(UPDATED 9:13 PM with 15 more photos, including 3 more aerials!)


(Aerial views of Pirates’ Landing by Long Bach Nguyen; click each photo to see a larger image)
The Seafair Pirates have landed!

(That photo and next 2 are by WSB’s Patrick Sand)
More than anything, their annual Alki arrival is about the kids. And the photo ops. And more kids.

And the occasional politician.

LOTS more photos and video to come, of course. And though a cloudburst has dampened things post-landing, the beach festivities are scheduled to continue for a few more hours – the sun might just make a comeback.
P.S. Before they landed, the pirates tell us, they took time to remember last year’s Captain Kidd, the late Rusty Harper, with a wreath thrown toward the briny deep of Puget Sound.
ADDED 3:01 PM: Thanks to Alki photographer David Hutchinson for the next three views of the Pirates’ boisterous beach approach:



Still adding more. The Pirates will be back in West Seattle for the Grand Parade on July 19th, by the way … if not sooner.
ADDED 9:13 PM: So much more to see. Here’s the crowd on the ground:

(That photo and others from here are by WSB’s Patrick Sand unless otherwise credited)
Here’s another view from the sky:

(Photo by Long Bach Nguyen)
Even with all those people, there were some singular moments – like this pirate fan who wanted to be first out in the water to greet them:

Others were more content to sit and wait … and sit some more:

The clouds menaced:

One pirate was ready:

Another just stuck with the sword:

And then there were some modern, uh, weapons:

Back up on stage, was this the key to the city?

Or maybe the ignition key for Moby Duck?

All over the beach, people were making new friends, like this possible future Hi-Yu candidate who posed with royalty:

This one too:

All the while, the battle for Alki raged … we think:

Some watched from a distance:

(That photo and next by Long Bach Nguyen)
And one last look at that crowd – note the pole-vaulting east of Alki Bathhouse:

Tomorrow, the Pirates will be part of the Pride Parade downtown.
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