Phantom Ships

"Never whistle while out on the sea!" The barista at the pirate inn warned while handing Barry a Bye Blackbeard: a drink served on their menu that wards away Blackbeard's ghost on your ship in the Savannah, GA area. The ingredients were rum, bananas, and blood (strawberry juice).

"Thanks barkeep," Barry loved the beverage and the lore. He chose to believe it was all fictional characters like Captain Flint on treasure island. "Known anyone to whistle around here while on the waters?"

"Yes and the never made it back. They were swallowed up by Blackbeard's phantom ship 🚢 ⚓"

Barry nodded and thought maybe a storm just so happened to blow by when these sailors whistled. Many don't so the few who did could have just been coincidentally unlucky. He finished his drink and grits heading out to the waters.

Barry loved to ride the waters on the Savannah River in his blue boat. At night was especially lovely. He enjoyed watching the sea creatures, birds, and other boats go by. He was enjoying his ride and thought to whistle a tune. While coasting along he saw a strange ghostly white floating version of the Savannah ship. He thought maybe it was a replica made but what was floating in a white-grey cloud not quite solid. He thought if it was the ghostly version then it would be strange because the ship sank in Fire Island, NY and not here. Barry sailed closer and saw a man steering the merchant ship. "Hello sir, how do you have the Savannah ship here if it sank in New York?"

The ship was as fire smoked as the Island sandbar it sank on. People used to think the smoke from this never before seen steam ship meant the boat was in flames. "You can see me? A whistler, hurry and pour the bye Blackbeard rum on your boat before his ship comes," he warned.

"Who are you?" Barry asked.

"Captain William Kid. I found this boat in my afterlife and came back here, Blackbeard is annoyed because he sees this as his pirate turf and I took the ship named after the city. Too bad I can't die though to get off his area, but you just might," he warned and Barry looked around for the boat. The green phantom boat of The Queens Revenge appeared sailing along, it was like the flying Duchman ship but with Blackbeard. Although he wasn't there right now, just his crew docking talking about them returning to the tunnel where humans no longer go.

Barry knew that meant the bricked up tunnel as he went to dock his boat and walk there. He never understood why they bricked the tunnels away instead of just putting a locked door. Ghost hunters and pirate enthusiasts could pay to take a walk though and see what they may come to find, but gone away was it. He was always tempted with curiosity about seeing the for himself, so he found a sledge hammer and drill starting to hack away at the wall. He hoped no one would come stop him and he made his way in. He walked through marveling the place no one had seen in quite a while.

He walked through and there he was in greenly presence, Blackbeard's ghost talking about rum and Kidd. "The way they drink rum now making it all tutti fruity is an insult. Rum deserves spices and citrus. These fruit punches and bananas they add are disgusting! Ole Kidd probably drank it that way. His going from a privateer to a pirate made people think we wear those dumb hats they did! Pirates did not wear the hats of the government, not us rebels! Then my favorite inn tries to create a fictional pirate to overthrow me from my legacy turf!" He kept talking to his crew until finally he turned and saw me. "A live one, they don't come here! What is going on?"

"Hey Blackbeard, what is it with bananas, they give you the runs or something?" Barry asked.

"Wait a minute? A whistler? Yes, the stars have aligned! We shall run our cutlasses with this one!" His ghost started running at Barry and he ran out of the tunnel and into a tavern quickly. He asked for the Bye Blackbeard and added his blood from a scrape he got trying to run out of the tunnel.

"Quick, fire the crazy cannons that will make him hallucinate. Conjure up the boat grabbing seaweed!" Cannonballs fired from the green ship and seaweed started crawling out from the sea going through ships while Barry made a run for it. The seaweed finally got to his vessel and it started to pull the ship down. "There it is! Go down now!"

"No!" Barry screamed and reached the boat pouring the rum on. All of the green apparitions disappeared with some damage to the blue boat. Now he sees why this town hates whistling. Some don't even learn how to do it. Those phantom ships are always there waiting for the next person to carelessly whistle into the salty winds.

He was found out as the man who tore down the brick and made his argument about creating locked doors for tourism instead. People agreed and those doors were added. Some are upset it is not still brick but many excited to see this area before banned from the public with Barry still knowing Pirates used it as a spot for no humans. He wondered what he would think about that but the only was to find out was to whistle on his boat again and that was a terrifying thought.