By Donna Beth Weilenman
Martinez News-Gazette

The booms you may hear Saturday and Sunday will be cannonfire. But there’s no need to worry. It’s just pirates and their ship to shore battles at the Northern California Pirate Festival in Vallejo’s Waterfront Park.

The Northern California Pirate Festival is one of the few entertaining events that builds its schedule around the tides, organizers often say.

And one of the reasons Vallejo was chosen for the first Northern California Pirate Festival is because it had a suitable waterfront, so a pirate ship could sail by the shoreline, challenging those on land.

Earlier in the festival’s history, the red sails of the Aldebaran, a schooner, would come into view. Its crew would climb the ship’s lines to shout challenges and brandish cutlasses, while others prepared the schooner’s Lyle guns and aimed them at the shoreline.

While Lyle guns sound impressive and give off plenty of smoke, they’re not weapons. In fact, they’re normally used to save lives. Lyle guns are used to throw lines to a stranded ship that needs rescuing.

But the Aldebaran was damaged severely a few years ago, ending its days as the waterside invader of the park.

The next ship to take up the role was the 30-ton ketch Nehemiah, built in 1971 and outfitted with white sails. Its builders sailed the Nehemiah around the world before settling in Marina Bay.

This year marks the debut of the Sea Eagle. And there won’t be any mistaking this privateer sailboat’s intent. Two of its sails are bright red and white stripes.

But the most distinctive sail has a grinning skull and crossed swords, reminiscent of the Jolly Roger flown by the real pirate “Calico” Jack Rackham. But Rackham’s banner was black and white. The Sea Eagle’s design has a red background – and that’s the signal for no quarter.

Attendees should get a good look at the Sea Eagle. Its shallower draft means if the tide is right, it can get closer to the shoreline than the larger ships.

Another key reason Vallejo got the festival is because that city had no objections to the noise created during the ship to shore battles. Firing back at the Sea Eagle will be the Brotherhood of Oceanic Mercenaries – B.O.O.M. for shorts – part of the crew of the Emerald Rose of Washington and Oregon.

Other Bay Area communities were more particular – and they lost the chance to experience an annual invasion of sea rogues, scalawags, a variety of Captain Jack Sparrows and a few Captain Hooks as well as a dozen actors portraying historical pirates during the two-day festival.

The Northern California Pirate Festival has been a Father’s Day Weekend tradition for many families since it began a dozen years ago. And from the first, it’s proven a popular event that outdrew its organizers’ expectations. During one edition, the festival accommodated the largest crowd of pirates ever assembled, although that number was exceeded a few weeks later before the festival could get its attendance registered with the Guinness world recordkeepers.

This year’s festival will feature the Northern California Celtic Pirate rock band O’Craven, based in San Jose. In addition to traditional instruments, the band plays electric bagpipes, concertina and tinwhistles.

Among the returning favorites are the Seadogs, which some will recognizes as the paddy West School of Seamanship from the London Docks of the Dickens Christmas Fair in San Francisco. Skip Henderson and the Starboard Watch will play traditional maritime melodies and ballads.

Also filling the air with music will be the Silver Strings, Penny Opry, Brass Farthing and the women of the House of the Rising Sun.

Tatseena’s Serpent Siren bellydancers, the aquatic Mermaids of the Dive Bar, the parrots of Fowl Tales, the Court of the Pirate Lords, the Kondor Brothers and others will give shows during the day, and various pirate crews will have educational and fun displays for aspiring sea rogues to see. Vendors can outfit a pirate in bright splendor and will have plenty of other treasures that could catch a crewmate’s eye.

Kraken slides, a zip line, challenging games and other adventures await visitors as well.

Ticket prices start at $12 and are available online at https://www.norcalpiratefestival.com/ or at the gate. Weekend passes also are available. Hours are 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. Saturday and Sunday at Vallejo Waterfront Park, 298 Mare Island Way. Lot and street parking are available, but no pets will be admitted.