.

"…Dr Maturin came aboard in his usual elegant manner, kicking the port lids, cursing the kind hands..."

Tue, 30 Aug 2011 12:00:05 -0400

“…Dr Maturin came aboard in his usual elegant manner, kicking the port lids, cursing the kind hands that propelled him up the side, and arriving breathless on deck, as though he had climbed the Monument at a run.”

- Patrick O’Brian, in The Fortune of War (via spiffingsailor)

spiffingsailor: Plans for HMS Surprise.

Mon, 29 Aug 2011 12:00:05 -0400

spiffingsailor:

Plans for HMS Surprise.

"Once below and free of good mornings right and left, he [Jack] went straight to sleep, with barely a..."

Sun, 28 Aug 2011 12:00:06 -0400

“Once below and free of good mornings right and left, he [Jack] went straight to sleep, with barely a pause between laying his long wet hair on the pillow and unconsciousness; and fast asleep he remained, in spite of the rumbling boots of regimental soldiers and the din inseparable from working the ship, until the faint tinkle of a teaspoon told some layer of his mind that coffee was ready. He sprang up, looked at the barometer, shook his head, dipped his face into a kid of tepid water, shaved, ate a hearty breakfast, and appeared on deck, fresh, pink, and ten years younger.””

- Patrick O’Brian, The Mauritius Command

Haha, Jack and his coffee.

(via spiffingsailor)

star-cunning: A Stephen Maturin Polyvore set!

Sat, 27 Aug 2011 12:05:06 -0400

star-cunning:

A Stephen Maturin Polyvore set!

"But you know as I, patriotism is a word; and one that generally comes to mean ‘whither my country..."

Thu, 25 Aug 2011 12:05:06 -0400

“But you know as I, patriotism is a word; and one that generally comes to mean ‘whither my country right or wrong,’ which is infamous or ‘my country is always right,’ which is imebcile.”

- Patrick O’Brian in Master and Commander (1970)

spiffingsailor: Yeah… so that thing about me doing more...

Wed, 24 Aug 2011 12:05:06 -0400

spiffingsailor:

Yeah… so that thing about me doing more personal posts? No bad feedback on that, I simply haven’t had the time. Barely finding the time to reblog something or post a photo. I want to do some more historical posts, but haven’t had a chance to put anything together.

I’ve been working at the Maritime Museum Wednesdays through Sundays, doing three one-hour harbour tours on Wednesdays and Thursdays. Californian’s been taking the place of Pilot while she’s being worked on in the yard. And while Californian can carry more passengers than Pilot, she needs at least three crew compared to Pilot’s one. It’s good fun to be out on the water, even though we’re not setting any sails. And I get to act as mate, which is a step up. But they really make me appreciate the Friday-Sunday four-hour sails. As fun as motoring in circles around the bay is, it is nothing compared to setting every sail and doing manoeuvres out in the ocean. Anyway. That was a rather long way of saying that I’ve been a tad busy lately.

So, I figured I’d share the scrimshaw on my knife handle that I did a bit ago. I chose Surprise for the front because she was the first ship I sailed as Sail Crew. And, well, it’s Surprise. I added a rose to her name to acknowledge her time as the Rose, of course. The compass rose on the other side was my very first scrimshaw. I wanted a design that would be simple to do and contained mostly straight lines, so that I couldn’t mess it up too badly. There is a fairly obvious mistake on there, but it’s hard to catch unless you stare at it for a while. I added the anchor a bit after that to fill up the empty space. Hold Fast we all know from Master and Commander, and it had a legitimate meaning of clapping on tight to a line. The rest of the edge was looking rather bare, so I included a rope pattern, which I may or may not attempt to shade in the future. This was all done by hand with a sailmaker’s needle. First I come up with a design on paper, then copy that onto the knife handle with a pencil before scratching it in with the needle. Instead of searching for white or silver India ink, I used a fabric marker I had lying around and it’s worked out pretty well. It was a lot of fun to do, and now I want to get another knife just to do more scrimshaw!

So, there’s a blog post for you. Hopefully I’ll be able to come up with some more interesting things to post about in future.

‘Captains Jack’ by theband of DeviantArt. THIS IS...

Wed, 11 May 2011 20:15:43 -0400

‘Captains Jack’ by theband of DeviantArt.

THIS IS THE PERFECT STORM.

By manateelove of DeviantArt.

Wed, 11 May 2011 20:12:43 -0400

By manateelove of DeviantArt.

spiffingsailor: fuckyeahaubreymaturin: “HMS Surprise” ©...

Wed, 11 May 2011 20:03:38 -0400

spiffingsailor:

fuckyeahaubreymaturin:

“HMS Surprise”

© 2010 Tuggerdave of Flickr. Taken less than a month ago - don’t she look good?

I AM FINALLY ALLOWED TO TALK ABOUT THIS, HUZZAH!!

I was aboard Surprise when this picture was taken. When was this picture taken? Why, last summer when Surprise had a role in Pirates of the Caribbean: On Stranger Tides (coming to a cinema near you on 20 May). Even though we all rather hate pirates at the Maritime Museum, Surprise (supposedly) played a privateer… Or something. With a pirate captain and Navy crew? I don’t know what we were supposed to be, but we were clearly British. As you can tell by that ginormous flag (of the wrong period). Aside from the long hours, wearing harnesses under costumes, and Very Uncomfortable Shoes, it was a rather fun experience. Surprise now joins the Real Ships Used in the Pirates Films Club, along with HMS Bounty and Lady Washington.

Goodness, thanks so much for sharing! :D Cannot wait to see the lovely lady in the context of another Captain Jack…!

LONDON MEET-UP: JUNE 2011

Wed, 11 May 2011 19:49:15 -0400

Inspired by this recent Portsmouth gathering, complete with lectures and proper tallships and all manner of stuff. We’re nowhere near as fancy, but this is something I’ve been thinking about for a bit, therefore:

Would anyone be interested in a London Aubrey-Maturin fan meet-up?

As a lot of us are UK-based ~~and don’t get out enough, ahaha~~, I thought it might be good fun to have an informal meet-up in London for fans of Patrick O’Brian, Master and Commander, and the Aubrey-Maturin series in general! Ideally, it would be a day in early June spent gawping at Nelson-related things, perhaps a visit to the National Maritime Museum, pub-going, sloth-spotting, and all other manner of ridiculous nautical-themed behaviour with other O’Brian-ites.

If this sounds as appallingly appealling to you as it does to me, eheheh, reblog this post or leave us a message indicating your interest and availability, or drop us a suggestion! Even if you’re weeping at your own inability to join said potential gathering (we’re crushed too), reblog and plug plug plug!

A Spanish Aubrey-Maturin Wiki

Wed, 11 May 2011 19:23:57 -0400

A Spanish Aubrey-Maturin Wiki:

For those of us who are Stephen Maturin.

Photo

Wed, 11 May 2011 19:19:41 -0400

Could we all just bow our heads and respect herself for a...

Wed, 11 May 2011 19:18:20 -0400

Could we all just bow our heads and respect herself for a moment.

creative-license: DR. MATURIN, GET ON MY BLOG RIGHT...

Wed, 11 May 2011 19:16:44 -0400

creative-license:

DR. MATURIN, GET ON MY BLOG RIGHT NOW.

Miffed.

'Good morning, Killick,' said Stephen. 'Where's himself?'

Wed, 11 May 2011 19:14:56 -0400

‘Good morning, sir,’ said Killick. ‘Which he’s still on deck.’

‘Killick,’ said Stephen, ‘what’s amiss? Have you seen the ghost in the bread-room? Are you sick? Show me your tongue.’

When Killick had withdrawn his tongue, a flannely object of inordinate length, he said paler still, ‘Is there a ghost in the bread-room, sir? Oh, no, and I was there in the middle watch. Oh, sir, I might a seen it.’

‘There is always a ghost in the bread-room. Light along that pot, will you now?’

‘I durs’nt, sir, begging your pardon. There’s worse news than the ghost, even. Them wicked old rats got at the coffee, sir, and I doubt there’s another pot in the barky.’

‘Preserved Killick, pass me that pot, or you will join the ghost in the bread-room, and howl forevermore.’

With extreme unwillingness Killick put the pot on the very edge of the table, muttering, ‘Oh, I’ll cop it: oh, I’ll cop it.’

Jack walked in, pouring himself a cup as he bade Stephen good morning, and said, ‘I am afraid they are all in.’

‘All in what?’

‘All the Frenchmen are in harbour, with their two Indiamen and the Victor. Have not you been on deck? We are lying off Port-Louis. The coffee has a damned odd taste.’

‘This I attribute to the excrement of rats. Rats have eaten our entire stock; and I take the present brew to be a mixture of the scrapings at the bottom of the sack.’

‘I thought it had a familiar tang,’ said Jack. ‘Killick, you may tell Mr Seymour, with my compliments, that you are to have a boat. And if you don’t find at least a stone of beans among the squadron, you need not come back. It is no use trying the Néréide; she don’t drink any.’

When the pot had been jealously divided down to its ultimate dregs, dregs that might have been called dubious, had there been any doubt of their nature, they went on deck.

As Killick would say “Which it’s the best blog on...

Wed, 11 May 2011 19:14:09 -0400

As Killick would say “Which it’s the best blog on tumblr!”
-tatteredbanners

…though ‘never nothing a man could sing to, even as drunk as Davy’s sow.’ We’re working on that, also the sporadic activity, but thanks very much anyway. ;)

fuckyeahageofsail: harrietvane: Russ, you adorable man. Master...

Wed, 11 May 2011 19:09:00 -0400

fuckyeahageofsail:

harrietvane:

Russ, you adorable man. Master and Commander sequel: it needs to happen, and Crowe wants us to help. Oh Captain, my Captain.

YESSSSSSS.

YOU HEARD THE MAN. MAKE IT SO.

Moar Vogue.

Thu, 07 Apr 2011 11:48:44 -0400

Moar Vogue.