NQG Crew

Yer "No Quarter Given" Crew

image of Christine Markel Lampe Jamaica Rose Barton (aka Christine Markel Lampe). Jamaica Rose is the chartmaker, navigator, art director and general editor of this here sea rag, No Quarter Given. We see her here on the deck of the "Pilgrim of Newport", a local Tall Ship.

Image of Michael Lampe Captain Michael MacLeod (aka Michael Lampe) is the midnight publisher, compiler, co-editor, proof-reader-from-hell, and general gopher for the magazine. He enjoys blackpowder shooting, fencing, firing off cannons, and various other nefarious activities best not mentioned here.

Billy Bones, our roving reporter and ships lookout. Aye, no crackers for this lad, a bit of Rum Punch is what warms his bones. Here he be relaxin' with a pint o' grog at the Drunken Mermaid Tavern while he sharpens his cutlass with his beak.

Evaine Mansveldt, (aka, our daughter), until recently, was our assistant collator, stapler, label-affixer and NQG booth watcher. Here, she swabs a cannon aboard the Pilgrim of Newport during the "A&E Horatio Hornblower Sea Battle" in San Diego. Aye, she's a comely lass, but don't let that give ya ideas. She kin handle a cutlass with the best o' 'em, ... and she knows how to fight dirty. That's what happens when ya grow up around a bunch o' scurvy pirates ... er, honest privateers. She's now off to the Air Force - playing with (and flying) toys more powerful than cannons

Nimble Jack, our handsome son, also called Michael. He is often so busy, what with lasses chasing after him n' all, that it is quite a challenge to recruit his help with "No Quarter Given", but there are times that he actually does lend a hand.

The Whys & Wherefors of "NO QUARTER GIVEN"
or
"Is That Rum and Gunpowder I Smell on Your Breath?"**

You ask why we be putting out a publickation for the swashbucklin' type, adventurers o' the sea, and jist plain scurvy dogs? Well, the seed o' the idea began when we belonged to the a local pirate crew. We were shanghaied into producing a periodical for the crew. As the issues rolled out, we came to realize that the printed word, regularly sent out, can be the best way to get a bunch o' independant-thinkin', scurilous knaves into workin' together, and accomplishin' great adventures.

We later decided that operatin' under a letter o' marque, thus acquirin' that thin veneer of legality, was the better way to "go on the account". Thus we departed from the pirate crew and joined up with the "Port Royal Privateers", those what sail under Capt. Henry Morgan from Jamaica's great port.

When asked if we might produce a publickation for this crew as well, we began to think in broader terms. If we might be able to knit together a small band of sea-rovers, might we not be able to bring together even more of those with salt-water fer blood in their veins, and a lust for gold in their eye. And thusly, "No Quarter Given" came into bein'. We began searchin' far and wide, through the Seven Seas, for those involved in "the sweet trade", and even now we continue the search. Mayhaps these very words might be reachin' some o' you now. Would you not be wantin' to tie up with others of yer ilk, learn more about their exploits, hear tell of rich coasts and seas yet to be plundered, and find out how to improve yer own "trade"?

Other crews have been discovered, from the coasts of California, to the Eastern seaboard, in the Caribbean, and even upon the great rivers and lakes of North America. Some of the crews we found are the Brethren of the Coast off the shores of New York, Flint's Crew upon the waters of the mid-west, the several crews infesting the waters of Puget Sound, and the Pirates of Grand Cayman.

There are several grand gatherings of pirates each year, including: the Gasparilla Festival in Tampa Bay, FL each February; the Pirates in Paradise Festival held each May in Marathon, FL; the Seattle SeaFair in mid-summer; and the grandest gathering of all, the Cayman Islands Pirates Week, closes out the year in late Fall.

Would you believe we send "No Quarter Given" to over 400 pirates and privateers -- to anyone interested in the lore o' the sea, the tales of fearsome sea wolves, the recountin' o' fierce battles, and willin' ta send us 12 doubloons o' their plunder (or $12 American). And many o' them correspond with us, sending us accountin's of their own ventures, advice to other pirates, notyces of great buccaneer festivals and get- togethers, and they even correspond with each other through the pages of "No Quarter Given".

Our "Letters from the Sea" column is one o' the most animated features of NQG. In fact, we were put in mind of the title for the column from the first letter to the editor we received. It was from Cap'n van Hoek, and the return address on the envelope was simply "From the Sea", using the traditional response a pirate at sea would give when asked his port of origin.

The historical articles in NQG have been quite popular. There have been articles about Port Royal, Tortuga, ship careening, pirates of California, and the activities of the gun crew. One article about Jean Laffite introduced new information that implies Laffite survived long past his days in Galveston, changed his name, and was involved with the publication of the Communist Manifesto. A review of a biography by the buccaneer Borgne-Fesse revealed the source of his name (literally translated it means "Half-Buttock"). An extensive mini-series of articles discussed the problems and solutions of the art of navigation before modern instrumentation.

We search out items, books, merchants, musical recordings, movies, events and even games that might be of interest to our readers. We review such and tell where they might be obtained, or how they might be contacted. And most assuredly, we list the various pirate crews, and tell how prospective crewmembers might make contact with them. If you be frettin' that you haven't the proper swashbucklin' garb, we can tell you how to make or acquire it.

And of course, there's the scurrilous fiction: The Adventures of the Corsican Sisters, Destiny at Sea: the Tale of Agnes & Aransas, A Pirate's Journal, and Tales of a Spanish Pirate. These, and other tales, appear semi-regularly. Many of the characters made mention of in these tales can actually be found rovin' about at some of the various pirate festivals and nautical events listed in NQG.

Come hear the thunder of the big guns, and blasts of the muzzleloaders, . . . feel the creakin' deck roll under yer feet and yer cutlass bangin' aginst the back of yer knees. We'll tell you when, where, and how. Or, if you prefer to do yer sea-rovin' from yer armchair, we'll supply you with plenty o' tales to spice yer imagination.

**Some pirates were known for mixing a little gunpowder in their rum punch.

(We publish "No Quarter Given" six times per year. If ye be interested in our sea rag, contact us, or write us at "No Quarter Given", PO Box 7456, Riverside, CA, 92513-7456. Advertising info, and contributor's guidelines sent upon request).

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