Scuttlebutt

Faversham pirate inspired Jack Sparrow

On 28 May, an article by Gerry Warren in KentOnline claimed that the Faversham fisherman turned notorious pirate John Ward inspired the flamboyant lead character of Walt Disney’s Pirates of the Caribbean franchise. This is not the first time a link has been suggested to Jack Sparrow, but the current interest may not be entirely unconnected with the fact Claire Windridge, the town’s Events and Development Officer, has been exploring the idea of a future Pirate Festival (Editor: Pirate Plunder has already spoken to her, offering the magazine’s support in this endeavour).

Born in 1553, John Ward (AKA Jack Ward with the nickname Sharkey) spent his early years as a fisherman sailing out of Faversham Creek. Around 1604, he was pressed into service on the Lyon’s Whelp, a ship in King James’ Channel Fleet, but soon deserted and stole a 25 ton barque from Portsmouth Harbour. His comrades elected him Captain, thought to be one of the earliest precedents for pirates choosing their own leader!

Capturing ever larger ships, he sailed for the Mediterranean and embarked on what was a successful career in piracy from his base in Tunis, adopting a Moslem name, Yusuf Reis, and converting to the religion along with his entire crew. He eventually commanded a whole fleet of corsairs, whose flagship was a Venetian 60-gunner.

In 1612, he retired from active piracy, but continued to instruct younger corsairs in the skills of gunnery and navigation, living a life of considerable luxury until his death at the age of 70 in 1622.

Definitely lacking the looks or charm of Johnny Depp’s character, an English sailor who saw him in Tunis in 1608 allegedly described Ward as “very short with little hair, and that quite white, bald in front; swarthy face and beard. Speaks little and almost always swearing. Drunk from morn till night...the habits of a thorough salt. A fool and an idiot out of his trade”.

An alternative word for pirate is buccaneer. A number of new words, including ‘barbecue’, were introduced to the English language by the famous Privateer William Dampier (1651-1715). It was taken from the Arawak Indian word ‘barbacoa’, which was then translated into French as ‘bucan’, a grill for smoking viande boucanée (dried meat) for use on ships at sea and eventually led to the term ‘buccaneer’.

An amazing explorer, Dampier was the first Englishman to explore parts of what are now Australia and the first person to circumnavigate the world three times.

On a later voyage, he rescued Alexander Selkirk, a former crewmate, who is thought to have inspired the classic tale of ‘Robinson Crusoe’ by Daniel Defoe.

It’s a fact

Scuttlebutt It’s big, it’s bad and it’s back!

There be those out there who have many a time partaken of the infamous Dolmen Pirate Parlays. There also be those out there who have heard the tales of the days and nights of piratey mayhem in old Weymouth town, of the laughter that cheered the soul, the hullabaloo that excited the body and the music that stirred the pirate heart.

Celtic rock band, The Dolmen, with stupendous support from We Are Weymouth (BID), now brings you scurvy dogs of the Seven Seas Weymouth Pirate Fest ’22 from 14-16 October.

Sem Vine of Weymouth has sent out the following call to The Brethren: “All ye rascally crews be invited to rally from Friday, 14 October, in the old port o’ Weymouth, where entertainments and general shenanigans will be occurring from 3 p.m. On the Saturday mornin’ all ye pirates, young and old, all ye drummers, doxies, ruffians and rogues, be called forth to join in the Pirate Parade, to process throughout the town in piratey fashion.

“Pirate pandemonium based around the ancient site of Boot Hill will ensue during the day and as night descends, performers and musicians from far and wide will be entertaining ye and a Pirate Bazaar will be tempting one and all with their fine wares in exchange for some shiny Doubloons.

“On Sunday, for those scallywags and strumpets who have survived such mischief and naughtiness, there will be the traditional Survivors’ Party, where the ship’s surgeon will most likely be prescribing the hair o’ the dog.”

For more information regarding times, locations and illustrious lineups, please visit: www. weymouthpiratefest.com

Fund-raising with rum

World Ocean Day (7 June) was celebrated by the Devon Rum Company when it announced a new sustainability partnership with Till the Coast is Clear!

This new partnership will see the multi awardwinning rum brand raise funds and awareness for Till the Coast’s vital ocean conservation work – helping to make the world a cleaner place, one piece of plastic at a time. Furthermore, they’ll be helping to spread awareness through social campaigns, giveaways and by joining Till the Coast is Clear at coastal cleans throughout the year.

Till the Coast is Clear was founded by Gary Jolliffe in 2018. Since then, this community interest company has worked tirelessly to improve the condition of our natural environment, removing more than 12 tonnes of plastic waste from the South Devon coastline alone, while also connecting people to the great outdoors. “The results achieved by Gary and his crew in just four years are phenomenal,” said Dave Seear from the Devon Rum Co. “They prove that some of the damage we’re doing to our natural environment can be undone, but only if we work together.”

Till the Coast is Clear relies on a large team of volunteers to carry out their regenerative work along Devon’s shorelines. These volunteers willingly give up their time to remove plastic pollution, using special boats and kayaks made from recycled plastic and fishing nets. As a result, they’ll be raising funds to support this critical work in several ways, including collecting donations through their website and at events during the coming months.

On the help his organisation receives from local firms, Gary Jolliffe said: “We are very fortunate to be supported by several great brands, who are all working hard to minimise their environmental impact and maximise their social and community impact. Devon Rum Co. has designed their business around these important principles and it is great to be working with their award-winning team”.

For more information on Till the Coast is Clear and to support their cause, please visit: www. tillthecoastisclear.co.uk

Left to right: Dave Seear, Brad Wicks and Giles Gray of the Devon Rum Company.

Privateer and Ships Surgeon 17th & 18th Century Medical Re-enactment

Jeff Lippman Tel: 07796 145911 New pirate group

On 20 August, David Farrar (AKA Davy Sharkeye) posted his official resignation from the Gunpowder Pirates on Facebook as he has decided to start his own pirate re-enactment group called Sharkeye’s Pirates.

The group’s website is not yet ready to open online, so he has advised those wishing to sign articles to keep a weather-