Battle of Plattsburgh

Plattsburgh, NY - Battle of 1812 Commemoration is happening September 10th & 11th, 2011. Being a War of 1812 event its a later time period than most of our events. The Dark & Stormy crew turn out in full force to participate in the two battles and the Bateau race which is a highlight of the season.

The first year we were in the race, The Dark & Stormy crew had never really all paddled together. Our primary focus was not being last. After a few struggles, we got it under control and actually came in 5th. We've improved since then; last year we came in third.  You can see the very start of the race here with in the middle right. The only rules are... well there aren't really any rules, just you follow the race track and whomever comes in first wins. As a result, blocking other boats and tangling their oars is just as important as rowing like madmen all the way.

This year events will be happening all over town, and in some cases in outlying areas as well according to the schedule. In the back of the Encampment at the Kent-Delord house is the Naval Camp. However we stay pretty busy at this event. Not only the race and battles, but we go to the Israel Green Tavern, we travel through downtown Plattsburgh, we visit the other camps, we're down sailing the boat, we're basically all over the place. A couple of us went to college at SUNY Plattsburgh, so we usually hit the Monopole on Friday (our old watering hole) to have pizza and wings, same as we did back then. Come out and see the show(s).

August 20-21 2011 in Vergennes

Coming up next- the Lake Champlain Maritime Museum's Colonial Trades and Crafts Weekend. I'll be doing my Sailor impression this weekend there. The Dark & Stormy needs a bit of repair as she hit a rock coming in at Ogdensburg, so our boat willl not be in Vergennes. However there will be other boats, as well as many different 18th century talents being shown, so there's plenty to see.

Crown Point Aug 13-14 2011

This was a  big event for the 27th Inniskilling at Crown Point. Well worth traveling to, we had one of our “all up” events where all Inniskilling members try to go for the weekend. We ended up with about 38 folks all told.

This is the one place we go that has two forts to explore along with the usual hustle and bustle of an 18th century encampment. A dry Sunny day on Saturday, followed by some overnight rain, and a slightly damper day Sunday.

We did some serious cooking over the fire to feed our regiment. There was french bread, buttermilk-honey bread, rye bread, 2 pies and some quick pastries along with a large dinner featuring pork and corn just to name a few menu items for the night. We certainly eat better than the actual British Army did.

We had some 18th century singing and entertainment along with our usual hiliarity in camp. We also had our traditional toast to the Inniskilling soldiers that were here in the 1750s at the barracks in his Majesty's Fort. The boys fought in a few battles and the ladies cooked so we all ate like kings. An excellent weekend indeed.