The Clash in the Pass
The isle of Fort Myers Beach has caught the eye of pirates near and far, and they will once again be returning Friday to Sunday, Oct. 10 to 12, for yet another dynamite Fort Myers Beach Pirate Festival. The downtown Bay Walk area of Old San Carlos will be laden with roving pirates and wenches of all sorts, looking for fun and mayhem during their three-day stay.
Hosted by the Fort Myers Beach Area Chamber of Commerce, the festival has turned into a bigger and bigger event since its inception nine years ago. Last year, alone, more than 7,500 people attended the three-day festival.
“With the addition of more activities and entertainment, this year’s event promises to be even more spectacular than the last,” said Fort Myers Beach Chamber President Bud Nocera.
The pirating plunder runs all weekend long and begins with a boom, with a shot fired from the cannon aboard Fisherman’s Wharf at Old San Carlos Boulevard, Friday at 5 p.m., which will kick off the pub crawl along Old San Carlos Boulevard and the surrounding areas. Bands of roving pirates will be accompanied from pub to pub, along with The Craic, a medieval band calling Tampa Bay home port, where songs will be sung and ale will be drunk.
“We will have opening and closing cannons to signify the start and end of each day of the festival,” said event coordinator Belinda Hadcock. “Immediately following each open cannon firing, a Pirate’s Parade will stroll down Old San Carlos Boulevard, and will continue into Times Square and back down the boulevard, where the stage will be set for a fun, family friendly pirate festival. There will be plenty of activities for the wee ones, including a children’s fishing tournament, stage shows, a treasure hunt, and face painting.”
One of the big highlights of the day will be the epic black-powder ship to shore sea battle, with blazing cannons, plundering pirates and sailing ships.
“Don’t miss the opportunity to see the biggest, most spectacular sea battle on the local waters!” Belinda said. “We have a huge sea battle this year – the biggest yet. The Pieces of Eight, the Black Pearl – run by local sailor Troy Springer. We also have coming from Venice a wonderful beautiful sailboat named the Black Duck. For our gunners on land, we have the Skeleton Crew, two 12-pound cannons, muskets, firearms, all forms of pistols. Our master gunner in charge of the safety, Chris Jones, comes from the Tampa area, and brings his crew Gulf Coast Black Powder. His crew and my gun crew work together for the ship to shore battle. We also put gunners on the vessels. It is a true ship to shore battle the Clash in the Pass.”
Belinda said to look forward to each big Clash in the Pass around 1:30 to 2 p.m. each afternoon of the festival, Saturday and Sunday.
Pair that with plenty of other games and tournaments for the kids, as well as the merchant’s square, stocked with one-of-a-kind accessories and costumes for any pirate, great and small, and so many other pillaging, plundering activities, and you’re sure to have one heck of a Pirate’s Festival weekend!
“Bud Nocera has been so very instrumental in putting this on,” Belinda said. “I do the site work and booking and scheduling, but more importantly, the Fort Myers Beach Chamber is the one pulling the permits and getting everything together they’ve really taken back the show. We had so many people tell us that last year was the best that it has ever been in a long shot. We’ll see you down there!”
Stay tuned to The Breeze and Fort Myers Beach Bulletin for additional details on all the fun ye allll shall be havin’ Oct. 10 to 12! In the meantime, for further information on the ninth annual Fort Myers Beach Pirate Festival, visit FortMyersBeachPirateFestival.com, find the event on Facebook or hit them up on Twitter @FMBPirateFest.