Jaunted

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Pirate Trend Going Strong; Divisions Emerge Between Old Schoolers and Jack Sparrows

It's a good time to be a pretend pirate. Spurred by the Pirates of the Caribbean movie franchise, historical pirate re-enactments and festivals have proliferated, with almost 130 different re-enactment groups staging attacks, plunderings, and mutinies at beach towns around the USA, compared with just nine such groups fifteen years ago. But, as an amusing article in the New York Times points out, all is not peaceful in pirate-land. It turns out that the original pretend pirates - those who predate Johnny Depp's swishy celluloid portrayal of Captain Jack Sparrow - resent that their attempts at authenticity are being upstaged by a swelling legion of prêt-à-porter pirates who do little more than say "arrgh" a lot and wouldn't know a schooner from a brigantine. The newbies, however, are the ones driving the explosion in pirate-themed events, such as the recent Tybee Island Pirate Festival in Georgia, which featured an "invasion," a costume contest, and plenty of grog - quaffed by old and new school alike. We think the issue will resolve itself over time as the insincere drift away from the movement for the next big role-playing trend, while die-hards of all stripes consolidate their pirate crews. In the meantime, we'll be perusing the pages of a pirate journal called No Quarter Given for a good deal on a new tricorn hat to wear to the next festival.

[Photo: The New York Times]

Related Stories:
· Can I Get an Arrgh? [The New York Times]
· Pirates Coverage [Jaunted]