Please read the overview and all the descriptions of the suspects before the party. Sometimes we hide clues in these descriptions.

Overview

It’s Columbus’s third voyage. He’d already sailed the ocean blue and discovered America (although he still thinks he went to part of Asia) and he was being brought back to Spain for investigation when pirates overtook the ship he was on.

The rest of the crew was set off in rowboats for the nearby coast of Spain. Most thought Columbus was with them, but he has just been discovered missing. Your job is to work out which pirate kidnapped him and kept him on board and why they did this or why Columbus pretended to be kidnapped.

Suspect descriptions

The pirate suspects present at the party are:

Christopher Columbus

I am an explorer, colonizer and navigator. The King and Queen of Spain funded my voyages and established me as governor of Hispaniola. But the colonists had complained about my rule, and they had sent an investigator to bring me back and now pirates have kidnapped me. Dress suggestions: Wear an auburn or blonde wig, a cap and old fashioned clothes. Carry a compass. Add some of the kidnapper’s ropes and also carry the blindfold that had been used on you.

Captain Blood

I was orphaned as a child and thus had to learn how to fend for myself. When I’m not pirating, I’m usually stealing or robbing people. Because of the cold exterior I’ve had to build over the years, I’ve earned my nickname. Dress suggestions: Wear traditional pirate gear and don a plastic sword. Maybe smear tomato sauce on your clothes. Add a fake tattoo.

Quartermaster Jack

I am from Britain and I have spent my whole life on various pirate ships. Although I am a thief, I am a kind one and I try to divvy up the bounty as fairly as I can. I am also the one that assigns all the work. I’m the captain’s right-hand man. Dress suggestions: Wear a patch over one eye and other traditional pirate gear and talk in a British accent, if possible. Carry gold coins or other plunder. Add a fake tattoo.

Pugwash (F)

I got this nickname because I am a scaredy-cat. I jump at the dark, when I think I’ve seen a mouse, etc. Because I am so afraid, I do not wear a patch over my eye as other pirates do. I’m the boatswain, the one who orders all the supplies and I inspect rigging every morning. People don’t know that I am actually a female (I snuck on board a year ago). Dress suggestions: Wear pirate gear and carry a magnifying glass to see any bugs or mice. Carry a fly squatter.

Powder Monkey (F)

It’s my job to bring up the gunpowder from below deck when the cannon crews need it. I do this and other roustabout chores. Sometimes I also help swab the deck. People don’t know that I am female. Pugwash and I are sisters and we snuck on board together a year ago. Dress suggestions: Wear loose clothes so you can move easily. Act like the youngest on board. Don a pirate hat as well. Bring a mop.

Clegg (F)

I am very good at mathematics. I’m in charge of all the maps and help navigate our course across the oceans. I also impress people with my large vocabulary. However, although I am good at mental calculations, I am not very good at practical things that involve my hands. I am a female, but no one knows this. Dress suggestions: Wear pirate gear and eyeglasses. Carry an old map and a compass.

Surgeon Grinandbearit

I was originally kidnapped but I have settled into the pirate lifestyle. Sometimes I have to amputate which is how I got my nickname. Dress suggestions: Wear clothes that are a bit more stylish than most pirates. Carry a thermometer or a bandage.

Minstrel Mike (F)

I’m the musician on board so everyone loves me. I try to keep everyone’s spirits up during the seemingly endless days on board. Sometimes I also dance around a bit while I play – after all we all like to party and that’s why we became pirates. No one knows I am a female. Dress suggestions: Wear pirate gear & carry an instrument & old English folk tunes.

Cordon Cornbeef

I’m the cook. Sometimes rations run very low so I have to make a little stretch a long way. It isn’t easy. But when we’ve got new supplies from boats we’ve plundered I get to make it a bit more fancy. Dress suggestions: Traditional pirate get-up. Add an apron but make it a messy looking one. Make yourself look plump.

Jose (F)

I’m Spanish. I’m new to being a pirate, so “new to the ropes” as they say. It’s more fun than growing corn and I really love learning all there is to learn about sailing and I love being at sea. No one knows I am a female. Dress suggestions: Wear pirate gear but make it a bit more colorful.

Optional witness descriptions

Hammer Harry – I’m the carpenter on board. It’s my job to repair damage to the masts, yards, hatches, and hull, and to keep the ship’s leaky seams in check with wooden plugs and oakum fibers. People respect what I do because no one wants to swim home. Dress suggestions: Wear the usual pirate get up, but also carry a hammer and some wooden plugs and/or nails or other carpenter tools. Add a fake tattoo.

Ned The Needler (F) – I’m the sail maker. I also repair the hammocks when they get busted. So I’m good with a needle and thread, but I am in no way a sissy if that’s what you’re thinking. I’m as tough as the rest of them. (But really I am a female, but don’t tell anyone please). Dress suggestions: Wear simple pirate clothes and carry a tiny sailing ship or some fabric, thread and needles.

Clyde Cannonball  – I’m the gunner. I’m in charge of the canons and other artillery on board. The recoil on some of these can kill you, so it takes a bit of skill to manage them correctly and not to let them overheat. Dress suggestions:  Pirate uniform and carry a black fake cannonball. Add a fake tattoo.

Sammy (F) – I’m the cabin boy. I take care of the needs of the captain and bring him his water and meals and so on. I’m pretty low on the hierarchy, which doesn’t make it easy. I get ribbed a lot. I am actually a female, but no one knows this (I’m the daughter of the captain – he decided to stowe me on board after my mother died). Dress suggestions: Wear simple pirate clothes and carry a bottle of water (not a plastic bottle – a glass one).

Eagle Eyes – I’m the rigger so I have the most dangerous job on board, as I’m the one that goes up on the higher decks. I’m also the one with the best eyesight so I can spot things on the horizon. Dress suggestions: Wear simple pirate clothes and carry a telescope, which you can use to spot land and ships ahoy.

Siren (F) – I’m a mermaid. I just happened to be nearby at the time all of this happened. My beauty and my enchanting songs lure sailors to their deaths. Dress suggestions: Wear a swimsuit and shiny fish-like tail.

Barry The Barrelmaker – I’m a cooper – a barrel maker. A lot of important things on board like the gunpowder and the food gets stored in barrels, but because they are always getting tossed about as we roll about on the ocean, they need constant upkeep. Dress suggestions: Wear simple pirate clothes and carry a tool or two.

Sadie The Goat (F) – I got my nickname because I like to headbut my victims before taking their money. I spend my time cleaning the barnacles off the side of the ship. I’m actually a female, but no one knows this. Dress suggestions: Wear simple pirate clothes and carry a small tool and a bucket in which to put your barnacles.

Francois – I’m French. I hate the Spanish because of a raid they made on my hometown in which they almost killed me. So I have dedicated myself to bringing terror to Spanish ships. If I had gone aboard the Columbus’ ship, I would have killed him not kidnapped him. Dress suggestions: Wear pirate clothes, a French beret and carry a French flag.

Pinyin (F) – I’m Chinese. I am actually a woman, but because I don’t speak much English and I keep to myself, no one has ever found this out. Dress suggestions: Wear pirate clothes and/or Asian clothes and an Asian style straw hat.

Hammocky – I like sleeping, hence my nickname. I was asleep at the time of the raid, so that’s why I didn’t take part in it. Dress suggestions: Wear pirate clothes and/or pajamas. If you want, bring your hammock with you and spend a lot of time laying in it.

Rusila (F) – I’m Norwegian. I am a woman, but because I don’t speak much English and I keep to myself, no one has ever found this out. I am actually of Royal blood and someday I will go back and depose my brother, become Queen and rein supreme. Dress suggestions: Wear pirate clothes and add a Viking-styled horned hat.

Hornigold – I was Blackbeard’s mentor. I started out with just a few canoes and then ended up with a 30-gun warship. I have all the money I could ever want, so now I like doing raids just for the fun of it. For example, one time I just stole their hats – that’s all. Dress suggestions: Wear pirate clothes and carry a few extra hats that you still have from your previous fun raid.

Stikla (F) – I’m Norwegian. I am actually a woman, but because I don’t speak much English and I keep to myself, no one has ever found this out. I became a pirate to avoid having to marry a man I didn’t love. Dress suggestions: Wear pirate clothes and add a Viking-styled metal hat.

Legless – I still haven’t gotten my sea legs – that’s why they call me “legless”. I still feel seasick from time to time. Dress suggestions: Wear pirate clothes and carry a paper sick bag. Sway from side to side a lot.

Jeanne-Louise (F) – I’m a French woman, but no one knows that I’m female. I became a pirate to avenge the death of my husband. That’s why I only attack French vessels. Dress suggestions: Wear pirate clothes, a French beret and carry a French flag.

Decatus – I’m actually a naval officer and I am here undercover as part of a raid on the pirates. But the time isn’t right yet for the raid. Dress suggestions: Wear pirate clothes and carry a telescope with which to spy with.

Gracie (F) – I’m Irish. Someday I hope to become “The Sea Queen of Connaught”, but for now I am pretending to be a man and learning all I can about being a pirate. Dress suggestions: Wear green pirate clothes, and carry an Irish flag and a four-leafed clover for good luck.

Duffy – I’m good at selling the goods we steal when we get back to land. I’m good at getting a good price for it, so often the others get me to sell their stuff as well. Dress suggestions: Wear pirate clothes and carry a duffle bag full of things you’ve stolen like candlestick holders and so on.

Sayyida (F) – I’m Moroccan. Someday I hope to control the whole of the Western Mediterranean, but for now I am pretending to be a man and learning the ropes. Dress suggestions: Wear pirate clothes with Moroccan touches, and carry a Moroccan flag. Wear a fez hat.