Apparently, I pirate better than people half my age:

Well, I don’t mean to brag or anything, but guess who won Most Authentic Adult Female Costume at the Blackbeard’s Pirate Jamboree on Ocracoke Island?

Sewing skillz.

I thank my momma.

I had fierce competition against women half my age, some of them wearing short polyester striped skirts, bustiers and fishnet hose. Which is definitely not authentic.

Speaking of authenticity, I did have an issue with the pirate judge on the far right in the above picture. He kept nagging me to take my eyeglasses off. I gave him the stink eye.

The emcee for the contest, Steve Whetzel— the ‘real’ pirate mascot for East Carolina University Pirates– kept asking me “Did you really sew this? Where did you get the fabric? This is incredible!”

I told him I’d been sewing all my life. A labor of love.

I sewed my hat from felt. I modified a Butterick pattern to sew the wool jacket and embellished it on my own. I had boots and found a thrifted blouse. I researched and ordered accessories. I even embellished the accessories. I filled my outfit with passion. I guess it paid off.

But there were other winners that day!

This young boy won Most Authentic Child’s Costume. He was so cute, and that hair! By the way, no one told him to remove his eyeglasses.

This group won the best family costumes. Yes, this is all one family, except for the judge on the far right. I believe the pirate in the blue shorts won Most Authentic Male Costume. The boy who won the child’s competition was in this family, too!

This privateer tried to bribe the judges with rum! I love his hat.

This entertaining mermaid kept us laughing with salty fish tales. She sat there on the edge of the stage, wisecracking and flipping her tail.

Maybe next year, Don will enter the Most Authentic Male Pirate. I sewed his hat, shirt, vest, waist sash, and pants. You can’t tell from the picture, but I mopped the garage floor with the clothes to weather them. Really.

For someone who’s not really not a costume dress-up kind of guy, he had a blast.

The weekend had demonstrations and exhibits. The Shadow Players put on a fun show with exciting swordplay. In all, it was a grand Pirate Jamboree in honor of Blackbeard the Pirate and pirate lore and legend.

Thanks for visiting! Blackbeard’s Pirate Jamboree is a weekend long, living-history festival, celebrating colonial life and Blackbeard’s legacy on Ocracoke! It’s our favorite place to be.