500 Kids Kidnapped by Pirates

The villains from Paul Cayard’s Black Pearl, Pirates of the Caribbean put on a show, hosted by sponsor Pescanova, on Melbourne’s Central Pier that instilled in the kids the allure and the fascination of the Volvo Ocean Race around the world.

The children, from State schools around the city, turned out in Pescanova-branded yellow foul weather oilskins, like little lighthouse keepers with ears keenly tuned for tales of the sea.

Black Pearl’s participation in the race is a partnership between the Walt Disney Company and Volvo Ocean Race, supporting the July release of the film Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Man’s Chest.

At each of the ports of call in the race, the Pirates of the Caribbean with Pescanova is hosting a major children’s event. The Melbourne show today was uniquely Australian, with stories of shearers, bushrangers and the local fauna.

Central Pier was transformed from a concrete block into a Pirate City by means of spectacular décor – a red carpet walkway lined with barrels and old sea chests bursting with treasure, muskets and sails. Melbourne Lord Mayor John So was presented with a scale model of the Black Pearl.

At the end of the show, the pirates took to the Black Pearl and sailed around the harbour, a foray made particularly interesting by the arrival of a southerly buster, to put the crew on its mettle within the confines of the docks.