Tampa was Invaded by Pirates AGAIN!

For the 93rd time since 1905! The City of Tampa Florida was invaded by pirates yesterday as the 2008 Gasparilla Pirate Fest got underway.

On Saturday, January 26, at 11:30 a.m., the world’s only fully-rigged pirate ship, the Jose Gasparilla, magically appeared at the south end of Hillsborough Bay. A multitude of pleasure crafts, all intent on defending the city, boldly sailed forth to meet the ship. But quickly seeing the error of their ways, they turn to join forces with the Captain and his Krewe’s flotilla. The colorful Gasparilla Flotilla then made its way north across Hillsborough Bay and into Seddon Channel (channel between Davis Island & Harbour Island). The Gasparilla Invasion had begun!

In this annual re-enactment of Tampa’s historic pirate invasion, the Gasparilla Flotilla – led by the Jose Gasparilla teeming from bow to stern and capstan to crow’s nest with swashbuckling YMKG pirates – creates a spectacular sight as she heads up Seddon Channel towards downtown Tampa. When the Jose Gasparilla docked at the Tampa Convention Center, the Mayor surrended the Key to the City of Tampa into the hands of the Captain of Ye Mystic Krewe of Gasparilla.

Gasparilla...the pirate. The name and foundation of Tampa's traditional Gasparilla Carnival come from legendary pirate Jose Gaspar, "last of the Buccaneers," who terrorized the coastal waters of West Florida during the late 18th and early 19th century. Gaspar, given to calling himself "Gasparilla," served as a lieutenant in the Royal Spanish Navy for five years until 1783 when, upon seizing command of a Spanish sloop-of-war, he with his fellow mutineers set sail for the Florida straits. And so the young Spanish aristocrat-turned-pirate began an adventurous life as outlaw of the sea.

Although few facts are known of the life and death of the famed Gasparilla, accounts from his own personal diary boast the capture and burning of 36 ships during his first 12 years as a pirate. Crews of captured ships were given the option of joining Gaspar's ranks or walking the plank; fates of captive ladies were determined largely by his moment's fancy.

In 1954 the Krewe commissioned the building of the world's only fully rigged pirate ship to be built in modern times. Named the Jose Gasparilla, the ship is a replica of a West Indiaman used in the 18th century. She is constructed of steel at 165' long by 35' across the beam, with 3 steel masts standing 100' tall. During the year she is usually docked at the Tarpon Weigh Station on Bayshore Blvd. for the public's viewing pleasure.