Anne, Mary & Calico Jack: History’s Boldest Pirate Trio

In this issue, Anne Bonny’s distraction, Rackham’s daring, Mary Read’s steel — on Aug 22, 1720, the trio stole the sloop William and carved their legend into pirate history. We also chase ghostly witches on Cape Cod, scour the wreck of a billion-dollar steamer off Nantucket, and set our spyglass toward Whitby Harbor, where England’s coast prepares for a festival of sea shanties and cutlasses. And aye, there’s a plunder pick so fine it might bankrupt Blackbeard himself.

So stow yer landlubber worries and follow us — for the tide be rising with tales of treasure, trickery, and true pirate daring.

⚓ This Week in Pirate History

This Week in Pirate History: August 22, 1720 — The Great Theft of the William

Ahoy, history sails! On this day in 1720, John "Calico Jack" Rackham, with Anne Bonny and Mary Read at his side, pulled off one of the era's most audacious pirate heists—snatching the swift sloop William straight from Nassau harbor and giving new meaning to the word "surprise raid."

What Went Down…

• The Crew: Rackham collected a band of about a dozen scallywags—plus the formidable Anne Bonny and Mary Read, both expecting but unafraid to fight—ready to plunder.

• The Heist: Under the cover of island shadows, the crew boarded the William, overpowered its guardians, and set sail with a stolen prize. Rackham’s fiery grin must’ve thundered louder than the cannons.

• The Aftermath: Over the next two months, the trio terrorized merchant shipping through the West Indies—until their luck ran out near Jamaica, where Captain Jonathan Barnet caught up with them and hauled their black-flagged behinds before the judge.

Anne's Secret Weapon

Anne Bonny wasn’t just swagger and a sly grin—legend claims she used her charms to lure Nassau’s harbor guards off-guard, clearing Rackham’s swashbuckling path toward the William. A distraction worthy of stagecraft. (While some of this may lean on lore over logbook, it makes for a sea-worthy tale!)

So raise a glass in honor of a perfect piratical pitch—bold, cunning, and unforgettable.

Modern-Day Pirates & Billion-Dollar Dreams: The Case of the RMS Republic

Ahoy, treasure hunters! Plot this on your maps—the RMS Republic, that so-called “Millionaires’ Ship,” sank in the foggy waters off Nantucket in 1909. Loaded to the gunwales with wealthy passengers and rumors of hoards beyond measure, she’s long been whispered about… but now, the rumors are getting louder.

Enter Captain Martin Bayerle, the world’s most determined “modern-day pirate.” With an eye patch, a booming laugh, and a staggering amount of tenacity (plus decades of research), he's spent over four decades chasing the Republic’s submerged gold.

Here’s what he claims is down there:

• A $25 million (1909 value) cache of Russian double-eagle gold coins, desperately needed to prop up the Tsar’s shaky empire

• Nearly $800,000 in U.S. Navy payroll for the Great White Fleet, worth hundreds of millions today

• The personal riches of millionaire passengers—jewelry, silver, and opulence fit for caskets of gold

• Together? A treasure trove now valued at over $10 billion.

Bayerle’s company, Lords of Fortune LLC, holds legal salvage rights since a court granted them control over the ship’s cargo in 2011. They’re preparing a new expedition, seeking to finally pull this submerged bounty from the ocean’s grip.

If they succeed, it won’t just be the greatest treasure recovery in maritime history — it’ll be a tale told in taverns for centuries. 👉 Full story

💎 Plunder Pick of the Week: Pirate Skull & Flintlock Pistol Pendant (White Gold)

This be no trinket fer landlubbers — it’s a masterpiece o’ piracy wrought in solid 14k white gold. A fierce skull stares ye down, flanked by twin flintlock pistols, every detail carved with the precision of a master gunsmith turned jeweler.

Specs fit fer a captain’s ransom:

• Material: 14k solid white gold

• Size: 1.5″ tall × 1.76″ wide × 0.56″ thick

• Crafted in the USA and shipped with a care kit to keep it shining bright

But here’s the rub — at $9,640.99, it’ll cost ye more than a chest of doubloons. If I, Captain Blackquill, were to claim this bounty, I’d need a season’s worth o’ pillaging, three fat galleons worth of Spanish silver, and a crew stout enough to haul it home.

Still, imagine the swagger strutting onto deck with this beauty gleaming ‘round yer neck… the seas would know yer name.

👉 Claim the treasure here

The Witch of Wellfleet — Grief, Ghosts & the Whydah’s Wake

In the windswept dunes of Cape Cod, a legend lingers like sea mist—an outlawed heart, a cursed love, and a ghost called the “Witch of Wellfleet.”

After his ship, the Whydah Gally, sank in a savage storm off Wellfleet in 1717, Black Sam Bellamy was lost to legendary tragedy. But some say his lover remained—Maria “Goody” Hallett, a local maid shunned by Puritan society for her illicit pregnancy and torn love. With grief like acid in her veins, tales claim she called upon the sea itself, unleashing the storm that wrecked Bellamy’s ship. Her curse—some say captured in spectral screams—echoes in the cliffs and swamps tonight.

Others tell a mournful version—Goody watched helplessly from the dunes as wreckage washed ashore. Her spirit, broken and brokenhearted, began haunting the shores, wailing for a lost love. She was eventually chased into the nearby White Cedar Swamp, where her final breath faded among the reeds—and her ghost remained behind.

She earned many names: The Witch of Wellfleet, Witch of the Red Heels, even Witch of the Eastham Dunes, and her presence is said to still haunt Lucifer’s Land, or Devil’s Pasture—names that whisper of vengeance, heartbreak, and shipwreck’s toll.

Her story shades the grim truth of piracy with sorrow and specters—proving that not all drowned pirate loves rest quietly beneath the waves.

Read the full haunting tale here: The Witch of Wellfleet

Event Spotlight: Whitby Pirate Festival – Seaside Shenanigans in England

Dates: August 29–30, 2025

Location: Historic Whitby Harbor, North Yorkshire, England

Ahoy, land-lovers and sea-spirits! The legendary Whitby Pirate Festival is set to overtake the North Yorkshire coastline once more. With history in every cobblestone and salty spray in the air, this weekend-long swashbuckling celebration is a treasure trove for adventurers of all ages.

What Awaits Ye in Whitby:

• Pirate-Invasion at the Harbor: Street entertainers—mermaids, swashbucklers, and ragtag buccaneers—descend upon the harbor with flair and flair. Expect parades, swordplay, and coastal rogues in full regalia.

• Captain’s Court & Pirate King Auction: Strut your swagger on deck—contestants vie for the coveted title of Pirate King with fanfare, challenge, and a diamond-studded crown that leads the charge.

• Best Dressed & Sea Shanties Galore: Whether ye don a tricorne, mermaid tail, or barnacle-studded beard, there’s a contest with yer name on it. Music and shanties fill the air at the Whitby Bandstand, while the Auckland Shanty Singers keep the chorus hearty and the mugs full.

• Family Fun & Merchant’s Cove: Kids and corsairs alike can hunt for treasure, craft their own pirate garb, and barter at the Treasure Hunters Bazaar for rare booty, toys, and mead.

• Charity Plunder: Most importantly, this festival raises doubloons for the local RNLI lifeboat service—proving that true piracy is giving back to your crew.

• 👉 Festival Details

  

  🗣️ Share the Spoils, Matey!

  Know a landlubber who’d love tales of treasure, ghost ships, and real pirate history? Don’t keep the gold to yerself—send ‘em our way!

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  Fair winds and full inboxes!

  Sail with us across the digital seas:📜 TikTok: @thepiraterepublic▶️ YouTube: The Pirate Republic

  🎖️ Thanks for Embarkin’ on the Voyage

  We set sail every Friday, storm or shine. Keep yer spyglass pointed at the horizon...and may yer week be full o’ plunder, parlay, and just the right amount o’ mutiny.

  Share this letter with yer crewmates, an if ye find treasure or tales worth tell’n, send them to captainblackquill@gmail.com.