Cody Creek, 6, didn’t flinch when one pirate grabbed his leg and another threatened to cut it off. After all, the Seafair Pirates are more into giving than taking.
Three of the group’s members invaded Kirkland’s Heritage Hall Wednesday stealing kisses, wreaking havoc and speaking to the Kirkland Heritage Society about the pirate’s rich 62-year history.
“We are actually a year older than Seafair,” said Seafair Pirate’s spokesman and long-time pirate Mark Jensen, who’s nickname is “Keelhaul.” “We were started in 1949 by the Washington Press Club to promote Seafair … Everything is usually prim and proper and our job has always been to create problems.”
But despite the havoc that the pirates create during parades, it is their charity work through the Holiday Treasure Chest, created in 1996, that makes the biggest impact.
“The Seafair Pirates’ Treasure Chest has been one of the top five charities in the state three years in a row,” said Jensen, who is the only pirate that is paid as he does all the organizations public relations. “We deliver the gifts and food on Christmas Eve. Each year I lie to my wife and say I am not doing it again.”
As Jensen explained that the group delivers 22,000 gifts and 10 tons of food he was interrupted.
“The rum, we kept!” said pirate Chas Anderton, who is a Kirkland resident. “… But don’t let him fool you. He (Jensen) is the one that makes Christmas happen.”
The third pirate on hand, also from Kirkland, was Arne Stray, who proclaimed he was the wallflower of the group.
The pirates will deliver one big present and two smaller presents at Christmas time, along with three stocking stuffers and clothes to families in need.
“We didn’t get one drop of rum or even a piece of coal,” joked a pouting Anderton.
“Every pirate is just a big kid,” said Jensen.
The playfulness of the Seafair Pirates was on display during the event, as they attempted to steal kisses from Heritage Society members and handed out pirate toys for the kids in attendance. The visit is one of many promotional events, but the group does 240 official appearances and visits five different countries each year.
The only month the pirates take off is January.
“It is to clean up the mess we make at Christmas because we shop with a forklift,” joked Jensen.
One Heritage Society member asked what type of ear protection the pirates use for all the loud cannons they use at events, to which they all answered: “What?”
The last time the pirates participated in the Kirkland Fourth of July parade was in 2001.
“We helped dedicate the sailor statue in Marina Park in 2000,” said Jensen. “It was supposed to go to Seattle. But when they found out that there was a similar one in San Diego and Norfolk they said they didn’t want it. Then (former Kirkland Mayor) Larry Springer came into the picture … Do us a favor and make sure it stays there.”
Jensen said that the group gets between 1,000 and 2,000 appearance requests each year. But the pirates have some standards.
“We have to be invited,” said Jensen. “We won’t pay an entry fee or have someone pay it for us because it is a good way to find out who really wants you.”
Until the 1980s the group had an annual budget of $10,000. But it has seen some amazing growth and now has a budget of $300,000.
But the pirates also gained a bad reputation during the 1980s, said Jensen.
“That was when we had the most Seattle cops among our ranks,” said Jensen, who was interrupted again by Anderton.
“We don’t leave out guns on the back of our vehicles,” joked Anderton, referring to a recent incident of a rifle being left on the trunk of a Seattle Police Department patrol car.
The Seafair Pirates are very picky when it comes to picking new members, thanks to the demands of the exclusive club.
“They have to have the ability to think outside the box,” said Jensen.
But there are no “wenches” among the ranks.
“We don’t allow our girlfriends to come along because our wives might find out,” joked Stray.
There are approximately 200 official Seafair Pirates.
“But there are only 56 on the active roster,” said Jensen.
“Some are dead!” joked Anderton. “You are a pirate until you die … or we throw you out.”
Being a pirate is a demanding and unpaid adventure. But one of the perks is the travel. Some of the group’s most exotic destinations include Taiwan and the Cayman Islands. The Pirates’ Week Festival in the Cayman Islanders is patterned after Seafair and the pirates have been taking part for 28 of its 30 years.
The Seafair Pirates have also sailed into the 21st Century with a Facebook page. As for a Web site, the Reporter checked for www.seafairpirates.AAARG, as Anderton suggested, and found nothing. But then translated the statement to www.seafairpirates.org to find more information on the group.
