Pirates sing in boating season - Los Angeles Times
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Pirates sing in boating season

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A group of boisterous, unruly pirates took over the Newport Sea Base on Saturday.

They sang, they carried on, and they even shot off a few cannons. But the antics were all in good fun. The crew of seafaring thieves were well received by the crowd of children and parents who gathered at the sea base to join in the opening day celebrations.

“Opening day celebrations are carried on throughout the world of yachting, and we’re carrying on the tradition,” said Newport Sea Base program director Berkeley Green.

Opening day is a tradition celebrated by yacht clubs to welcome in the official boating season, Green said. Although the sea base isn’t exactly a yacht club, the sea base is a part of the Newport boating community, and it celebrates opening day every year, Green said.

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“For us, it’s an open house,” Green said.

A crowd of Boy Scouts, other children and their parents roamed around the sea base grounds Saturday, checking out everything the waterfront facility has to offer, on and off the water. The land lovers took part in team building games on the grass and spun a wheel for prizes. The sea base also had a booth at which anyone could register for the next session of classes, which are open to the public.

For those with sea legs, Saturday’s event offered an opportunity to go out on the water for sailboat rides.

The Newport Beach Firefighters Assn. heated things up a bit, cooking hot dogs on a large grill in the parking lot.

Local radio personality Mike Whitehead was broadcasting from the sea base for his weekend radio show, “Capt. Mike Whitehead’s Boathouse Radio Show.” Whitehead interviewed Newport Beach Mayor Don Webb and sea base executive director Charlie Abbott.

At noon, everyone gathered at the flagpole for a flag ceremony by the Newport Beach-based Sea Scouts. Webb addressed the crowd and shared some highlights of Newport Beach’s boating history.

At the opposite end of the Newport Sea Base complex, author Gail Selinger, dressed in full pirate ensemble, explained the truth about real pirates. Selinger, who wrote the newly-published “Idiots Guide to Pirates,” said she has always been fascinated by pirates and has researched them for most of her life.

Despite the frightening image of a pirate, the children who attended the opening day celebration harbored nothing but curiosity about them, Selinger said.dpt.23-seabase-CPhotoInfoGG1Q7TVC20060423iy5gyzncMARK DUSTIN / DAILY PILOT(LA)Members of the New Providence Privateers perform at the Newport Sea Base on Saturday morning. Singing pirates were part of the attractions, which included food, games and sailing.

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