Emerald City Pirate Cruise - August 7, 2017

For my husband Bob’s recent birthday celebration, he wanted to take a boat cruise on Lake Union.  Of course, we couldn’t just take any boat trip. We had to check out the pirate ship cruise that we had noticed on the water one afternoon earlier while hanging out at Gas Works Park.   
As it turns out, Emerald City Pirates offers trips on their “pirate” ship, and it’s the first year they are in business.  Don’t let that deter you though as the owner, Captain Pete, is a very experienced boat captain and licensed by the US Coast Guard.
The trips depart from South Lake Union Park where we also discovered the Center for Wooden Boats, which we enjoyed checking out prior to the pirate cruise.  The full scoop on that will have to be another “Editor’s Exploration.”
The pirate ship, Queen Anne’s Revenge, is a 50-foot ship that can accommodate up to 47 passengers.  We opted for the Adult Pirate Party Cruise (Ages 21+) that departs at 5:30 p.m., but there are also Public Cruises (great for families) as well as private charters available.  I think a private charter would be great for a birthday party, corporate event, or really any special occasion.
You are greeted on arrival by the ship’s first mate and outfitted with a pirate vest to use for the trip.  If you don’t have your own “pirate” gear, they have some fun items available for purchase like bandanas and eye patches.  Our trip also happened to have a bachelorette party on board. These ladies dressed up as sea wenches that were ready to have some fun!  Also note that you can bring your own alcoholic beverages for the “adult” trip.
As we have had for many of our adventures, the weather again was beautiful!  
As the music started, we left the dock as the captain navigated around boats, kayaks and even planes on Lake Union.  It is always a different perspective to see things from the water. We didn’t realize that there are a lot of houseboats that permanently reside along the shore. In doing some follow up checking, many are available for rent via property management companies and listed on VRBO and Airbnb. 
The trip itself was about 1.5 hours and great fun.  Our favorite part was waving (and yelling “RRRR” or “Aye Matey”) to the other people in boats on the lake and the landlubbers on the shores.  I’m certain we were in the coolest vessel on the water that day.  We are already making plans for an encore trip when our good friends visit at the end of August.  
For more information on Emerald City Pirates, call 206-639-8689 or visit www.emeraldcitypirates.com.

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