Gasparilla: Tampa’s Pirate Tradition Explained

1. Introduction: The Pirate Who Wasn’t There Every January, the saltwater of Hillsborough Bay is churned into a white froth by the weight of a century-old tradition. A 165-foot, three-masted vessel—bristling with cannons and draped in the black-and-white iconography of the skull and crossbones—leads a sprawling flotilla toward the heart ...