Pirate Plunder is an independent title published thrice a year in May, August and November for The Pirate Brethren of the British Isles. It aims to encourage the fundraising activities of pirate crews by promoting pirate festivals and other events where charitable pirates are to be found.
The first festivals of 2026 have already taken place, but there are many still to be squared away by their hard-working organisers, when pirates, smugglers and shanty singers can enjoy themselves, bring a gleam to the eyes of hard-pressed landlords and raise funds for recognised charities and other worthy causes.
As a point of interest, the expression ‘squared away’ meaning to complete all the necessary arrangements comes from the days of sail when seafarers would ‘square away’ the horizontal sails, adjusting and securing them at a perfect 90-degree angle to catch the wind. When everything was perfectly aligned and neat, the ship was considered ‘squared away’, but I digress.
Festivals such as Brixham, Harry Paye Day in Poole and the Harwich International Shanty Festival are well-established in the pirate calendar, but inland festivals that lack a tang of the sea such as Matlock Bath Pirate Mutiny, which has taken a year off in 2026, and new events might want to consider what is their Unique Selling Point (USP). This could be locality, history, tradition or, like Hastings, the chance to visit a range of good ale houses!
Scuttlebutt
News and rumours from the Pirate Brotherhood of the Seven Seas.
Captain’s journal
The voodoo woman’s insistence that the Captain was doomed without God on his side led him to seek advice from his bosun Chalky, but was alarmed when told he had to confess his sins and ask forgiveness.
Festival focus
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Phoenix to star in
‘Pirates on the Quay’ 14
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Classic Sailing’s 112 ft long ‘Phoenix’, well-known for her rolesin films and TV series such as Poldark, will be in the limelight at the Burnham-on-Crouch Pirate Festival during the August Bank Holiday.
Shantyman
10
The county of Devon hosted two of the UK’s best-loved pirate events in May. The first was, of course, Brixham Pirate Festival from 2-4 May. The BPF began in 2002, when members of the local community came together with the simple idea of creating an event to liven up one of the quietest bank holidays of the year. What started as a small, good-natured gathering of pirate enthusiasts quickly captured the imagination of residents and visitors alike. Over the following years – with pauses, revivals and the dedication of different volunteer groups – the festival steadily grew in scale and ambition. The second was the annual Pirates Weekend organised by Plymouth Waterfront Partnership from 9-10 May. This family-friendly festival in Plymouth offered visitors a wide variety of swashbuckling entertainment.
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Some amazing acts have been booked for this year’s Harwich International Shanty Festival, including the renowned Johnson Girls, an acappella song group from the USA, singing maritime songs from a variety of cultures. The organisers are so pleased they are finally coming after booking them for the 2020 festival, which was cancelled due to Covid-19.
Trading post
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Weapons, clothing, boots, hats, eye patches, earrings, tankardsfor grog and all manner of gear for pirates.
How to become a pirate
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List of active pirate crews from the coast of South Devon up to the shores of the Forth and Clyde.
Where to see pirate action
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Calendar of festivals or re-enactment events either organised by pirates or likely to be subject to a pirate attack.
Front Cover. Main image: Seen emerging from the morning mist, the ‘Nao Santa Maria’ enters Brixham Harbour (picture courtesy of Chris Slack Photography). Inset: An unarmed, but gloriously colourful pair of buccaneers in Brixham (picture courtesy of Philip Nelson).
Two smuggler gangs from Kent
There are two new additions to the list of pirate crews and smuggler gangs on pages 24-25 – Cinque Port Smugglers and the Seasalter Company of Smugglers.
Cinque Ports
Smugglers is a living history group dedicated to authentically portraying 18th century smuggling on the Kent coast. Known as the owling trade, heavilyarmed ‘free traders brought in luxury goods such as brandy, tobacco and silk from the Continent, thus evading the heavy duties on these items imposed by the Government!
Through researchbased interpretation, demonstrations and talks, the group shares the real social, economic and human aspects of smuggling, supports heritage sites and introduces visitors to hidden local histories.
The Seasalter Company of Smugglers carries out research on one of the most secretive organisations ever created in Kent. It was concerned with smuggling, but unlike many ‘gangs’ this one was diff erent. It succeeded because of its ability to remain undetected for over 110 years. Whilst other groups like the Hawkhurst Gang became powerful, brutal and notorious, the Seasalter Smuggling Company was a fraternity of silence. It was also very discrete and during its whole history, only one of its members risked visibility and exposure of the Company. The organisation and many members of its families built parallel lives in society, avoiding suspicion and exposure, winning respect and commanding positions of infl uence that ensured the future success of the enterprise.
Centennial celebration for Pirates of Poole
Probably the oldest pirate group in the UK, the Pirates of Poole were founded in 1926 and are thus celebrating 100 years of collecting for charities in the town. They set out with two main ambitions: to recognise and preserve in living memory the important maritime history of Poole, especially its infamous pirate Harry Paye; and raise money for local charities whilst having a merry old time along the way! Each year, they select several worthy causes,
but don’t take a penny for themselves. Collections are taken at various events throughout the year, particularly during the group’s main event, Harry Paye Day, which is taking place on 20 June.
This year, Harry Paye Day will feature a pirate parade, fairground rides, the Wimbourne Militia’s cannons, stocks for punishing pirates, a variety of stalls, a children’s fancy dress competition and a treasure hunt.
Smugglers signal to a boat waiting off shore.
Militia guard pirates in the stocks.
Conwy at two venues
This year, the Conwy Pirate Festival will be taking place at two venues from 1314 June. These are The Quay and Neuadd Ni (Hall for All), the town’s community hub. Games, market stalls and entertainment will be spread between the venues, so please make sure you visit both!
The renowned festival is organised by Conwy Pirates CIC and has become an annual celebration of the town’s historical and maritime legacy. A family event, it attracts re-enactors and enthusiastic supporters of the pirate lifestyle from around the world, and grows in popularity each year.
The event revolves around a legendary pirate battle when the pirates enter the harbour aboard
their ship ‘Vilma’ with cannons blazing. In turn, they meet a vigorous defence from the guns of the medieval castle and militia on the quayside and town walls. There are a variety of piratethemed games to entertain kids of all ages. Completion of these entitles those taking part to be issued with Letters of Marque
– certificates attesting to their competency in piracy!
Visitors will be able to browse stalls in the Smugglers’ Market selling a wide range of piratical goods, while the sound of music and shanty singing is never far away as bands and shanty groups perform on stage and along The Quay.
The flag known as the ‘Jolly Roger’ was flown by a pirate ship usually before or during an attack during the early 18th century (the latter part of the Golden Age of Piracy). Most showed a human skull surmounting crossed bones on a black background. It was sometimes called the Death’s Head Flag or
It’s a fact
just the Black Flag and was said to mean that if no resistance was offered, those aboard would be spared.
Richard Hawkins, who was captured by pirates in 1724, reported that they had a black flag bearing the figure of a skeleton stabbing a heart with a spear, which they named ’Jolly Roger’.
There is an undocumented theory that the term is derived from a flag flown by French privateers called ‘Jolie Rouge’, which translates as ‘Pretty Red’. The colour of blood warned their prey that no quarter would be given in a fight.
Other explanations are that it stems from the English term ‘Roger’ for a wandering
vagabond or even an old English word for the Devil. This idea has some credence as an image of the Devil was seen on many pirate flags, but the true origins of the term are now lost in history,
‘Johnny Roger’ was also a nickname for Woodes Rogers, the former privateer, who became Governor of New Providence charged with ending piracy in The Bahamas.
The Pirate Guys
John (Ol’ Chumbucket) Baur
Mark (Cap’n Slappy) Summers
Dymchurch’s 60 years of Syn
In 1964, the Parochial Church Council of St Peters and St Paul urgently needed funds to pay for the renewal of the church roof in Dymchurch and to raise money it decided to organise a pageant and fete for the local village. Russell Thorndike, a British actor and novelist best known for the Dr Syn of Romney Marsh novels, permitted the church to use the title ‘Day of Syn’ for the new event. The idea was that the pageant would bring people into the village and the fete would enable local charities to have stalls and sideshows, allowing them to raise funds for their organisations.
This year, the Day of Syn takes place from 24-26 August and is
now a bi-annual event based in the village near Hythe in Kent. Over the years, it has grown from being just one day to a three-day event, including bank holiday Monday.
The weekend begins on Friday evening, with a lantern parade along the sea wall and free fireworks.
Saturday and Sunday is filled with musket and cannon battles, live music, historic tours and the opportunity to meet the Syn Characters. Monday
offers free entertainment around the village, more music, smugglers and plenty of sea shanties!
Smugglers ply their trade on Dymchurch beach.
Captain’s journal 17 th April, 1674
It was with a sense of renewed purpose that Davy and I returned to Lady Mondegreen’s Wrath. This was the first time since planning our illfated infiltration of the Governor’s mansion that I felt we might be on the path to resolving our supernatural woes. The maze and the key are a problem to be prepared for and solved when we make port. It’s the more intangible, or should I say spiritual, preparations that concern me. The voodoo woman’s insistence that I was doomed without God on my side could prove vexatious; a lifetime of increasingly drunken pirating has led over the years to some morally questionable behaviour, including a few instances of importuning on the church herself. I now find myself in the
Chalky enjoys a swig of decent rum in the Captain’s cabin. awkward position of metaphorically approaching someone I’ve just assaulted and robbed to ask for directions.
Fortunately, there is at least one man on the crew who sincerely keeps to his faith and is never seen without his cross – my bosun Chalky. Of course, we all swear our oaths and articles on the admittedly rather battered old Bible I inherited with the ship; we avoid setting sail on Fridays and Jacob, our resident superstitionist, is known for leaving a trail of offerings at chapels everywhere we dock. However, Chalky is the only one who sincerely follows his faith, rather than using it as a form of spiritual insurance.
friends with God. He blinked and leaned back.
“Confession Cap’n, you must be shriven. Confess your sins and ask forgiveness”.
“My sins? What, all of them?!”
“Yes sor.”
There followed a fairly long, illuminating (for me) and frustrating (for Chalky) interrogation along the lines of – Is that a sin? What about that? Really? Even if I ask first? Oh, come on, everyone does that! But I was really itchy!
since my last confession: General intemperance, piracy and naughtiness.
Heckling a funeral.
Abuse of the church in the form of theft, impersonation and setting up a fake charity to swindle the unsuspecting Headbutting a dog that surprised me.
Advice from witches. Periodically swapping out Jacobs boots for identical, but different sized ones to make him believe his feet are expanding and contracting
My bosun having been summoned to my cabin and the customary swig of decent rum offered and gratefully accepted, I related our encounter and announced an urgent need to make
Part of the problem here is that I’ve been blind drunk for large portions of my career and can’t remember a lot of what I allegedly may or may not have done. When I visit the priest, I’ll be relying mainly on hearsay. Apparently though I get points for trying, so between myself and the crew, and with Chalky’s guidance on what is and isn’t a sin, I’ve started putting together a list of everything I’ve done
Most if not all interactions I have with women (apparently).
Starting bar fights then hiding until they’re over I’m sure there are more, but I’ll have time to think on the next stage of my travels. If I’m to confess, it’ll be to the man who took Matthew’s last confession, Reverend William Garner.
Festival focus
BPF celebrates steady growth
In the year that the Brixham Pirate Festival (BPF) celebrates a quarter century of steady growth, it’s worthwhile turning back the pages of history to find out how it all began. The BPF
began in 2002, when members of the local community came together with the simple idea of creating an event to liven up one of the quietest bank holidays of the year. What started as a small, good-natured gathering
of pirate enthusiasts quickly captured the imagination of residents and visitors alike. Over the following years – with pauses, revivals and the dedication of different volunteer groups – the festival steadily grew in scale and ambition.
By the 2010s, it had evolved into one of the largest and most colourful pirate-themed events in the UK, drawing thousands of visitors to the harbour. Live music, re-enactment crews, tall-ship displays, cannon fire,
The rain on Saturday didn’t prevent demonstrations of fi repower. Below and right: faces at the festival.
craft stalls and an evergrowing tide of costumed pirates transformed the waterfront into a vibrant celebration of seafaring folklore.
Rooted in Brixham’s genuine maritime history – from privateering and smuggling to coastal defence – the festival offers more than spectacle; it reflects the town’s heritage and community spirit. Today, the Brixham Pirate Festival is a flagship, community-run celebration that boosts the local economy, attracts national attention and keeps alive the stories, legends and maritime traditions that define Brixham.
Although some people claim that “Brixham never had any real pirates,” the truth is far more exciting. Brixham and the wider Torbay coast were home to privateers, raiders and a thriving network of smugglers who were, in many ways, pirates of the land. Operating at the same time as the Channel’s most notorious sea rovers, these men lived by daring, danger and defiance – running contraband under cover of night, outwitting Revenue cutters and turning hidden coves into makeshift havens. Figures like the formidable privateer John Hawley, the legendary Resurrection Bob and local smugglers
such as Thomas Perkinson remind us that Brixham’s maritime past is rich with bold characters and dramatic events. More information about the lives of these characters can be found on the
Festival
BPF website: www. brixhampiratesfestival. com
Philip Nelson, who took the ‘inset’ picture on the front cover, said: “Not many photos taken by me this year, but glad to meet up with old
friends.
“Nice to see so many travellers coming to the festival; it is loved worldwide and despite the rainy weather on Saturday this year, it’s still the best Pirate Festival!”
Festival focus
Organised by Plymouth Waterfront Partnership, the annual Pirates Weekend was held in what is named Britain’s Ocean City from 9-10 May, when visitors were able to enjoy a treasure trove of pirate-themed
activities across the bustling waterfront and at several other locations such as Southside Street, Quay Square on Sutton Harbour, The Parade, Royal William Yard, Commercial Wharf and West Pier.
This family-friendly festival in Plymouth
Captain Jack was put in charge of the Pirates Raft Race – what could possibly go wrong?
Pirates Weekend
offered a wide variety of swashbuckling entertainment, including a band of 18th century marines, who opened the festival, Jonty Depp as Captain Jack, a pirate parade, shanty performances, Captain Grimbeard and his trusty crew, pirate stilt walkers, Mayhem Border Morris, interactive pirate puppets, musket firing, the Yo Ho Ho Pirate Puppet Show, a treasure hunt and live music all weekend.
Two well-known ships were also in harbour. The replica of the ‘Nao Santa Maria’, one of the most famous ships in history, had sailed
round from Brixham after appearing at the town’s own pirate festival and the ‘Johanna Lucretia’ had made a welcome return to this
The Crazy Captain of the Seven Seas
High-energy, immersive entertainment for adults and children alike: Pirate Festivals, Community/Council-run Events, School Visits, Weddings and Private Parties. Known as ‘The Living Sea Dog of Kent’, the Crazy Captain has performed in the UK pirate community for over 10 years, is enhanced DBS checked and fully insured.
Meet a real-life pirate at the Crazy Captain Pirate Show, hear about the Golden Age of Piracy and have fun learning about pirate history, play themed games or watch a Voodoo Magic Show. There is also sword fight training for children, safe pistol shooting, crazy party dances and more madness. Book him for your next event. Visit the website for more details and the full range of entertainment on offer.
Master of Disguise Entertainment www.masterofdisguiseentertainment.co.uk E-mail: strange-ashley@hotmail.com Tel: 07956 111273
The topsail schooner ‘Johanna Harbour (picture courtesy of The
Festival focus Weekend in Plymouth
year’s Pirate Weekend. The ship, which was free to explore and much enjoyed by young buccaneers, is the only UK-flagged topsail
schooner in sail training. A new feature to close the festival this year was a spectacular Pirates Raft Race around the waters of Commercial Wharf.
Well-armed pirates were on watch for trouble from landlubbers unused to strong rum!
Lucretia’ was moored alongside the quay in Sutton The Island Trust).
Festival Focus
Phoenix to star in ‘Pirates on the Quay’
The Burnham-onCrouch Pirate Festival, now known as ‘Pirates on the Quay’, is about having fun, but also us supporting the wider community, particularly in sustaining the area’s maritime history. The Cambria and Wyvenhoe spritsail sailing barges have moored off the Royal Burnham YC pontoon the last two years and will be there again from 29-31 August, this year.
Both vessels need financial support to keep afloat and an accord has been reached between the Festival and The Blackwater Pirates to help these wonderful vessels raise as many doubloons as possible.
Joining them this year is Classic Sailing’s 112 ft long ‘Phoenix’, a large square-rigged sailing ship. She was built to carry cargo by Hjorne and Jakobsen in Frederikshavn, Denmark, in 1929, but instead of following traditional trade routes, the ship served for 20 years as an evangelical missionary schooner before being refitted to carry freight.
After a change of ownership, she was adapted once again, this time to serve as a film star sailing under the direction of Ridley Scott in the film ‘1492: Conquest of Paradise’, in which she played a 15th century caravel called the ‘Santa Maria’.
Five years later, she was
Women pirates arrested in Florida
Customers in a Florida mall were assailed by a woman dressed as a pirate paddling around the centre’s ornamental fountain in a kayak and barking orders at confused shoppers (see mugshots). Initially, the mall’s security team hesitated to interfere, perhaps unsure whether she was mentally ill, an unpaid performance artist or auditioning for the next Pirates of the Caribbean film, The
Orlando Police Department eventually intervened ending what was a short if not memorable voyage.
converted into a two-masted brig and her screen career began in earnest winning roles in films and TV series such as ‘Moll Flanders’, ‘Frenchman’s Creek’, ‘The Scarlet Pimpernel’ and ‘Chronicles of Narnia: Voyage of the Dawn Treader’. The ship was also featured in all seasons of ‘Poldark’.
Another recent incident in Florida concerned a woman weaving in and out of traffic on a local highway, having hijacked a shopping trolley and was using a shower curtain as a sail. Florida is, of course, the US state closest to the Caribbean, so that might explain such outbreaks of piratical behaviour!
Harwich Shanty Festival plans to excite
Plans are well under way for this year’s Harwich International Shanty Festival, when the old seafaring town of Harwich will ring out with music and song once again in celebration of its rich and fascinating maritime history. This year’s festival will take place from 9-11 October and the event will be celebrating its 20th anniversary!
Some amazing acts have been booked,
First-time performers at Harwich
including the renowned Johnson Girls, an acappella song group from the USA, singing maritime songs from a variety of cultures. The organisers are so pleased they are finally coming after booking them for the 2020 festival, which
9-11 October 2026
was cancelled due to Covid-19.
Back by popular request are Nordet from their home port of Lorient in Brittany, who perform worldwide, singing shanties and sea songs in French, Breton and English accompanied by guitar, melodeon and Uillean pipes. Also welcome to return is Northcape, a five-strong group from Poland singing shanties, sea songs and folk songs, with beautiful harmonies.
After several years of
Hooligans Rule.
negotiation, the festival has managed to secure the Wilson Family, a well-established English acappella folk music group from Billingham, County Durham. Since forming in 1974 they have become famed for their amazing harmonies. A new performer at Harwich will be Sailor Swift, a folk singer known for writing his own material. His fast-paced show with a nautical flavour is going down a storm all over the country and provides a hilarious quick-fire journey through history!
Other highlights include a lively nautical duo from Brixham called Hooligans Rule, who will be performing for the first time, and Dick Miles, a wellrespected English concertina player. The popular Monkeys Fist, a lively band playing
traditional shanties with excellent harmonies, return by popular request from Oxford.
A popular trio, Bell and Co, who perform their own sea songs accompanied by guitar, fiddle and bodhran, will also be at the festival.
The event also welcomes the Portsmouth Shanty Men, an acappella group, who have sung traditional shanties and maritime songs for many years, and from the same city will be Spinnaker Shanty, singing shanties and sea songs with harmony and humour. There will be an entertaining show by Pint of Shanty giving background on HMS Conqueror interspersed with rousing shanties!
The organisers also look forward to seeing many familiar names, some of whom have been with us since the
Andy Anderson and Christine Bissell of Inner State Theatre.
event began. There will be fun activities for children, including two family shanty sessions, two shanty trains running between Harwich and Manningtree on Saturday, a Magic Lantern Show with Pepper’s Ghost, Kool Skool for Pirates, Jig Dolls and Playing the Bones workshops and the popular Seaside Explorers.
The festival’s popular
events at the Redoubt Napoleonic Fort include skirmishes between the River Rogues and Sheppey Pirates and the Sea Fencibles and Kings German Artillery, Inner State Theatre and maritime crafts, including ropework and figurehead carving. A wide variety of workshops and talks include 58 Ships, focusing on HMS Terror, Concertina Accompaniment for Song by Dick Miles, Wordsmiths and Topsails – a nautical workshop by Tyburn Road and Australia Across the Water by Chris Roach, featuring a crayfishing boat journey round the coast of Tasmania and the West and Gordon rivers. The popular cruises on the Thames Barge Victor will be happening again with shanty singers on board.
City of Bristol 19-20 September www.bristolshantyfestival.com
Harwich International
Shanty Festival
Harwich, Essex 9-11 October, 2026
www.harwichshantyfestival.co.uk
Mevagissey Shanty Festival
Mevagissey, Cornwall 16-18 October, 2026
www.mevashantyfest.co.uk
Sea Shanty Festival
Cutty Sark, London 21 November, 2026
www.rmg.co.uk/whats-on
Polished brass compass Ivory pistol and holster Trading post
An attractive facsimile pistol with ivory coloured stock and brass barrel can be obtained from Darkblade. A percussion style lock allows it to fire caps with no modification.
It measures 36 cm in length and weighs 640 grams.
This pistol can be worn in a hip holster also available from Darkblade, which can be drawn from either left or right-hand
side. The holster also has holes in the base, allowing it to be tied to the leg for extra stability.
Made of medium weight (2 mm thick) leather, it will fit a belt up to three inches wide.
More information from www.darkblade.co.uk
Pirate captain’s coat in blue
When choosing the coat he was going to wear at sea, a pirate captain kept two things in mind – it needed to look distinguished to differentiate him from the crew and it had to be weather-proof.
He would have been
A simple, functional compass (Reference: SKU7281) is offered by Nauticalia, although this respected supplier of all things nautical rightly advises that it should not be relied on for serious navigation if venturing your ship into uncharted waters!
The compass is made from brass, an alloy of copper and zinc, which is easy to work with and can be polished to a gleaming shine. It also has a high
degree of corrosion resistance, making it the traditional choice of metal for use in harsh marine environments.
The compass measures 3 inches in diameter and is supplied with a leather case.
More information from www.nauticalia.com
more than satisfied with this blue coat (Reference SKU: 104054) from The Pirate Shop.
The thick woollen outer material is waterresistant and creates a warming unit in combination with the 100% polyester inner lining. A high collar keeps out the wind, the lacing at the back adjusts to fit any figure and the double row of buttons at the revers means this coat can be fastened on either side. All of these practical advantages make this garment a high quality, elegant article of clothing.
Chest sizes are: 36, 40, 44 and 48 inches.
More information from www.thepirateshop.co.uk
Skull and crossbones cups
Ideal for raising a toast to the success of your next pillaging expedition, this pair of cups (Reference: SKU: SCM08600) from Southern Swords is crafted of spun brass and plated inside
with silver. Made by Windlass Steelcrafts, which rose from humble beginnings in 1943 as a supplier of Gurkha kukris to the British armed forces, a copper skull and crossbones is brazed into each cup.
Just under two inches in height, each cup holds 1 oz of rum and is of similar size to a shot glass. It is supplied with a handsome hardwood storage box decorated with brass accents. More information from www.southernswords.co.uk
Unless ye intends to steal a ship or become a mutineer if ye are already on one, then the best course of action is to sign on with one of the active pirate crews listed on these two pages. If retired from a life of piracy, then ye’ve a duty to keep faith with The Brethren by celebrating ‘International Talk Like a Pirate Day’ on 19th September every year!
The Burnham-on-Crouch Bretheren of Pirates & Privateers www.piratesonthequay.co.uk
The Jolly Rogers – Dorset www.jollyrogersdorset.co.uk
The Pirate Castle www.thepiratecastle.org
The Pirate’s Rum Bible www.facebook.com/groups/3461839360611139
UOM Pirate Society (University of Manchester) Instagram: @uompiratesoc
Whitby International Pirate Society www.whitbypirates.co.uk
Sea Dragon Pirates
Heart of the South West
Rye Pirates & Smugglers
Port of Plymouth Pirates
Where to see pirate action
Every effort has been made to ensure the accuracy of this calendar, but like the weather, dates may be subject to change, so you are advised to check the forecast with the organiser’s website afore setting sail. The Editor of Pirate Plunder would also be much obliged if those arranging festivals would let him know of any changesto location, duration or even cancellation of their events.
