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The fabled Seafair Pirates landed at Alki Beach at 12:45 p.m. today, Saturday, to a crowd of thousands. This landing was unusual as the ship carried the pirates right up to dry land due to high tide. In years past, they would have to leap into the water and wade across to the beach in their cumbersome boots lifting supplies over their heads.

Mark "Keelhaul" Jensen is the PR director of the Alki Pirates and was monitoring the crowds along the beach for safety reasons. "We have a little surprise," he said. "It's a dry landing for the pirates, but for the free pirate toy kits we gave away squirt guns. It's going to be a wet landing anyway. It was 2003 I believe when the tide was high, but not this high."

Bruce Bentley is Vice-Commandant, 2011 Seafair Commodores,and has lived in West Seattle for 25 years. He chaired the Seattle Parks Commission for amost four years and is on Parks Oversight Committee.

"Great turn out," he said. "The season of Seafair is here. It's really gearing up. The next two weeks we're going to be jammed crazy, with the Northwest Festival Hosting Association, Seafair Torchlight Parade, Seafair Princess Banquet that we have every year here at Salty's. We're going to be very busy, having a lot of fun, lot of sweat on the brow as we jump from one event to the next."