 |
 |
Captain Larry overseeing the fleet
in Tortuga ... an honest merchant hasn't got a chance amongst
all these cutthroats. |
The Jolly Roger has been hoisted ...
protect your purse and your innocents. |
Arrgggh... traffic jam on the high
seas!
AAARRGGHHHH! A record 71 scallawags sailed the
briney seas in search of plunder this year, including 18 wenches.
Most games were of the 5-player variety, which is not to my
taste. Too much luck in avoiding battles every turn which
leads us to that old salt, John Clarke, being sunk eight times
in one game ... thusly earning the COVETED title of MOST SUNK
[or worst!] pirate - not to mention a bad case of motion sickness..
Not that he was lonely. Davey Jones had plenty of company as
a number of land lubbers went down seven times.
A total of 30 games were played! Heat winners were:
Paul Weintraub, Frank Mestre, Pete Gathman, Beth Zhao, Cliff
Ackman, Pat Mirk, Aex Bell, Dan Henry (twice)], Rck Kirchner,
Robert Drozd, Tom Pavy, Greg Zegalia and the entire Speck clan
- all three of 'em. The most feared of the lot was the vicious
Greg-beard Zegalia ... a cunning black heart who'd run ye thru
for a harsh word. Victorious in all three heats ... he cut a
wide swath wherever he roamed. Other would be "winners"
who were marooned or set adrift for failing to report for
the semis were: Lin Sun, Joseph Collinson, Bill Crenshaw, Kevin
Shaud, Harold Henning, and last year's King of the Pirates: John
Elliot. And they call themselves pirates! A scurvy lot
what deserved their fate, say I.
Paul Weintraub won his semi-final over the bones of young
Greg-beard to sail into the Final treasure hunt for the third
year in a row! Also winning their challenges were old salt Tom
Pavy and two newcomers to the py-ratin trade: Forrest Speck and
Frank Mestre. When the four set sail for their Final test, diminutive
Paul got off to a big lead ... causing the others to conspire
against him. Paul made good his escape to Treasure Island, but
Forrest gained the lead on Turn 11. Paul would have to rely on
his Fame cards to tie the score at 44. It would come down to
an exchange of broadsides with Paul scoring four hits to overcome
a strong opening salvo for the win. Alas, poor Pavy ... the lad
had 11 points on Turn 3 and 11 on Turn 8 - sinking five times
in those six turns.
|