About Us

The Acasta Auxiliary  

We are... 

 ...a unit which allows for those of us who are unable (for whatever reason) to be included in the Acasta Crew. We are an auxiliary in the truest sense of the word: we provide supplementary support to the Acasta's interpretation in order to create a deeper context and more immersive world for them to inhabit.

Our Mission... 

 ...is to enrich the public's understanding of the sailor's world through research which is then interpreted through enjoyable educational programming for both the public and ourselves,  enacted in cooperation with our Sister Unit the HMS Acasta.

 We interpret... 

... tavern owners/workers, cousins, wives, sweethearts, old friends, retired sailors, travelling musicians, pugilists, bumboats, and more. Think of all of those who move through and in the sailor's world that are not sailor's themselves.

We include...

Women who do not (or prefer not to) realistically pass for gents. Those a bit too old to join the navy or with medical issues preventing them from sailing the high seas. Those who feel life at sea just isn't their cuppa. In any case, the Auxiliary includes folks that are high quality interpreters encompassing the ancillary facets of the sailor's world to give Acasta's crew a bit more context in which to develop the lives of sailors.

How we were formed...

When the Admiralty started the HMS Acasta their goal was clear: to portray Royal Navy Sailors. There wasn't much thought as to anything else in the interpretive sphere but that. This concise vision allowed the crew to focus on specific avenues of research and interpretation in hopes of maintaining the highest quality programs available. While this worked very well for the sailors and their officers, over time Acasta leadership realized that they were leaving out a rather large force of interpreters that fell outside of this acute frame of interpretation. To that end, the Auxiliary was formed in order to better serve and utilize the talents of those ladies (and gents) that want to contribute to the HMS Acasta but do not fall within the interpretive purview of the unit, itself.