Get Ready for the Annual Invasion of Jose Gasparilla David Rockwell, SO-CM 7

GASPARILLA

Get Ready for the Annual Invasion of Jose Gasparilla’s Pirate Krewes!

Edited/updated excerpt from article written by David Rockwell, Flotilla 72 St. Petersburg, published in Spring 2019 issue of INTERCOM. Photo by George Papabeis, Flotilla 74 Brandon.

Annually since 1904, with only 10 exceptions, Tampa Bay has been “invaded” by pirates. For more than 50 of those years, the U.S. Coast Guard and Auxiliary have assisted in keeping the thousands of boaters who came to watch safely. The coming year will be no different, as the pirate ship José Gasparilla sails into the Port of Tampa Saturday, Apr. 17, 2021, likely once again escorted by the Tampa Fire Rescue fi reboat Patriot with its water cannons fully energized and trailed by an armada of vessels for the 2019 Gasparilla Pirate Invasion. (Ye Mystic Krewe of the Gasparilla and event organizers resheduled the event from January to April due to the pandemic.)

Gasparilla is said to be the largest boat parade in the nation. It has seen as many as 3,000 boats participating, and nearly every year draws 300,000 spectators. One year, the parade drew an estimated one million.

The Coast Guard’s primary mission, along with its partner agencies including the Auxiliary, is to provide safety and security for the Gasparilla parade, usually attended by thousands of recreational boaters.

If you plan to participate in the 2021 invasion, be sure to contact your Flotilla Com-

mander or Flotilla Staff Offi cer-Operations, and to attend the pre-event briefi ngs. Ω