Hey there seadogs and jolly swabbies! Today we take a jaunty look at the Steveston Pirate Festival 2021, starrring the mighty pirate boat, the ‘Seas the Day.’ Perhaps you’ve seen the below video online. You might think it was actually a festival about salmon, but make no mistake, Pirates are the number 1 attraction, not salmon!
Much has been made of Samuel Salmon’s promotion to Official Parade Marshal, however that is still a low rank compared to the ‘Seas the Day’s many Admirals.
As you can see, the modern pirate uses wheels to pursue land-based plunder and escape the kraken. The mainsail was designed by Charlene Happy.
While this is of course an original build, as some of the best pirate ships be, the design was inspired heavily by part of Lego Set #6277, the ‘Imperial Trading Post.’ I hear they dealt exclusively in metric, d’yarr! If you’ve seen the video, you’re no stranger to pirate jokes. A serious business they be. All of the bricks used in the build were on loan from the Wade Family collection.
Even a ship full of Admirals needs a captain. This one’s famous for some reason, but it isn’t for washing all that hair. Legend has it that the classic pirate flag was invented when Roger Jolly, a bumbling med student, finally passed his difficult ‘Anatomy of The Head And Forearms’ exam. His mother was so relieved that she made a black and white commemorative flag to wave when he got home, as he was completely colour-blind and nearsighted, and often had trouble finding her and the door to the house. Pirates later adopted the flag as a way of emphasizing their strong bones and teeth. In the age of scurvy, this was a considerable threat.
Here, our modern Admiral in casual dress sports a skull wearing a bow. A starboard bow? No, port. The chest full of bounty in the middle of the boat rotates so as to showcase the hoard to other ships and parade-goers. The lobsters were all caught at the Lego Store, in the murky depths of the pick-a-part bin.
It’s strange to think we live in world where a Tricorne hat is considered a costume piece and not an everyday option. This Admiral and his spoils are headed to Butterdip Island after the parade.
The Grand Admiral himself, wearing a necklace made of all the teeth left under the crew’s pillows in anticipation of the Tooth Fairy. Each good little pirate found a shiny doubloon the next morning!
This Admiral is the classic pirate! Neckerchief, brass buttons, eyepatch, red beard (aka Barbarossa), and even a hat that shows what’s inside! He’s drinking a delightful mix of lobster juice and seawater! Yum! In the video, we moved the smaller boat sideways each time we moved it forward to give it the effect of swinging on the end of the chain.
Our tiny cannoneer is taking aim right at you! Don’t worry, the cannon is filled with delightful chum that can be scraped off your skin and clothes and put in a bucket to use as bait! Line up, kids! She’s young for an Admiral, but who can argue with that yellow scarf, blue coat and snappy belt buckle!
Every time we moved the boats, we also moved the flag held by this last uh… Admiral. He does have an awesome hat, with a separate plume piece. In the bygone days of early Pirate Lego, pieces like the hats with removeable plumes, the detailed torsos, the hook hands, peg legs and even the scruffy-looking faces catapulted the potential of Lego’s figures towards the extreme characterization we see today. Specialized pieces like the rowboat, cannons, rigging, and even mast elements are still some of the most iconic Lego pieces out there. Even many of the early animal designs, like the sharks, parrots and monkeys have either endured or spawned more evolved versions. It’s no wonder that Lego has reintroduced Pirate sets over and over through the years. Thanks for reading!
