Beaufort tradition returns

BEAUFORT - This weekend's appearance of pillaging pirates and counterattacking militiamen in Carteret County isn't just entertainment.

The revival of Beaufort's Pyrate Invasion is also a resurrection of a chapter in the town's colonial past. In 1747, Spanish privateers arrived in Beaufort harbor intent on stealing command of supply ships and targeting the town.

"They needed sail material, the needed utensils, they needed tools and anything of value. They needed lots and lots of supplies," said Capt. Horatio Sinbad, Carteret County's resident pirate-privateer.

The Spanish pirates first arrived in June and returned in force two months later, only to be driven away by the militia and farmers who had gathered to defend their town. It is said that nearly 100 local farmers and townsfolk joined the small band of militiamen in defense of Beaufort.

A crowd is expected to converge on Beaufort again Saturday as the Pyrate Invasion reliving that 1747 event returns for the first time since 1983.

"Twenty-five years is long enough. It's time to do it again," said Ruth Barnes of the Beaufort Business Association, which is sponsoring the event.

The invasion begins at 1 p.m. with a Pyrate Procession as pirates organize and proceed along the waterfront to Pollock Street to meet their brethren arriving by ship and boat. At 1:30 p.m. Capt. Sinbad and the crew of Meka II will sail into Taylor's Creek and open up with cannon fire as the pirate crews descend on the town and the musket-firing militia waiting to fend them off.

A public trial for the captured pirates will follow at the Beaufort Historic Site.

The public is invited to watch the invasion and encouraged to dress for the occasion in the favorite pirate gear or period costume.

The weekend event also includes a Pyrate Encampment to be held at the Beaufort Historic Site from 5 to 9 tonight and 10 a.m. to 7 p.m. Saturday. Ticketed events include the Conspire with the Pyrates feast tonight at the Beaufort Historic Site and the Saturday night Buccaneers Ball at the North Carolina Maritime Museum, which is nearly sold out.

Capt. Sinbad, who participated in the event from 1972 to 1983, said the Pyrate Invasion was initially started in 1960 and after 23 years had grown to a point that it overwhelmed the town's infrastructure.

"They figured 18,000 people had attended," he said. "You couldn't cross the bridge, people were double- and triple-parked, and 300 boats were moored in the water to watch."

He doesn't expect a repeat of that scene with this year's scaled-back version, but he does get to add his homeport to his itinerary of 10 or so events he attends each year. A similar invasion was held in Morehead City as part of the former Blackbeard Fest, but that event only lasted a few years.

Organizers of the revived Beaufort Pyrate Invasion see this as the time to make it happen.

Pirates seem to be enjoying a wave of popularity, and the event is showcasing the town's pirate history just as the Town of Beaufort prepares to celebrate its 300th anniversary in 2009.

Barnes said any proceeds from the event will go toward the cost of putting on the Pyrate Invasion during the anniversary celebrations.

Just in time for this weekend's activities is the opening of the new pirate exhibit at the N.C. Maritime Museum in Beaufort. The exhibit "Knights of the Black Flag" premieres. Among the items displayed will be replica cannons and weapons used by pirates as well as paintings depicting the life of pirates.

The exhibit will remain on view through the end of the year.

For more information about the pirate invasion go to www.beaufortpyrateinvasion.com. To learn more about the N.C. Maritime Museum and its exhibits, go to www.ncmaritimemuseum.org.