HM Sloop OTTER welcomes interested recruits of good physical condition and legal age, as recreating the life of a sailor requires rowing, some marching, carrying several pounds of equipment, and sometimes even sleeping with no tent or shelter. Members are also expected to appear at events with no more than three days worth of facial hair, as sailors were expected to remain clean shaven. The OTTER crew is determined to recreate the life of the 18th century sailor as accurately as possible. Becoming a member of the OTTER crew begins by meeting with or talking on the phone to one of the officers. This is an opportunity for interested individuals and the unit to explain their expectations and answer any questions they may have. Applicant membership begins once an individual decides they would like to join the OTTER crew. Applicant members are then issued a unit "Sailor's Manual", which will provide all information needed to obtain the required clothing and equipment to participate in unit events. At this stage, applicant members are welcome to attend events under the guidance of a unit officer, provided “loaner” gear can be obtained. A member is not considered a “full” member until they have obtained the minimum acceptable “kit”, shown a proficiency in period musket drill, and have attended at least one unit event with their own “kit”. One year is considered a suitable time frame in which to accomplish this goal. What is the OTTER all about? First and foremost, the OTTER crew's main goal is to dispell the typical steretype of the "age of sail" sailor; pirate-like, swashbuckling "captain Jacks". If you are seeking to join a unit with this type of "pirate" persona in mind, we are not the group for you. The men of the various world navies, and particularly of the OTTER, were hard working, professional men, knowledgable of their craft, and far from the adventure-seaking "pirates" of the movies. We also recognize that in this modern age, it is nearly impossible to recreate the life of a sailor aboard ship. Admittedly, a vast majority of our events are on land. Where possible, we will attempt to describe life on the ship through living history events. However, to avoid appearing "silly" by attempting to portray sailors aboard ship while attending a "land" event, the crew of the OTTER has adopted as its main persona that of an armed landing party. HM Sloop OTTER is recreated by a group of dedicated living historians with a love of history who wish to represent the life and times of the common sailor as accurately as possible, following strict but easily attainable guidelines. The OTTER crew recreates the entire Revolutionary War scene for members of the public through armed landing party encampments, battlefield reenactments, reenactments on the water in period correct vessels, etc. The OTTER also has an alter ego. On occasion, members portray an armed landing party from Virginia State Navy, a collection of boats and ships assigned to protect the rivers and coastline of Virginia during the war. Where are you located or headquartered? Do you have meetings? The majority of the OTTER crew is located in the Tidewater and Northern Virginia area. For this reason, the OTTER does not have one set location as a “headquarters”. Besides an annual meeting, which is generally held in either January or February, most unit business is conducted at events or via mail, phone or email. What type of activities do you participate in? •        Living Histories: Typically held at National Parks or other historic sites, these events are designed primarily to educate the public through first and third-person interpretation. Often, these include narrated demonstrations, static displays, and camp tours depicting the day-to-day life of the common sailor. •        Battle Re-enactments: Attended by large crowds of spectators, these events attempt to recreate the events of specific battle.  In theory, the troops move to a choreographed script to depict historical events as accurately as the program and numbers of participants allow. •        Educational: "Professional development" for living history interpreters. These events are focused on educating us as interpreters, rather than the general public. They often take the form of workshops, "schools", firelock shoots, and authenticity contests. •        Immersion: These are non-public events held in areas that are as free of modern intrusion as possible and complete use of "first person" is expected.  Water-borne expeditions, picket posts, marches, encampments, and winter quarters are just a few examples of the types of scenarios these events encompass. How do I get outfitted? How much does it cost? ”Sailor’s” clothing and equipment were made by hand in the 18th century and were often issued to the sailor from the ship’s “slop” chest, meaning fit was not as much a focus as on a soldier. For those with some skill with a needle, or at least the willingness to try, patterns and material lists are available to make your own clothing and equipment. If not, the unit has members who are willing to contract to manufacture clothing items for new members. A comprehensive membership manual is provided upon joining listing sources of suppliers for all the clothing and equipment we use. It is important to stress that no one is expected to get all their "kits" together overnight, in fact, recruits are encouraged to pace themselves and acquire their clothing as time and resources provide. With the amount of "loaner" equipment available in the unit, there is no reason for recruits to feel rushed to get their kits together. A good kit takes a year or more to piece together, and it is something we all consistently tweak over the years. Costs vary, depending on how much you are able to do on your own and how much you pay someone else to do for you. All in all, recruits should expect to eventually spend about $1,000.00 within the first two years of joining getting everything they need. This is not inexpensive, but recognize that most of this cost is associated with the purchase of a $500 musket, and virtually all the expenses come only in the initial "start up". Who can join? Are there any age requirements? The OTTER crew welcomes all recruits in good physical condition who can subscribe to our standards of authenticity. To carry a musket a member must be 16 years of age. For reasons of safety, no one under 16 years of age is allowed on the field as a "combatant". On occasion, children of members in attendance at events will portray “ship's boys", young boys serving as part of the crew, whose responsibilitys included carrying powder from the ship’s magazine to the guns. Non-combatants, such as women and children, were expected to serve some logistical use to the army, such as contract services. If not, they were turned away. For this reason, those wishing to portray civilians need to develop a "persona", or a reason for being in a naval camp, such as that of a nurse, a seamstress, laundress, waggoneer/driver, surgeon or surgeon's mate, etc. Are there minimum participation requirements? Once full membership has been achieved, there are no requirements for attendance, though members are encouraged to attend all "maximum effort" events, that is, events that are of particular importance to the unit. Naturally, we would like all members to attend all events, but as this is a volunteer organization, this is not always possible. I have some previous living history experience and own assorted items already, can I use these with the OTTER? Because of our high standards of authenticity, such determinations must be made on a case by case basis.