Ahoy, Matey

The seas grow darker as October nears its end, and strange things be stirring in the mists. This week we revisit the doomed crew of the Whydah Gally, now standing before the King’s justice, and sail south to the haunted waters of Chile where a ghost ship rises from the depths to claim her crew. There’s cursed reading for stormy nights, a festival of pirates in Florida, and just enough spine-chilling lore to make ye check the locks on yer cabin door.

⚓ This Week in Pirate History

Oct 18, 1717 – The Trial of Bellamy’s Crew

After the wreck of the Whydah Gally in April 1717, the storm-tossed sands of Cape Cod gave up only two living men from Black Sam Bellamy’s legendary crew — Thomas Davis and John Julian, a Miskito boy believed to have been Bellamy’s pilot. In the months that followed, more survivors from the Mary Anne, one of Bellamy’s captured prizes, were seized by authorities and brought to Boston for trial.

On October 18, 1717, the grim proceedings began. The Admiralty Court, under British rule, made quick work of them. There was little mercy for pirates in the King’s eyes — especially those tied to Bellamy, whose capture of over fifty ships had made him the most feared man on the Atlantic.

Witnesses described Bellamy’s black flag and booming charisma, calling him “a generous robber” — but it did the accused no good. The courtroom was packed with curious citizens, merchants, and ministers come to see justice served.

Six men were sentenced to hang: John Brown, Thomas Baker, Hendrick Quintor, Peter Cornelius Hoof, John Shuan, and Simon Van Vorst — a mixed crew of Englishmen, Dutchmen, and Africans, showing the truly international nature of piracy.

They met their end on November 15, 1717, at the Boston gallows near the harbor, where their bodies were displayed in chains as a warning to others who might be tempted by the sea’s false freedom.

Yet even as the noose tightened, witnesses swore that one man on the gallows laughed — claiming he’d “rather swing than serve.”

Thus ended the last chapter of Bellamy’s crew — but not their legend. For centuries, the Whydah’s bones have continued to whisper from the deep, and her captain’s ghost, they say, still sails with the wind off Cape Cod.

⚓ Sidebar: The Ones Who Lived and the Ones Who Didn’t

Not every pirate met the rope that day.

• Thomas Davis, a ship’s carpenter, convinced the court he’d been forced into piracy. The judges spared his life, declaring him “a man misled rather than malicious.” He walked free — and vanished quietly from history.

But the story of John Julian, Bellamy’s teenage pilot of Miskito descent, ended far more cruelly. Julian was never tried with the others — likely because of his race. Instead, he was sold into slavery in Massachusetts. Some say he later rebelled against his masters and was executed years later, though his final fate remains uncertain.

Two lives spared the gallows — yet neither found freedom upon the shore.

🎃 Haunted Seas of October

The Ghost Ship Caleuche – The Devil’s Crew of Chiloé

Far to the south, where the cold winds lash the islands of Chiloé, Chile, there sails a ship that should not exist — the Caleuche. Locals call it the Ship of the Devil, and even the bravest fishermen cross themselves when a strange mist rolls in off the Pacific.

The Caleuche appears without warning — her masts glowing with spectral light, her hull gleaming like polished bone. Ghostly laughter echoes across the water, and the sound of fiddles and flutes carries through the fog. But no living crew dances there — only the souls of drowned sailors and pirates, condemned to serve her dark master for eternity.

It’s said the Caleuche is commanded by the Brujo Chilote, a warlock of the sea who deals in cursed souls. Each night, the ship rises from the depths to roam the coast, hunting for new recruits. Those who drowned unjustly or betrayed their crew are doomed to join her ranks.

Fishermen claim she can take mortal form by day, anchored quietly in hidden coves, her phantom crew walking ashore — faces pale, eyes empty, boots dripping seawater on dry sand.

If ye hear music on the wind near Chiloé, do not follow. For once you set eyes upon the Caleuche, you’ll never again find safe harbor — only the endless fog and the laughter of the damned.

📰 Pirate News / Legends & Lore

The Real Jack Sparrow? The Pirate Who Lived Like a Legend

The BBC reports that John “Jack” Ward, a 16th-century English pirate from Kent, may have inspired the swaggering Captain Jack Sparrow of Pirates of the Caribbean fame.

Ward started as a fisherman and privateer before turning rogue, capturing ships across the Mediterranean and settling in Tunis under a new name. His flamboyant style, shifting loyalties, and taste for rum-soaked theatrics made him infamous from London taverns to Ottoman ports.

Locals nicknamed him “Birdy” or “Sparrow” — a coincidence too fine to ignore. Like the film’s beloved rogue, Ward was charming, treacherous, and always one bottle ahead of trouble.

Historians admit that Sparrow’s character blends many pirates, yet Ward’s wild life — part gentleman, part scoundrel — feels like the original draft of Hollywood’s favorite buccaneer.

Read the full story: BBC – The Pirate Who May Have Inspired Jack Sparrow

💰 Plunder Pick of the Week

The Ghost Pirates by William Hope Hodgson (1909)

For those who crave hauntings upon the high seas, this week’s plunder be a literary relic of nautical terror — The Ghost Pirates by William Hope Hodgson, one of the masters of early weird fiction.

Told as the final testimony of Jessop, the lone survivor of the doomed ship Mortzestus, the novel unfolds through his chilling account of the vessel’s last voyage — a journey haunted by unseen forces, creeping shadows, and whispering voices from beyond the veil.

Hodgson weaves dread like a true sea dog turned storyteller. The tale drips with atmosphere — fog, superstition, and the slow unraveling of men’s minds as the crew of the Mortzestus faces horrors no sailor’s chart could ever mark.

Whether ye believe in specters or not, The Ghost Pirates remains one of the most haunting sea tales ever penned — a perfect companion for stormy October nights.

⚓ Read it by candlelight if ye dare, and remember: some ships vanish not into the sea, but into the unseen.

👉 Claim yer copy of The Ghost Pirates here before it drifts back into legend.

🎪 Festival Forecast

Boynton Beach Pirate Fest — Boynton Beach, Florida (Oct 25–26, 2025)

Prepare for a pirate invasion on Florida’s Atlantic coast! The Boynton Beach Pirate Fest drops anchor Downtown Boynton (120 E Ocean Ave) over two days:
Saturday, Oct 25 (12 PM-10 PM) and Sunday, Oct 26 (12 PM-6 PM).

This free, family-friendly fest offers:

• Live music, cannon fire, stunt shows, and pirate battles

• Pirate encampments, mermaids, food trucks, and artisan markets

• Children’s treasure hunts and costume contests

• A haunted walk on Saturday night for the bold and brave

Bring yer crew, don yer finest gear, and prepare for a weekend of sea songs, sword fights, and salt-soaked fun.

▶️ More info: Boynton Beach Pirate Fest

☠️ Captain’s Log

As the days grow shorter and the air thickens with fog, remember that every legend begins with truth — and every sailor’s ghost once breathed the same salt air we do. Keep yer lanterns trimmed, yer rum close, and yer courage closer.

Until next tide, may yer gold stay dry and yer ship stay cursed in only the good ways.

Fair winds,
– Captain Blackquill

🗣️ Share the Spoils, Matey!

Know a landlubber who’d love tales of treasure, ghost ships, and real pirate history? Don’t keep the gold to yerself—send ‘em our way!

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🎖️ Thanks for Embarkin’ on the Voyage

We set sail every Friday, storm or shine. Keep yer spyglass pointed at the horizon...
and may yer week be full o’ plunder, parlay, and just the right amount o’ mutiny.

Share this letter with yer crewmates, an if ye find treasure or tales worth tell’n, send them to [email protected].

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