Salty Sam’s Pirate Cruise is to set sail on Talk Like a Pirate Day, Saturday, Sept. 19 inviting boaters and landlubbers to Pirate Fest on Fort Myers Beach. -SALTY SAM’S / COURTESY PHOTO

Argh! Thomas Lockyear has told all the great pirate stories.

Well, not quite all of them. He’s setting out to tell more ahead of International Talk Like a Pirate Day—a day where, at Fort Myers Beach, pirates plan to plunder the seas together and invite landlubbers to join them. First, Lockyear’s event in Collier County is Thursday, Sept. 17 at the Msuem of the Everglades. Then, Pirate Fest is Saturday, Sept. 19, which is International Talk Like a Pirate Day. Festivities continue before and after both events as plunderin’ seas is the code for pirates of the Floridians.

Scuttled tales and maritime lore at Museum of the Everglades

Museum of the Everglades Director Thomas Lockyear worked in the Florida Keys at a pirate museum for years before joining the museum in Everglades City in 2016. -COURTESY PHOTO

The Museum of the Everglades manager, Lockyear, began his double-decade career at the Pirate Soul Museum in Key West and has since been in Collier County at the Museum for 10 years—since December 2016.

Lockyear takes listeners through stories of rough and shining seas, bringing to life these damp, salty characters who once rode the waters fearlessly.

Or, as he describes, the “coastal cutthroats and seafaring scoundrels, who may or may not have actually made the Sunshine State the scene of their criminal enterprises.”

Nearly as entertaining as the true history are the tales of tales—the stories inspired by the nonfiction and the creative minds.

“While there are many fabricated tales of lost galleons and buried treasure in the Everglades and beyond,” Lockyear describes, there is some fact as well.

His event, scheduled just ahead of Talk Like a Pirate Day, “navigates through those murky waters to those firmly anchored in historical fact,” he says.

Talk Like a Pirate Day is an international holiday celebrated on Saturday, Sept. 19.

Lockyear’s lecture, “Florida Pirates: Fact & Fiction,” is scheduled 2 p.m. to 3 p.m., Thursday, Sept. 17. It’s a free event.

“Scheduled two days before International Talk Like a Pirate Day, those who attend will leave with both an expanded piratical vocabulary and knowing what famous pirates truly plied their trade in Florida waters,” Lockyear says.

All who attend will leave with much more to say about the day than, argh!

From lecture to lapping seas

If a lecture whets yer appetite or primes yer belly for the plunder, consider a pirate themed tour or as ye ol pirate might say, prepare to board a scallywag sail with a Southwest Florida swashbuckler.

Unfortunately, Pirates of Marco Island offering cruises on the Black Pearl Pirate Ship from Rose Marina aren’t open again until December.

In the meantime, adventurous pirate voyages for children, for adults only and for all ages together, set sail daily from Fort Myers Beach. Here, the history and recent tales may be much more comedic than reliable.

Daily pirate voyages

Eye patches, pirate hats and booty bag souvenirs are among the loot from a Salty Sam’s Pirate Cruise on Fort Myers Beach.

Sail the Magic Wind for a Pirate Sunset with Salty Sam’s in Fort Myers to celebrate Talk Like a Pirate Day, Saturday, Sept. 19, or just about any day. -COURTESY PHOTO

Daily trips are scheduled partially based on age groups, including all ages scheduled daily at 11 a.m. and the adult pirates set sail at 6:30 p.m. on Fridays this September. There are also Sunset Cruises on most nights in September between 6:15 p.m. and 6:45 p.m. Costs are about $30 to $40 each, with options. View the full schedule and book on floridapiratecruise.com.

There, you may also meet some of the most famous pirates—and the most elusive—from Captain Sparrow to Misty Seamore, the latter of whom, according to legends and lore, was born in 1707.

These pirates of the Floridians have described her as “the only known pirate to make it out of the feared Bermuda triangle. She learned the ways of the dolphin and rode on their backs to escape. She came across the Pieces of Eight pirate ship on Fort Myers Beach and enjoyed the adventures so much she decided to make it her new home.”

Pirate Fest

In addition to daily pirate cruises, Salty Sam’s Marina hosts Pirate Fest, 11 a.m. to 5 p.m., Saturday, Sept. 19. People are welcome to join by car or by boat.

The marina will transform into a pirate playground for the day, with activities planned fit for families, boaters, locals and visitors.

Guests are encouraged to come dressed as their favorite pirate and join in a full day of swashbuckling fun, including pirate games, treasure hunts, live music, craft vendors, special pirate-themed food and drinks, and plenty of opportunities to interact with the Salty Sam’s pirate crew.

One of the highlights of the festival will be the Salty Sam’s pirate ship itself. The ship will be brought in close to the heart of the festivities and opened for guests to come aboard, explore, play pirate games and enjoy some grog and Pirate’s Punch.

Local boaters are invited to arrive by water and take part in a Pirate Dock Party at Salty Sam’s Marina. Boaters are encouraged to decorate their vessels, dress up their crews and join the festivities from the docks.

Ruby Red trains a swab aboard Salty Sam’s ahead of Pirate Fest, Saturday, Sept. 19. -COURTESY PHOTO

Pick Pocket Pete plunders the ships of Fort Myers Beach ahead of Pirate Fest, held Saturday, Sept. 19. -SALTY SAM’S / COURTESY PHOTO

Ruby Red and a lassie aboard a Salty Sam’s pirate ship in Fort Myers Beach. -COURTESY PHOTO

Prizes will be awarded to the best-decorated pirate boats, making the marina itself part of the show.

Even better, docking for Pirate Fest is free, making it easy for local boaters to pull in, join the party and spend the day enjoying the festivities.

“Arrrr, we pirates love the salty breezes and the adventure of finding treasure,” exclaimed Salty Sam’s Chief Crier of Plunder Ryan VanDenabeele to Florida Weekly. “But not all treasure is silver and gold mate. Some comes in the form of memories, laughter and the smiles we see on all the little guest pirates that come aboard the Pieces of Eight. We love seeing families having fun on the beautiful waters of Fort Myers Beach. Little crew might start off shy, but by the end they will be sword fighting us pirates for the treasure we found.”

Pirates and Gator Country

Mel & Scott from Gator Country will also be part of the Pirate Fest celebration and will be giving away tickets to the Mel & Scott Sunset Cruise taking place later that evening.

Marie and Maddie drillin the guppies with their dirks aboard Salty Sam’s pirate ship in Fort Myers. -COURTESY PHOTO

Whether arriving by boat or by car, attendees can spend the afternoon exploring the marina, boarding the pirate ship, enjoying food and drinks, listening to live music and celebrating Talk Like a Pirate Day with the Salty Sam’s pirate crew.

Both waterfront restaurants at Salty Sam’s Marina will also get into the spirit. Parrot Key Caribbean Grill and Marina Cantina Tin Tiki will feature special Pirate Fest menus and drinks throughout the day, giving festivalgoers plenty of ways to continue the celebration along the waterfront.

In The KNOW:

Lecture: Florida Pirates: Fact & Fiction
Where: Museum of the Everglades
Address: 105 Broadway Ave W, Everglades City
When: 2 p.m. to 3 p.m., Thursday, Sept. 17
Cost: Free
Museum hours: 9 a.m. to 4 p.m., Tuesday through Saturday, closed Monday, Sunday and national holidays.
Museum of the Everglades phone: 239-252-5026
Collier Museums phone: 239-252-8476
Email: museums@collier.gov
Socials: Fb.com/colliermuseums and IG.com/colliermuseums

Take to the Gulf seas for a pirate cruise

Pirate Fest

The Place: Salty Sam’s
The day: Saturday, Sept. 19, International Talk Like a Pirate Day
When: 11 a.m. to 5 p.m. with evening cruise to follow
Where: Salty Sam’s Marina
Address: 2500 Main St., Fort Myers Beach
Cost: Free by land or sea
Includes: Boat decorating contest, tour of the Salty Sam’s ship and other festivities

Pirate phrases

Prepare for the event learning some pirate warmup phrases such as:

Ahoy! – Hello
Argh! – The famous exclamation to express frustration, annoyance or emphasis. Sometimes spelled arrr!
Avast! – Stop and pay attention
Landlubber – Someone who does not know how to sail
Matey or Me Hearties – Friend or companion
Scuttlebutt: Like juicy office gossip or rumors; it originally referred to a cask of drinking water where sailors gathered to chat, much like the more modern water cooler.
Shiver me timbers! – An expression of surprise