Pirates of the Carribean 4 : In my backyard

I've seen some strange things in my day but this recent one might top the list. Last week I noticed there was an odd looking vessel floating on the bay. It had the shape of an old pirate ship, but whoever thinks that one would ever see one. I mean really! And that's what it was.

Landlubber that I am, I soon realized it was the pirate ship featured in the film series Pirates of the Carribean. As you can imagine, the film has created a ton of energy and excitement in these parts of Hawaii. I like to invite you to see some of the sights and share some of the local impressions.

Part of Pirates is being filmed off a small dock called Keeia Kea, a small out of the way harbour about two miles from my home. Been there a dozen times to fish, or to picnic with my wife. The dock is transformed. They've been filming at night, so when it gets dark, giant lights lighten up a huge part of the bay. And man-made smoke casts an errie sight on the surrounding volcanic hills. It's really something to see.

Last night curiousity got the best of me. I ventured out at 9pm to check things out. I was surprized when I got to Keeia Kea. There were so many people there I had to park about five minutes away from the dock. And once there, I had pass a few checkpoints and hundreds of people, who were lined up hoping to spot either Johnny Depp (Jack Sparrow), or Angelica (Penelope Cruz) drive by.

This was the first time I've been near a movie set,  so it fascinating to see just what goes on. There was a certain energy and excitement there. Kind of reminded me of a circus. I was impressed just how organized things were, and in particular of the support services. On one side of the dock were a dozen trailers which provided food, carpenters-anything that could support the production of the movie. There was even a food tent. Anything a pirate would want.

The coolest thing was the ship itself. I travelled back to Keeia after work today, just to snap a few  pictures of the ship. I ran into a smaller crowd, and there was a viewing area about fity yards from the ship.

I provide these as evidence and to let you know I was not telling a tall tale!