About Us
Most Authentic Pyrates in New Brunswick.
Th’ Port City Pyrates were founded in 2019 as Pyrate Re-enactors. Covid put a wrench in th’ krewe’s plans and most o’ th’ pyrating was left until 2022.
2022 were a year fer experimenting wit’ Garb, Characters, an event activities.
As re-enactors, we strive t’ b period correct (as much as available materials an costs will allow). R krewe create most o’ their own garb, hand sewing much as it would ‘ave been in 1700. Custom leather products r also created by th’ Captain.
Now, th’ Pyrates r available fer Corporate Events/ Festivals/ Community Events.
We r also Pillagein’ N Plunderin’ r way around r beautiful province an we r making th’ Plunder available fer ye!!! We ‘ave a variety o’ hand crafted products, most will b one o’ a kind, as well as some piratical products fer yer enjoyment. Thank ye fer joinin’ us on r journey aboard Adventure Galley (r ship) n we hopes t’ meet ye along th’ route!
Cap’n BlackArt
Meet R Krewe
Art “BlackArt” d’Milne
Captain n Partner
Born on the coast of Scotland around 1655 – 1660. He took the to seas with his father after his Mother died of fevers. Unfortunately, his father was lost at sea in a storm on the journey to the Caribbean. Being a fine lad, he was well liked and made cabin boy. He moved with a few ship mates from ship to ship as needed. Traveling with the best and the worst of them. Moving up from cabin boy rather quickly to powder monkey, and then on to covering almost all parts of the ship. Deck hand, Gunner, First Mate, Quartermaster, Boson and eventually elected Captain.
Running with a merchant crew, as a privateer, and yes… a Pirate. He has sailed or been associated with the best, and the worst of them.
Names like Captain Henry Morgan, Anne Bonny, Bartholomew Roberts, Benjamin Hornigold, Blackbeard, Calico Jack, Charles Vane. Henry Avery, Samuel Bellamy to name but a few who he crossed seas with.
There was a time in his 20’s when he was strong willed and dangerous. He was the sole survivor from a ship destroyed by the French in the West Indies. It was during this time of him seeking revenge for the loss of his crew mates that he earned his Infamous name of “BlackArt”. It was said he had no heart when in battle, no quarter was given. A fight to the death if a fight be had at all. All who knew him or heard of him knew he had a Black Heart, or “BlackArt” as he became known and the name stuck with him, even though over time old wounds healed and he mellowed a bit with age and wisdom.
He was deathly wounded in a sea battle whilst fighting the Spanish in the Bahamas. Barely surviving , he stayed ashore for a few years running a port side tavern and brothel. But the open sea always called to him and was enticed to once again pack up his gear and head out to sea.
His reputation preceding him, he quickly rose back up through the ranks. Sailing as a privateer, the crew elected him Captain when the ships own Captain was killed in a battle with a Dutch ship. Renaming the ship known as “Rising Star” to “Adventure Galley” ( the name in honour of Capt. Kidd’s ship that was lost near Madagascar in the Africa’s ) They set sail and never looked back, and neither did the crew
Either on land or sea, its always been one adventure leading into another. A lifetime of adventures making him all the wiser…knowing when to pick his battles and when to drift with the tide for fairer seas. Feared by many, but well loved by his crew. They’d follow him to the ends of the earth and off the edge if need be. From as far north as Nova Scotia in Canada to deep south and the Cape Horn and all ports in between. If you see a Black hulled ship, it may indeed be ol’ “BlackArt” himself.
Red
Bosun n Partner
Nicknamed Red – Because of her flaming red hair.
Born County Cork Ireland around 1680
Born Claire O’Laoghaire. O’ means – Grandson of or descendent of
Laoghaire – 2 Gaelic words – Laogh means Calf & Aire means Keeper
A descendant of Lugaid Mac Con, who was High King of Ireland in the late 2nd century AD and King Laoghaire mac Néill of the 5th century, Red’s family motto is: ‘Laidir isé lear Righ’ which translates as ‘Strong is the King of the Sea’. Even as a child, Red felt the pull of the sea as it called to her.
Eventually, the O’Learys lost their land and power as a result of both the Nine Year War (1594-1603) against the English, and later the Cromwellian confiscations.
Born after the rebellion, Claire’s family resided in the countryside farming and cow raising. As a child, Claire had an adventurous nature and was always getting into trouble.
Around 1700, Claire fell in love and ran away with a sailor. She found herself on board his ship, dressed as a man. This is where she was named Red and continued with the name until her death.
In a few years, Red learned all there was to know about sailing and was a very accomplished sailor. As her knowledge and skills grew, so did her standing aboard ship.
Although a quiet sort, her krewe members grew to trust and love her and knew her as a fearsome fighter. She was felt by some to enjoy this a wee bit too much as she was oftentimes seen to laugh at the enemy!
She found herself in Kingston Jamaica and met Cap’n BlackArt. She joined his krewe as a pirate and soon revealed herself as a woman.
His right hand and lover, Red lived the rest of her sailing life aboard the Adventure Galley with him.
Maria de la Rosa
Quartermaster
Born Mary Murphy of Gourock, Scotland.
Her father was the quartermaster of an English merchant ship. He taught Mary to sail a dinghy and fish in the harbour. Like most children in Scotland at the time, she attended the local school and learned reading, writing, and arithmetic.
At 19 years old, her step-mother insisted that it was time to marry, or at least get engaged. Mary of course fought this decision. It was around this time that Mary’s father’s ship disappeared at sea. Thought to have been beset by a sudden storm, the crew was believed dead, but Mary would not give up hope. She dressed as a boy, was hired aboard another ship as cabin boy, and set to sea, always listening for any news of her father.
Her sharp wit and ability to read and write soon caught the attention of the ageing quartermaster, who took her on as an apprentice, hoping to retire soon himself.
One day their ship was attacked by pirates, and they were given the choice to join the pirates or die. Of course she chose to live – she still had to find her father after all! The ship’s crew was mainly Spaniards, and this is where she learned to speak some Spanish. It was also on this ship that the crew discovered her true identity, but by this point she had gained the good graces of the captain, and had proven her usefulness at sea. Her secret out, she decided to grow out her hair again, and went by Maria, the Spanish version of Mary. The crew started to call her “La Rosa”, the rose. When she asked what that was about, she was told she was “La Rosa de los mares,” the rose of the seas, and was immediately proposed to by the same man who explained it. She punched him in the gut, saying “A rose has thorns, do you really want to try it?”
But the name stuck. Maria de la Rosa. She never complained about the title, but wore it with pride.
Later on she left the ship for other locales, going from one ship to another in search of her father. Eventually she met up with Captain Black Art, a countryman, a kinsman, and one whom had known her father, and knew of his fate. They bonded over this, and Maria decided to sail with the Captain and crew for the time being.
Brigid
Powder Monkey
Born in Cork, Ireland around 1694.
The Mac Gearailt clan held land both by the harbour and inland. Brigid was raised as a hard worker who never fit into what their mother wanted for them. She should have been able to be a fine woman to tend a farm and home. This was not the case for young Brigid. She hunted with her father, became skilled with a bow and axe when needed.
Cian Mac Gearailt was Brig’s grandfather who fought in the war against King James II and died in 1691 before Brig was born. Lugan Mac Gearailt Brig’s father never returned to Limerick after his fathers death so Brig did most of the travelling when needed. In the travels Brig would wear men’s clothing to keep herself safer on the road.
Between the travels she always would see the ships in the two harbours wondering where they were headed. Her grandfather on her mothers side was a merchant in the navy so she had always remembered the stories he told.
Around 1700 When Brig’s youngest siblings had grown enough to help car for the family lane Brig set out from home to the shipyard. She was able to talk her way onto a ship and never looked back.
On ship she went by a few different names but always was thought of as a boy. Started working in the cabins then even with the cook a bit. As the time went on it was found out of her being a woman and she was left in a port in the Americas. Quickly was able to get onto another ship headed for the Caribbean which was where she linked up with her current crew.
The ship she was on was not the best and was in a firefight that left it to sink. When the Adventure Galley rolled up onto the wreckage Brig was still holding onto the pieces of ship left. It was a Brigantine ship so the name Brig stuck.
Working as the Powder Monkey for the Port City Pyrates Brig keeps up the idea of being a guy. Don’t leave Brig alone with the black powder or you may be in for a surprise.
Damiana
Tiffy n Cookie
Dami was a young french girl who didn’t enjoy her life as it was. She plotted to leave France for adventure. After boarding a ship, it was invaded by English Privateers and the passengers were to be sold off at auction. Since she was a late bloomer and wouldn’t become pregnant, she was purchased by a local brothel.
At the brothel, Dami learned from the ladies all the skills of cooking and midwifery. She learned to tend to the ailments of the ladies of the house and never turned away from a friend in need.
After a few years, she escaped the brothel and found members of BlackArt’s krewe in a nearby tavern, enjoying their ill earned booty. Having cared for ailments of a couple of the members, they secreted her on board Adventure Galley.
When she was discovered by Cap’n BlackArt, he was about to have her thrown overboard but the krewe members objected. Aboard ship she was assigned the womanly duty of cooking and it was soon known her skills with mending flesh were invaluable. Dami was not much of a fighter but she will surely patch you up from one. She keeps the krew healthy and happy with her skills with a knife and is a valued member of the krewe.
Rotten Ron
Deckhand n Border
Ronald was born December 18, 1662 in Leeds, England. His father was granted lordship of a manor in the borough of Leeds by Oliver Cromwell, Lord Protector of the Republican Commonwealth, for his service in the New Model Army. Ronald’s father was instrumental in the overthrow of the Royalist Forces in the English Civil War.
Ronald was the second son, and third of four children to be born into the manor. Their main focus was to oversee the flocks of sheep, and the production of textiles that were a major portion of the English trade at this time.
Ronald attended Huntingdon Grammar School, and then the Sidney Sussex College in Cambridge. Married young, in 1681, Ronald had two children within the first three years of marriage. Ronald entered Lincoln’s Inn in 1698, with an eye to pursuing a career as a barrister.
In 1701, Ronald left England and stowed away on a merchant vessel bound for the Indies in a desperate attempt to free himself from an overbearing wife and two ungrateful children.
After the merchant ship was boarded by the crew of the Duke, under Captain Avery, Ronald chose to join the pirate crew rather than hang with those not willing to comply. Ronald was accepted as a deck hand, later promoted to cook’s apprentice. When he had the opportunity, Ronald joined the crew of the Adventure Galley under Captain BlackArt, where he serves as a boarder, the first wave to swing across to the deck of a ship in order to convince their crew to surrender to the Adventure Galley and Captain BlackArt.
It was with this crew that Ronald started to use humor as a way to distract them from his failing health. Unfortunately his sense of humor elicits more groans than chuckles, and this has earned him the name, Ronald the Rotten.
Edward
Border
