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Buccaneer Days in Catalina!
The wenches partied like parates at Buccaneer Days 2009. Argggg!
"Yes I am a pirate
200 Years too late..."
Arrrrg!
This chant echoes through the coves and over the hills of Catalina
Island's Two Harbors the first of October each year like the sound of
cannons thundering on the high seas back in the 1800s.
Except that here there's nothing to plunder, aside from other party
boats and the bar. Buccaneer Days 2010 is Oct. 2. PubClub has created a separate page for all of last year's photos. along with a video. The link is here.
Video from Buccaneer Days 2009.
And plunder the people do, for two to three days during the annual
ritual knows as Buccaneer Days. Everyone is dressed in pirate costumes
and the booty they seek is not gold, silk or other treasures. It's rum,
wild times and hanging with other modern-day buccaneers, whose attire
ranges from incredible thousand-dollar-plus full-decked outfits to bandits
sporting bandanas, eye patches and brandishing plastic swords. Arrrrg.
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Pirate
Provisions
• A boat with /pirate flag
• Pirate wardrobe (the more all- out, the better)
• On-board beverages for hosting Pirate parties. (Hint: PubClub
prefers dark rum.)
• Make reservations for dinner on Friday and Saturday night
at the restaurant (this can be done on shore)
• Clean public showers are on shore; .25 for 90 seconds
• Buccaneer Days 2010 is Oct. 2.
• For more Buccanner Days Photos, scroll below
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They stay on sail and powerboats – the only other accommodations
on remote Two Harbors are a 12-room B&B and a campground –
and motor around the harbor on dingys, kayaks or canoes. Most of the
time, with cocktail in hand, they are headed to pillage drinks from
other boats. It's hardly a scene as wild as that of
Lake Travis in Texas, but it's a spirited environment where
cocktails are at the ready as readily as a sword or pistol was for the
real pirates.
On shore, entertainment awaits at the single bar, which is no more
than a wooden deck. It's attached to the only restaurant, called the
Harbor Reef. A band plays on a small stage, people dance under the
stars, get drunk at the plastic tables or crowd around the bar with
friends and fellow pirates.
Capturing the booty – Buccaneer Days is fun for pirates and wenches.
The party is a bounty of beautiful wenches and pirates on the prowl.
The "crooked" costumes turn Two Harbors crazy each October.
Actually, there is second bar at the back of the Harbor Reef, which
offers a bit of relief from the crowded outer bar. Day and night the
deck is packed, as is the surrounding area. The more the merrier!?
While Buccaneer Days can last up to five days – diehards arrive
Wednesday and may not leave until Monday – it's pretty much a weekend
affair. The big day is Saturday. It has a few small activates but the
action is at the bar. The pirating begins around noon and lasts until
late at night. The costume contest is not until 9 p.m., which makes
for some "spirited" competition – thanks to the liquid
spirits. A band plays all day, the bar deck is swayin' and beautiful
"wenches" serve up navy grogs from a portable drink stand.
Arrrrg!
Think outdoor Halloween
party with everyone dressed in the same theme.
Besides being 200 years too late, most of these 200-plus modern-day
pirates (and wenches or damsels in distress) are over-40 victims of fate.
But for those who go for younger women (and men) there's enough 20s
and 30s to fill a modest pirate chest. Unlike the days of yore, everyone
gets along without regard to age.
With only about a hundred moorings, Two Harbors starts filling up on
Thursday (PubClub has sailed on Wednesday) and by late
morning Friday it is full. This forces people around the cove to what
is known as the Fourth of July or some four miles away to Emerald Bay.
Some boats just anchor in Two Harbors.
The campground ($12 per person,
per night for a campsite, limited cabins also available) also fills
up so make a reservation at least a month in advance (310-510-8368 or
on-line at the Catalina
Web Site)
Stars on the water: Buccaneers drinking in dingys headed to a boat party.
A water taxi provides transpiration to shore ($3 each way), which is
what most people take in at night. Otherwise, the dingy dock can get
quite interesting around 2 in the morning.
Buccaneer Days is for party pirates.
Perhaps in these modern times their occupation is just not around.
But they certainly don't wear a frown.
Elaborate costumes are part of the Buccaneer Days scene.
Buccaneer Days '06 Photos
The cast of characters, the pirates and wenches, of Buccaneer Days '06.
The bar patio was
packed in the afternoon and into the night.
The crew of Chinook
behind bars – where they belong.
The girls got a
little dingy in their dingy.
While down at the
dock, the dingys piled up like pirated cargo.
PubClub's Los Angeles Guide:
• Catalina.
Avalon and Two Harbors, so far and yet so near to L.A.
• Hollywood.
Visit some of L.A.'s hottest and most unusual clubs.
• Long
Beach. Home to the World's Fastest Beach Party, and more.
• Santa
Monica/Westside. Peek inside L.A.'s most diverse pub and
club scene.
• South
Bay. Where the young and beautiful get wild and crazy.
• Sunset
Strip/Beverly Hills. Hear the next hot band or see a celebrity
(maybe).
• Venice
Beach/Marina de Rey. Muscle Beach and L.A.'s newest hot spot.
• Orange
County. The young and young-at-heart love this upscale area
South of L.A.
Here are the highlights of PubClub.com's guide to Los Angeles:
• Start here for the Best
of L.A.
• To see all of the city, ride the Party
Bus; it's a lot more reliable than those "maps of the
stars homes" people sell around town.
• In PreParty,
learn the vital information necessary to navigate this real-life movie
set.
• Get a first-person perspective from The
Bartender; our man about town.
• Learn all about "California Cuisine" in
our Restaurant
and Dining Guide.
 Step
aboard the Party Bus!
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