Sao Feng, Disney's Pirates of the Caribbean: At World's End.
"I am Sao Feng."
"Sao Feng, Sao Feng. Nope, never heard of 'im."
"Never heard of me! I'm only the fiercest captain to ever sail the South China Sea!"
An interchange between Sao Feng and Jack Sparrow, Pirates of the Caribbean: At World's End.
"Sanson bit the gold doubloon, and passed it to Lazue. Lazue bit it then passed it to the Moor. Hunter watched the silent ritual, which all privateers believed brought them luck before a raid. Finally, the doubloon reached him, he bit it, feeling the softness of the metal. Then while they watched, he tossed the coin over his right shoulder." (Pirate Latitudes 181)
Pirate Latitudes, Michael Crichton
I am amazed how often Jack Sparrow is without a ship to command. In the opening scene in the Curse of the Black Pearl, Jack he is seen sailing up to a peer in a small boat as it is clearly sinking. Again in the end of At Worlds End you see Captain Jack Sparrow in command of another small sail boat sailing the ocean blue.
Here Jack is checking his compass that never seems to point north, however, it does seem to have some super-natural abilities and points to whatever Jack wants.
Perhaps when combined with the map fragment that Jack stole from Sao Feng he will come upon some priceless treasure. I will have to wait and see On Stranger Tides.
Screenshots from Pirates of the Caribbean At Wolds End, Disney Films
Pirates of the Caribbean: The Curse of the Black Pearl
"Better a voyage begin in blood than end in blood."
Pirate Latitudes, Michael Crichton, page 100.
Sao Feng, played by Chow Yun-Fat, is the leader of the squadron of Chinese pirates that the crew of the Black Pearl tried to enlist his help. Sao Feng would eventually betray his comrades to the British.
“We are like vapors dispersed by the wind; we are like waves of the sea roused up by a whirlwind; like broken bamboo-sticks on the sea, we are floating and sinking alternately without enjoying any rest.”
Chang Paou (pirate captain on the South China Sea)
Pirates of the South China Sea
Chinese Junk that the crew of the Black Pearl have on loan from Sao Feng. The crew takes the ship to "Worlds End" to try to rescue Jack Sparrow from Davy Jones Locker.
“Without darkness, there is not light; without virtue, there is no splendor.”
King Chung Ho
Pirates of the South China Sea
Images are from Pirates of the Caribbean-At Worlds End.
Bursting out from the sea, the Flying Dutchman would catch those opposed to the realm by surprise.
The Dutchman’s guns would be wheeled out and ready to fire with minutes after the ship broke the surface.
Although I didn’t catch a snapshot of the scene, the Flying Dutchman included a three barrel cannon that rotated after each shot.
I am sure that you have heard of the pirates Captain Kidd and Morgan, but there were many other notorious and blood thirsty pirates before and after the former who made a name for themselves.
Pirate |
Nationality |
Claim to Fame |
Pierre Francois |
French |
With 26 men, attacked the vice admiral, a ship armed with 8 guns, off the coast of South America. Although the ship was manned with threescore men, Pierre Francois captured the ship and would have would gotten away if only their main-mast had not went by the board. |
Bartholomew Portuguese |
Portuguese |
With a boat manned with thirty fellow adventures fell upon a Spanish ship off of Cape Corrientes which was manned with threescore and ten men (70) and took the ship only to lose it and recapture the same ship. |
Roch Brazliano |
Dutch |
Upon his very first adventure Roch captured a Spanish ship of fabulous value. |
Lewis Scott |
English |
With a large and powerful detachment of men sacked Campeche. |
Mansvelt |
Made a decent on Saint Catherine, sacked it and made it his base of operations. He made two unsuccessful attempts at attacking Granada and Cartagena. |
|
John Davis |
Jamaican |
With four-score of men he swooped down on the city of Nicaragua in the darkness of night and pillaged churches and homes, “without and respect or veneration”. With only a handful of men they carried away money and jewels to the value of fifty thousand pieces of eight, besides the dozen or so notable citizens, whom they held for ransom. |
Francois l’Olonoise |
French |
This is another installment of Odds and Ends. This is where I mention several links on various topics. In this case they are all related to a compass.
Jack Sparrow, the captain of the Black Pearl, compass never really seems to point at anything. “Although it appears to be useless (the needle never points north) Jack's compass has supernatural qualities thereby giving him a special edge.” The Disney Wiki gives us this information about Captain’s Jacks compass and more. His compass is one very singular compass, as it will point at whatever Jack wants.
A very fine replica of Captains Jacks compass made of paper can be downloaded from the Disney Experience site. The compass is a very fine looking model and measures High: 1.8, Wide: 3.5, and has a Depth of: 4.75".
Included in a set alternate rules (PDF) for the Pirates of Spanish Main game is a compass that can be printed, assembled, and used to monitor current wind speed and direction when working these factors into the game.
For those you might want to immerse themselves in pirate myths and lore before playing the likes of Pirates of the Spanish Main or some other Whizkids pirate variant, The Pirates of the Caribbean: Mischief and Danger that Threatens Kingdoms site offers pages on the history of piracy, pirate specifics (Piece of Eight, Doubloons and the Jolly Rodger), tools of the trade (A Pirate Arsenal-Weapons-Ships), and a reference section.
There is a wealth of information here on all sorts of pirate myths and lore. The site is definitely worth a visit or two and will get you in the mood for some pirate related mischief. Arrr!
The Pirates of the Caribbean Davy Jones Wiki gives the reader a thorough background of this legendary supernatural figure. Dave Jones is the ruler of the seven seas and the captain of the Flying Dutchman. Davy Jones appeared in the Pirates of the Caribbean’s Dead Man's Chest and At World's End. Whizkids makes mention of Davy Jones in their Pirates of Davy Jones Curse strategy game.
The Geography of the Pirates of Caribbean page lists and describes the major and minor locations mentioned in the Pirates of the Caribbean series. This page offers an interesting overview of the Islands and locations mentioned in the Pirates of the Caribbean series.
I was rummaging through a box of my un-built scale models and came across a copy of Revell’s Caribbean Pirate Ship. What caught my attention about the kit was its scale. Although I hadn’t purchased this kit because of its scale, the kit is modeled in 1/72 scale. 1/72 scale? That got me thinking. I wonder if there are any 1/72 pirate figures available to complete a scene.
Well there are, but before I mention where they can be found let me mention what I found out about the model. First of all Revell has its own product page, which includes a picture of a completed and painted model, and a downloadable instruction sheet.
In addition there is a YouTube video that introduces the view to the model and takes you through the process of building (through a time lapse video) and painting the model. I like Revell’s treatment of the model better. I will let the video do the introduction; the video will do a more thorough job than I can.
As far as 1/72 figures, although there seems to be couple options for pirate figures (Mars and Germania Figuren) there is only one set that meets my needs and are readily available, that is Germania Figuren’s , 72-8003, their Pirates of the Caribbean Set 3. There are six figures that are posed like they are doing something on deck. This set of figures has been reviewed by the Plastic Soldier Review. The only source for these figures that I could find was the Michigan Toy Company.
