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apt. Carl Cannon Jr. says he was born to be a pirate.

Or at least born to play the role of one.

Captain Carl Cannon Jr., pirate. Luna, dog.

He certainly looked the part while tied up to the town dock aboard Adventure – a nearly 40-foot, home-built, 19th-century replica. It was an unintended layover on the last Tuesday in May, and Adventure, looking like the pirate ship it is, drew a crowd.

Capt. Carl’s Cannon’s first mate and co-pirate is his wife, Jo Cannon, who quickly disappeared below deck with one of their two Chihuahuas.

Jo Cannon appears above deck.

Motioning to a hatch with steps leading below, “That’s the stairway to hell,” Capt. Cannon said. He has a hearty laugh, revealing a gold tooth with his smile.

Complete with trap door, crew’s quarters are off limits to guests, including TownDock.net. Visitors were not intended to be welcomed aboard Adventure that day anyway, as Oriental was an impromptu stop due to weather: a brisk wind on the nose while en route to Hampton, Virginia, at the mouth of the James River. They were headed for the annual Blackbeard Pirate Festival, one of many events in the circuit the Cannon’s travel aboard Adventure.

It didn’t take long for Adventure to draw a crowd at the Oriental town dock.

Adventure at the town dock on a rainy May day.

“We go wherever pirates are needed,” Cannon says matter of factly.

“Our mission is to preserve maritime history and promote cultural history. We do very serious reenactments. We also have all kinds of fun.”

This day is more of the latter. Cannon presents as a stripped down version of his character; faded jeans instead of breeches, gum boots in lieu of buckle shoes. If the dark beard and dreadlocks didn’t give it away, Carl Cannon’s alter ego is none other than Blackbeard; the infamous pirate known to have plundered and perished in the waters of eastern North Carolina in the early 1700s.

Despite the ominous sign hanging across the gangway warning onlookers not to board, there are no real days off for a pirate ship and its captain. It’s not everyday Oriental has a vessel of this classification visit, and the village took note. Passersby stopped to chat with Capt. Cannon or take a picture of his vessel.

A wooden sign suggest entry would be unwise.

No beatings were observed.

Adventure remains in all its glory, and working order, while on passage from one event to another. From the reenactment of the Battle of Ocracoke on Ocracoke Island every year for the Pirate Jamboree, or Bald Head Island in South Carolina for the Pirate Invasion, to their flagship event of each year: The Beaufort Pirate Invasion in their homeport.

Adventure is moored about 18NM south of Oriental, in Gallants Channel at the Beaufort Maritime Museum annex.

“She gets a lot of attention,” Cannon says of Adventure. Something he doesn’t shy away from. As acting Blackbeard of eastern North Carolina, it comes with the job description.

Adventure, he says, began as a fiberglass replica of Joshua Slocum’s boat, Spray. Slocum became the first person to solo-circumnavigate the world by sailboat in 1858. Spray was a shallow draft, beamy yawl featuring a counter stern and center-cockpit.

This particular Slocum reproduction was built in Snead’s Ferry by two brothers in 1985. All that’s left of the original design today aboard Adventure is the hull and main mast, and the forbidden quarters below.

Cannon’s evolution to Blackbeard, and his boat to a pirate ship, was gradual.

He bought the boat in 2010. In 2011, Cannon stopped brushing his hair and beard. It worked.

In 2016, Cannon was officially named as acting Blackbeard for the Beaufort Pirate Invasion in 2016. The title was bestowed by his predecessor, Pirate Invasion organizer, and lifelong mentor, Capt. Horatio Sinbad.

Capt. Cannon details the conversion from replica to pirate ship.

That year, Sinbad was showing signs of slowing down, and he passed the torch to Cannon to head the non-profit organization The Beaufort Pirate Invasion, Inc.

“He told me to get my ship ready,” Cannon says. Beaufort born and raised, Cannon first met Sinbad when he was 16. When Sinbad spoke, Cannon listened. Adventure “all came out of my imagination. Modified to a little Spanish Galleon.”

In 2017, Cannon began converting Adventure.

On the deck of a pirate ship.

First the hull was painted black. The engine was re-powered with an 80-horsepower Ford Lehman diesel. Ratlines were added to the shrouds. Decorative pickets added to the gunwales. In 2020 Cannon cut the cockpit out of the boat, removed the rear cabin and decks, and chopped off the mizzen mast. He added boards all around, and a galleon cabin astern. He wants to convert the boat to a traditional lug rig, he says. As is, the boat is a sloop or cutter utilizing the original main mast and rigging.

“She sails,” Cannon says confidently, despite having removed the boats mizzen mast and sail. “We can easily do an 80-mile day under power.”

Adventure carries an ample stern.

But that shouldn’t be necessary. Even with a lay day in Oriental, there is still plenty of time to make the 152-nautical mile journey up to the festival in Virginia. Where Cannon and his wife Jo will demonstrate period cooking, candle making, net making as well as baggy wrinkles—the traditional chaffing gear used on rigging to protect sails. Capt. Cannon estimates 26 events per year, including the Spanish Attack of 1747 of Beaufort, which has been reenacted since 1960.

Captain Sinbad’s letter of marque is mentioned in the Boca Raton News, Jan 27, 1985.

Carl Cannon Jr. has been a mariner all his life. His father was a commercial fisherman and operated Cannon Seafood in Beaufort from the 1960s-80s. Cannon followed in his fathers foot steps running shrimp boats or crabbing vessels, but aspired to be a pirate, he says, and learned from the best.

Capt. Horatio Sinbad, who passed in April 2025, possessed an actual letter of marque. A government license allowing privately owned vessels, also known as privateers, to attack and capture enemy merchant ships during war time.

“He was the actual and only licensed privateer in North Carolina,” says Cannon.

Capt. Cannon sees himself as a down to earth Blackbeard, but takes his pirate duties seriously.

There are plenty of swords and rifles stowed aboard Adventure, along with 25 pounds of gun powder for the six mortars and eight cannons throughout the ship’s deck.

Ten cannons, if you count Carl and Jo.

“We are real pirates,” Capt. Carl Cannon Jr. says. “As real as we can get without killing anyone.”

Captain Carl Cannon Jr.

Posted Thursday July 17, 2025 by Allison DeWeese

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