Shiver Ye Voice Boxes Mateys, International Talk Like a Pirate Day is Approaching and a Competition to find Best Pirate in the UK has Begun!

Calling All Swashbucklers, Have Ye Got The Pirate Factor?

Nearly half (46%) admitted to using the pirate talk language setting on Facebook

Over 1/3 of those surveyed chose Captain Jack Sparrow as their favourite fictional pirate.

International Talk Like a Pirate Day, which takes place on Wednesday, 19th September this year, sees thousands of wannabe Cap’ns across the world putting on their best pirate voice.

To celebrate the day a competition has been launched, Pirate Factor, a parody of the X Factor, the popular ITV singing competition. The aim is to find the UK’s best pirate impersonator, a person that knows their ‘aarrrs’ from their ‘yo ho hos’ for the chance to win the booty, which includes a pirate hat, money for a charity of their choice and the glory of knowing they are the best pirate in Britain.

Those wishing to enter must submit a voice clip of their best pirate impression to Pirate Factor, there is also the option to include a photo of themselves in their pirate gear if they want to upstage other landlubbers.

The day was originally invented by John Baur and Mark Summers from the USA in 1995, after exclaiming ‘Arrr’ after a sports injury and has reached global recognition since.

According to a recent survey conducted by BGO, over 1/3rd (36%) of people asked said they will be celebrating the day.

Angus Konstam, one of the world's leading authorities on pirates, when asked about the popularity of the day, said “International Talk Like a Pirate day is a success because it taps into all the things that make pirates so appealing to us all, regardless of our age.

“Forget the realities of historical piracy… this is all about celebrating their sense of adventure, their rebellious nature and their freedom from authority. Add in a heady mixture of fictional pirates, with their eyepatches, wooden legs, parrots and strange ways of talking and you've got a celebration just about anyone can have fun with.”

Google Search and popular social media website, Facebook, even introduced a ‘pirate’ language option in their settings, allowing hard core pirate fans, or just supporters of the day, to view their search results and feed entirely in pirate talk, and according to survey data nearly half (46%) of participants admit to using this setting at some point.

The official International Talk Like a Pirate Day page has over 134,000 likes on Facebook, and every year social feeds are full of pirate statuses. Including posts from global brands such as NASA, McDonald’s, Captain Morgan Rum and Bud Light to name just a few.

In support of the day, BGO slots and online casino have pledged to donate £5 per entry submitted to the website to the winning seadog’s charity of choice.

Any hornswogglers caught using a recording from a fictional pirate will be made to walk the plank.

About Angus Konstam
An internationally-renowned historian, and one of the world's leading authorities on pirates. He has written over a hundred history books, including Blackbeard, a best-selling biography of America's most notorious pirate and Piracy: The Complete History, as well as the highly popular History of Pirates and World Atlas of Pirates which between them have sold over 250,000 copies. He regularly appears on the History and Discovery channels as a pirate expert and has spoken all around the world. In fact he has written over a hundred books, including Jutland 1916, Sovereigns of the Sea and The Battle of North Cape. Of these, more than 60 have been written for Osprey Publishing.

A graduate of the University of Aberdeen, University of St. Andrews and University College London, Angus has served as a naval officer and worked as an underwater archaeologist, before becoming a museum curator specialising in weaponry. His museum career saw him serving as a Curator of Weapons in the Royal Armouries at the Tower of London and later as the Chief Curator of the Mel Fisher Maritime Museum in Key West, Florida. He now lives in Edinburgh, Scotland, where he works as a full-time author and historian.

BGO will donate £5 per entry submitted to the competition on Pirate Factor. 80% of the donations will go to the competition winner’s charity of choice, with the remaining 20% being donated to GamCare.