CFNA Awards

Crown Forces North America: Naval Establishment's 'Gunboat Weekend' event was held June 10-12th of this present year. A committee was formed to award honors to the various groups gathered at the event, and your Acastas brought home two of the honors bestowed on the groups in attendance.

"Le Couteur" Award, for best naval impression in the race.

Awarded by the committee: Admiral Suthren (in the person of his man Bartholomew Handy), Commodore (dockyard) Gill Bibby, Commodore (fleet) Thomas Hurlbut and regional CO  Commander Mark Pergunas, all of the CFNANE made up the committee.

Le Couteur was a Lieutenant in the Army (104th Foot) who marched overland from New Brunswick in winter to Kingston and was greeted with the sight of the warships of the Lake Ontario Squadron (Royal George, Wolfe) on what he described as a beautiful inland sea. 

"Dick Deadeye" award for best overall re-enactor impression.

Awarded to Albert Roberts by Admiral Suthren.

The members of the Acasta would like to thank the members of the CFNA:NE committee for seeing fit to recognize our efforts, and all the event coordinators for putting on such an excellent event!

Images from Gunboat Weekend

A party of Acastas went ashore in Bath, Ontario this past weekend for the Crown Forces North America: Naval Establishment's 'Gunboat Weekend' event. 

Commander Sorensen of H.M. Sloop Chatham

St. Lawrence II in action

 

The Commodore and his wife take a stroll down on the dock to inspect the boats.

Fritz, Hollybrass and Vassermann out on the Commodore's gig "Beatrice"

 

Gunboat Weekend Video

The Acastas participated in an event in Bath, Ontario this past weekend. Here's a short video filmed by an attendee of the awesome battle on the water!

There's still plenty of time...

Have you given any thought to what you're going to write?

Here are some examples of things that we've gotten in the past as part of the project:

Lt Ramsey got a love letter from Germany with candy in it.

Captain Freymann got a letter from a surveyor about his property back in England and a map of said property.

Midshipman Hamilton got a letter from a worried Aunt with a hand knitted scarf in it.

Baptiste got a letter with a black spot in it from an anonymous 'former shipmate'.

The Bosun got a letter from a former shipmate inviting him to join him in a business venture back in England.

The Ship's Chaplain got a solicitation letter from a company that manufactures mourning candies.

Need some ideas for what to write? Try one of these:

Letter from a friend or colleague back home. 
(But none from immediate 'family' if you please. Cousins, Aunts, Uncles, Nieces & Nephews are fine, but none from Mothers, Fathers, children.)
A bill or request for payment.
An overdue payment of debt.
A letter carrying news of the war(s)

Or, use the link below to see some other types of period letters:

The Complete Letter Writer...

Wondering what a period letter looks like? Here are some beautiful examples:

http://www.bathpostalmuseum.co.uk/john-palmer/

Contact me to find out where to send your finished letter… or questions, or for any other additional information.

WHO SHOULD I WRITE TO YOU ASK?

CLICK HERE TO SEE THE LIST OF RECIPIENTS.

Finshed letters will need to be to ME by the first of JULY of this present year so that they can find their way into the Mail Packet!

Start thinking about what you'd like to contribute, and HAVE FUN!

Mail Packet Inspiration

Another video meant to inspire our potential letter writers for the 2016 Mail Packet. Baptiste reads a letter he got at the 2014 Jane Austen Festival.

Climb Aboard!

Welcome aboard HMS Acasta! 

The purpose of HMS ACASTA and the ROYAL TARS of OLD ENGLAND is to accurately portray a crew of His Majesty's Royal Navy circa 1800-1810 for the educational benefit of the public and for the mutual research and enjoyment of the individual members.

Our organization will educate via a series of first person activities designed to demonstrate the real lives of sailors as they go about their business and live their lives. Landing Parties, Surveying Crews, Recruitment Drives, Press Gangs, Shore Leave... these are but a few of the activities that our crew will undertake whilst encamped at an event. During duty hours, we follow proper Navy protocols and sailors are expected to live a sailor's life.

The eclectic band of historical reenactors and interpreters that makes up the 'CREW' of HMS Acasta spans a wide spectrum of real life occupations.

We are made up of students, educators, academics (a surprising number of us are teachers) even a Ph.D., present and former Coast Guard and U.S. Naval men, artists & artisans, tailors, musicians, professionals & executives. We even have a freelance copywriter, farrier & presidential presenter thrown into the mix for good measure! (hint: look for the fellow that looks like Jackson from the twenty dollar bill!)

What does this odd lot all have in common? A love for the history of the Royal Navy and passing it on in a unique way to the public.

If you enjoy reading the adventures of HMS Acasta, be certain to become an honorary member of the crew. This is a easy way to show us that you're out there and paying attention. It is a simple matter really, there is a blue button at the bottom of the page that will allow you to join.

And Second, I would ask that you comment from time to time on the posts that interest you the most. This is an excellent way to let the crew of the Acasta know what you, the reader, is the most interested in seeing. It is always most gratifying to know what the readers like. For those of you that have commented in the past, we thank you for you support and interest!

If you find a post that you are particularly fond of... be sure to share a link with your friends, over Facebook, Tumblr, Google Plus, etc. so they can enjoy it too!

You can also find the Acastas on INSTAGRAM where we post images of life in the Royal Navy circa 1800-1810. It is our goal to have these images be as if you are looking through a window in time. Give us a follow and keep up with all things Acasta!

The Acasta log is generally updated every weekday at 8am CST, visit back often, and encourage your History/Royal Navy friends to visit us.

Thanks for reading!

Find the Doctor on Facebook!

How to Make a Sailor's Hat

"Heaving the Lead" by John Augustus Atkinson 1807

An easy step-by-step tutorial on how to shape your straw topper to look like the hat seen on the sailor in Atkinson's "Heaving the Lead".

Step ONE- Purchase a hat, usually about $20-25. These hats are usually sold with a very flat brim. The straw topper is generally about 8+ inches tall with a 2-3 inch brim. I purchased mine from 96 District Fabrics, but you can find them all over.

Step TWO- Fill the sink with just enough water to cover the brim of the hat and let it soak for 2-3 minutes. This makes the brim soft and easy to manipulate into the right shape.

Step THREE- Remove from water and tie up the sides with string. No tricks or special knots required, just run the string all the way around the hat and tie it up so the sides of the brim stay in the upright position. My suggestion is to keep them very close to the body of the hat itself.

Step FOUR- Using two clothes pins and some more string, clip and tie up the front and back of the brim as seen in picture. This will force the front and back to point down like the sailor's hat in the Atkinson picture. Once your hat is all trussed up like in the above image, let it sit and dry overnight, you'll want the straw of the hat and brim to be completely dry before you remove the clothespins and string. (Author's Safety Note: do NOT put your hat on the stove top burner or heat in the oven… I just needed a spot close to the sink to photograph the hat and it ended up on the stove. I should NOT have placed it there and neither should you, you could burn up you new hat!)

Step FIVE- (optional, but awesome) Make a light India Ink wash and lightly brush onto the exterior of the dry hat to add the appearance of age and use. Obviously the more layers of the gray wash you paint on, the older and more used the hat will appear. On the hats in the above images I even brushed on a little brown ink to simulate sweat stains. The amount of 'wear' and 'age' are up to you.

Step SIX- Do your King and Country proud and wear your new hat with pride! 

A tar's grubby hat.

A photo posted by @hms_acasta on Nov 11, 2014 at 4:07pm PST

If you follow this tutorial and make one of your own, let us know and send us a picture of you in your finished hat, we'd LOVE to see it!