Friday, January 13, 2012

Booty: For Sale: One Pirate Ship

If you’re like me, you have dreamed of owning, and in particular sailing, a fully-rigged, accurate-to-every-detail replica of your favorite pirate ship. Some may wish for Drake’s Golden Hinde, others might long for Black Bart Roberts’ Revenge, Sam Bellamy’s Whydah or Blackbeard’s Queen Anne’s Revenge. Or is a privateer more to your liking; John Paul Jones’ Bonhomme Richard, or a handsome frigate like the dear Surprise perhaps? For me the dream will always be Renato Beluche’s brig General Bolivar, the quintessential Gulf privateer.


Dreams like this are a wonderful way to pass a quiet moment but, for most of us at least, they will remain as formless as the ether. For those of you who are in all seriousness, though, there is a ship in the style of Henry Morgan’s Oxford currently available for sale.

As this listing at Maritime Sales online indicates, the ship is a 90 foot, Santa Maria style galleon complete with kitchen, bathrooms, electricity and a diesel engine. It is outfitted as our seafaring ancestors could never have imagined. Her commission is out of Honduras and according to the listing she can comfortably float 78 hands; pirates not included.

Clearly this is the ultimate fantasy. Her lines are unfortunately wide and her below decks look more like a summer camp cabin than a proper place to hang a cot. I’d hate to be in one of those beds in a high sea; in fact, I’m sure no one would be in them for long. But that’s not the point. This is like owning a floating bed and breakfast, and it can all be yours for the reduced price of $750,000 U.S.

Something to contemplate on this, the first of three Friday 13s in 2012.

Header: Pirate ship via maritimesales.com (click the link above for more pictures)

7 comments:

Timmy! said...

Ahoy, Pauline! It does unfortunately look like this "pirate ship" would be more at home at the dock than at sea... I think I'd rahter stay at "a floating bed and breakfast" than own one, but hey, that's just me.

Happy Friday the 13th, Pirate Queen!

Keith said...

I would love to own a tall ship, even if it were only on our dam. Hell! even on dry land! We could use it as a club house. I think it is the feeling of the period that a tall ship envokes, more so than anything else I can think of.
Regards, Keith.
http://woodsrunnersdiary.blogspot.com/

Pauline said...

Timmy! ~ I know how you are and I never do plan to subject you to seafaring. It's no fun if you're sick all the time. Still, it's a dream that I have.

Le Loup ~ I think "pirate ships" in general have the same lure that a treehouse or a wooden fort do. At least part of it is "being a kid again". I hope you get your club house with masts some day.

Blue Lou Logan said...

It was typical of pirates to reconfigure captured ships to be more effective and efficient in their "trade." This could even mean all but gutting the vessel and creating a deck that was essentially clear from bow to stern.

In other words, were one to take her, said ship could be made into more than the Disney-ish attraction she is now. More cannons, less beds. On the other hand, if she can be B&B...why not a PUB?!? A floating pirate bar; how can ye not?

Pauline said...

Ah jeez, Lou; now I want to start rounding up investers and BUY THIS THING! How much can I put you and Zane down for? And are you cool with Puerto Rico as a home port and "Pauline's" as a name?

Blue Lou Logan said...

You tengo muchos amigos puertorriquenos, pero quiero que el nombre de nuestro cantina es "La Tortuga Borracha" (The Drunken Turtle) o posiblemente "El Perezoso Borrocho" (The Drunken Sloth) para el animal de Dr. Maturin...

Pauline said...

"The Debauched Sloth" Absolutely!