You wake up to A bright light and the sound of waves lapping against wood your eyes are heavy and your head spins from the long night you spent drinking at The Ladies Skirt Tavern.

Your memory comes in flashes as the night returns to you drinking, signing, dancing, some card games, and a woman a beautiful woman with long black hair that framed her face perfectly and shining emerald like eyes that glittered as she talked,and soft supple lips perfect for kissing and you tried but if you succeeded you do not remember.

A voice reaches your ears it is a harsh and commanding voice "Get up Bilge Rat the Cap'in Wana sees you" you feel a kick in your side and it hurts but you can't seem to open your eyes.

you feel yourself being hauled up and dragged up stairs before being dropped unceremoniously on hard wood

you blink several times and put your hands up to block out the sun shinning in your eyes your head still swims and the female voice from last night returns to you though you can't make out what she is saying you feel another sharp kick in your side and the woman from last night is standing overyou she looks at you and says

"Welcome aboard boys you have just become the newest members of my crew but don't worry you will soon come to like it here because on this ship you will gain fame,fortune, and riches of e-very kind" she said with a smirk

"Gentlemen welcome to Paradise.....Welcome to The Black Tide"



Positions in the crew

Navigator:
It was hard to find a good navigator during theGolden Age of Piracy. Trained navigators could use the stars to figure out their latitude, and therefore could sail from east to west fairly easily, but figuring out longitude was much harder and involved a lot of guesswork.Pirate shipsoften ranged far and wide: Black Bart Roberts worked much of the Atlantic Ocean, from the Caribbean to Brazil to Africa.
If there was a skilled navigator on board a prize ship, pirates would often force him to join their crew. Sailing charts were also valuable and were kept when discovered on board prize ships.

Quartermaster:
After the Captain, the quartermaster was probably the most important man on the ship. He was in charge of seeing that the Captains orders were carried out and handled the day-to-day management of the ship. When there was plunder, the quartermaster divided it up among the crew according to the number of shares each man was due to receive. He was also in charge of discipline in minor matters such as fighting or minor derelictions of duty: more serious offenses went before a pirate court. Quartermasters often inflicted punishments such as floggings. The quartermaster would often board prize vessels and decide what to take and what to leave. Generally, the quartermaster received a double share, same as the captain.

Boatswain:
The Boatswain, or Bosun, was in charge of the ship itself and keeping it in shape for travel and battle. He looked after the wood, canvas and ropes that were of vital importance on board. He would often lead shore parties when supplies or repairs were needed. He oversaw activities such as dropping and weighing the anchor, setting the sails and keeping the deck clean. An experienced Boatswain was a very valuable man. They often got a share and a half of loot.

Cooper:
Wooden barrels were very valuable, as they were the best way to store food, water and other necessities of life at sea. Every ship needed a cooper, or a man skilled in making and maintaining barrels. Existing storage barrels had to be inspected regularly. Empty barrels were broken up to make space on small ships: the cooper would quickly put them back together if they stopped to take on food and water.

Carpenter:
The carpenter was in charge of the ships structural integrity. He generally answered to the Boatswain and would fix holes after combat, keep the masts and yardarms sound and functional and know when the ship needed to be beached for maintenance and repairs. Ships carpenters had to make do with what was at hand, as pirates usually could not use official dry docks in ports. Many times they would have to make repairs on some deserted island or stretch of beach, using only what they could scavenge or cannibalize from other parts of the ship. Ships carpenters often doubled as a surgeon, sawing off limbs that had been wounded in battle.

Doctor or Surgeon:
Most pirate ships preferred to have a doctor on board when one was available. Pirates fought frequently with their victims and with one another and serious injuries were common. Pirates also suffered from a variety of other ailments, including venereal diseases such as syphilis and tropical illnesses like malaria. If they spent a long time at sea, they were vulnerable to vitamin deficiencies like scurvy. Medicines were worth their weight in gold: when Blackbeard blockaded the port of Charles Town, all he asked for was a large chest of medicines! Trained doctors were hard to find, and when ships had to go without one, oftentimes a veteran sailor with some common sense would serve in this capacity.

Master Gunner:
If you think about it for a minute, youll realize that firing a cannon must be a tricky thing. You have to get everything right: the placement of the shot, the powder, the fuse... and then you have to aim the thing. A skilled gunner was a very valuable part of any pirate crew. Gunners usually were trained by the Royal Navy, and had worked their way up from being powder-monkeys: young boys who ran back and forth carrying gunpowder to the cannons during battles. The Master Gunner was in charge of all of the cannons, the gunpowder, the shot and everything else that had to do with keeping the guns in working order.

Musicians:
Musicians were popular on board. Piracy was a tedious life, and a ship could spend weeks at sea waiting to find a suitable victim. Musicians helped to pass the time, and having some skill with a musical instrument brought with it certain privileges, such as playing while the others were working or even increased shares. Musicians were often taken off of the ships of their victims. On one occasion, when pirates raided a farm in Scotland, they left behind two young womenand brought a piper back to the ship instead!







Black Tide Crew Form:

(Men only please)

Name:
Age:
Gender:
Appearance:
Weapons of choice:
Drink of choice:
Special abilities:
Personality:
Bio:

Pirate Captains form (Must make your own crew)

Name:
Age:
Gender:
Appearance:
Ship Appearance:
Jolly Roger Appearance:
Ship Name:
Crew Name:
Allied:
Rivals:
Enemies:

oh, I wanna join, I assume I hafta be a male... should I have a character form and pic?

Epic sounding! ^^ So... Where do I sign up?

You do not have to be a boy you can play as a girl if you would like I will be putting up a chartersheets soon one to be on the crew which will be mostly male and one to be opposing captain or in the royal navy.....Royal Navy and Opposing Captains can be either male or female

Roger, I wanna be part of the ping list to X3

Sweet! Time to find a good pirate pic.... ^^

If you two know anyone else that might join send them here ok I want this to be big

on it now X3

welcome all who were pinged X3

Okay ^^ Pinges peoples.

SO COOL! I love pirates! Can I be the man?