Khoz “Mad Irish” McCarthaigh
Captain of the Bloodwake
 After serving in a privateer in the late war with Spain, Khoz was beached and starving in Boston when he met the notorious Pirate Devon the Red, Captain of the frigate Amber Star, headed for the Carib Islands. Khoz’s sailing ability, drinking capacity and ability to make a friend of anyone caused Devon to give him command of the Last Jest, a brigantine, which he sailed for nearly 2 years taking a goodly number of prizes in his way. On New Providence Khoz met the love of his life, the daughter of a lawyer from Italy, and thus he abandoned the sweet trade for a while to enjoy peace and plenty. One fateful day he happened to meet the crew of the Bloodwake in a tavern, and they awoke the sea in his veins. So he signed their Articles and was made Morale Enforcement Officer by Captain Scurvy Bill. Upon Scurvy’s retirement he was elected by the crew as Captain.
Mister Marcy,
First Mate, Bloodwake
 Mister Marcy is a bit of a mystery to the rest of the crew. Shortly after setting sail from Weymouth, the Captain found him sketching in a leeward cabin. When informed that this was now a salvage vessel, not a passenger ship, Mister Marcy reportedly answered, “You’re standing in my light.”
After sailing with Captain Bill for several years, he was made first mate largely because he was the only member of the crew who showed no interest whatsoever in becoming captain himself one day. His solitary nature and obvious education causes one to wonder why he chose seafaring over whatever life he led before that first fateful voyage of the Rabid Prawn.
Kegs,
Captain of the Serger 
Kegs learned his trade as a cooper aboard various merchant vessels plying the Caribbean trade when his sloop was overtaken by Teach off the coast of the Carolinas. having thrown his lot in with that famous crew he proved himself daring and able, eventually being voted quartermaster of a prize sloop. After the breakup of the Queen Anne’s Revenge, Kegs found himself adrift in New Providence, occasionally selling rum and ale to the pirates gathered there. He tired of that life and hopped aboard Bloodwake, where he has made quite more than a single syllable out of his name there.
Jenny “Needles” Leslie
First Mate aboard Serger
 Jenny Leslie signed on with the Bloodwake at the port of Wicklow after an incident involving the British cavalry stables’ manure pile and half a pound of gunpowder.Jenny rose to the rank of Quartermaster in a rather unorthodox manner, winning the post from the previous tenant in an epic game of Fidchell.
Jenny came by her nickname not only for her skill with the knitting needles, but also by being the most-tattooed member of the whole scurvy crew.
Meg “The Bonny Lash” Seaget
Boatswain aboard Serger
Born a scullery maid’s bastard near the Cinque Port of Hythe in Kent, as a child she took to combing the docks for cast-offs and the occasional pocket booty of a drunken sailor. Soon she found herself on the wrong side of the constabulary and took to the sea as cook’s drudge aboard a transport ship called Fat Hilda. Learning the cook’s skill and growing savvy with a whip (she could snap the head off a rat in a heartbeat), she earned her keep until the Bloodwake captured the Fat Hilda. The crew found the girl amusing and kept her aboard even as Captain Bill set her former mates adrift with the head of their captain
Cooking for the Captain and his table was a fine life for one of Meg’s beginnings and she took to pirating with the gusto of a natural born thief and killer. Meg’s lusty appetites could pale many a strong man and did until she met a handsome highborn who allowed her to take him hostage for a share of his ransom. When his family refused to pay, she decided to marry him instead of killing him. Cannon Jack Darling would discover she had ways to make him pay and pay.
“Cannon Jack” Darling
Gunnery Master, Bloodwake
 Cannon Jack aka Lord Johnathan “Jack” Fergal Dunsany hailed from the Earldom of Ormond where his family were wealthy landowners, holding seven farms and many business interests. When Jack’s father and mother, Lord Jonathan Douglas “Ol’ Dougal” Dunsany and Lady Mary Winter Gillian Dunsany died “unexpectedly” in a carriage crash, their only son, Jack inherited all the family holdings. Within seventeen months he had gambled, drank and whored the lot away. Being down on his luck, by his own unsavory habits, he fell to desperation and joined His Majesties Royal Navy. He was assigned to the gunnery crew and comported himself with honor for over seven months. Then, an incident involving a Spanish whore, the admiral’s wife and the cabin boy cut short his naval career. Escaping the firing squad by a mere seven minutes, he fled to London and there settled in for a life of drunken squalor. An aging lady of the evening, named Betsy Cobb, took a liking to our Jack, god knows why, and pulled him out of the gutter, cleaned him up a bit and henceforth claimed “ownership” of said gutter mite. Jack lived for seven years in the “service” to old Betsy until of an evening he accompanied Madame Cobb to the Spit and Whistle Wharfside Tavern where the crew of the Bloodwake were taking their repose. Once more strange fate laid hold upon Jack when he was “bet” in a game of cards and “won” by one Meg Seaget aka Meg the Bonney Lash. Though old Betsy was sad to part with him, (Jack was not), he awoke the next morning, fiercely hung-over and suddenly the husband of the aforementioned Meg Seaget. When faced with the possibility of serving aboard the Bloodwake as anchor monkey, Jack suddenly remembered the “years” of service as “Master Gunner” in the navy and offered himself forth. He was given command of the gunnery crews and has been “winging” it ever since. Now bugger off! You’re between me and the whiskey!
Andrew “Dutch” DeVries
Boatswain, the Bloodwake
Annie Mac
Carpenter aboard Serger 
The Dread Pirate Pea
Helmsman, Bloodwake
 Avast there mates, ye’re sailin’ with Long John Black Beard, Peg-Leg, Patch-Eye Hook, scourge of the bounding main. Bloodthirstiest, black-heartiest pirate captain ever sailed the seven seas, ha, ha, ha! What say ye we hoist the Jolly Roger, heel over the yonder Spanish galleon. Lay a few broadsides agin’ her timers, swing over on these here lanyards with our cutlasses in our teeth cut ‘em to ribbons and split the booty. What say ye to that, me hearties? Heh! Ha, ha, ha, ha!
“Splinter Mick” O’Flynn
Carpenter aboard Bloodwake
 Born into a shipwright’s family in Cork, Ireland, Michael O’Flynn learned his way around ships and wood at an early age. Working the shipyards didn’t provide enough excitement for young Mick, so he and his friend Sam Rackham began to steal rum from the British stores on Haulbowline Island, and sell it at cut-rate prices to the waterfront’s dram shops. It was during one of these episodes that the pair came under fire from one of the forts, almost swamping their curragh. They rowed to the first ship they could reach, and using their ill-gotten rum as collateral, bargained their way aboard a certain sweet sailing schooner bound for the Caribbean…
“Whiskey Liz” O’Flynn
Quartermaster aboard Serger
 After her family of fisherfolk was wiped out in by a fever epidemic in Sweden, young Elisibet Peterson was indentured to a tobacco trader going to the American colonies. On her way there her ship fell prey to the Bloodwake, and she was taken captive. While the prisoners were being rounded up an enormous pirate stood over her, saying in an almost incomprehensible Irish brogue, “Stick wit me, lass, nobodies goin’ ta tooch ya!” She couldn’t help but study Splinter Mick O’Flynn as he guarded her against some of his less gentlemanly crewmates. Later the Master, Charts was walking past the pair when he smiled at Elisibet and asked “What’s yer name?” “Elisibet, sir” she replied. Holding out the bottle in his hand, Charts said, “Well, now! Whiskey, Liz?” She had a drink, exchanged glances with Splinter Mick and decided then and there to join the crew.
”Black Maggie” Malone
Gypsy and crew Good Luck Charm
Cutlass Kate Malone
Master Jeffrey “Charts” Archer
Navigator, Bloodwake
Madame “Keys” Rosmerta
Official “Cloak”, Mistress of the “Three Keyes” tavern and brothel.
Val “Leadball” Tyler
Gunner’s mate, Bloodwake
“Red Sam” Rackham
Carpenter’s Mate, Bloodwake
 Samuel Rackham’s father was a victualler who sold to the Royal Navy in Cork, Ireland. His father always dreamed his son would go to sea and earn a commission, but Sam was having too much fun getting into scrapes with his best friend, Michael O’Flynn. One fateful day, as has been recounted ‘afore this, Sam did end up going to sea, although not exactly how his father had intended…
Sally “Snips” Trounce
Barber/Surgeon, Serger
 Lt. Raleigh Trounce was a Barber-Surgeon in the Queen’s Navy. On a tour of duty, his ship was raided by the feared (but surprisingly friendly) mariners of the Bloodwake. In need of such services, they kidnapped the able surgeon, allowing him to bring a few trunks of medical equipment. Unknown to any, his daughter Sally had stowed away in one of those trunks and was not discovered until they were far at sea.She quickly became an asset to her father at the side of the wounded. She studied every move he made and longed to be like him. During a raid Lt. Trounce was fatally wounded running to the aid of a fallen crewman, and Sally took up his instruments and went quickly to work. By this time, she had become accustomed to a seafaring way of life. She accepted the Captain’s offer to remain aboard in her father’s place.
Cristoffels “Criss Cross” De LaCroix
Apothecary, Clergyman, Private Gentleman of Fortune
 Though no Muslim cleric, the man known by some as a prayer of beads aboard the Bloodwake did learn to read the Qur’an while also learning the craft of the apothecary as captive, slave, and servant among Mussulmen. Remaining Christian in his faith, he did not lose his familiarity with the Psalms and Gospels of the Bible. It’s this other association that had occasioned this nickname of the man known by others as “Criss Cross”. In part it’s the patronymic of the Fleming Cristoffels De LaCroix that helped to reinforce the use of the moniker “Criss Cross” by more than a few. Nor a Christian cleric, yet a man of prayer, even if too he has been known to enjoy worldly pleasures when such opportunities have been presented.
Criss Cross’ tale is extensive and interesting, and well worth a read. For the rest of this fascinating history, prod here: http://krucyfiks.wordpress.com/2008/12/20/aboard-ship/
Jacques “Jake Scalawag” van der Kruis
Able Pirate, Bloodwake
 The son of Sally Trounce and Cristoffels De LaCroix has been a scoundrel and a tyrant from the first. If Jake Scalawag wants to go to Tortuga, by God you go to Tortuga, or get treated to a squall that could blow an entire fleet off-course. A natural marine salvage specialist, he has an uncanny knack for spotting (and filching) shiny objects. He cut his teeth on the handle of his father’s boarding axe, and Barbarosa swears the young Scalawag is plotting to take his job…by force, if neccesary.
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