Operation: For the Rum!

Operation: For the Rum! was a blockade, fleet, and raid lead by Captain Delmaria Darkskull on June 17th, 2011. The invitation for the event was extended to all pirates, in the hopes it would draw in larger numbers than any previous blockades. Guilds and pirates from all over the Caribbean gathered to aid in cutting off East India Company and Navy routes responsible for smuggling rum - "the life source of us pirates!" - from Rumrunner's Island to the stronghold of Kingshead, and was regarded as a major success.

Prelude and Buildup
The initial invitation to the event was posted on Pirates Online Forums by the user Captain Del (Delmaria Darkskull in-game) on Wednesday, June 15th, with intentions of all pirates to come. The details of the event suggested that an anonymous pirate "informant" had smuggled out from a British fort a map of trade routes, with plans to ferry out rum from a "secret" stash on Rumrunner's Island. The plan was to create a ship blockade which stretched from Tortuga to Devil's Anvil to cut off supply lines, and then have the blockade become a fleet which would storm Kingshead.

However, in fear that not enough pirates would attend, it was not long before Darkskull posted the event across a number of fan sites and communities (Founder's/Pirate's Association, Pirates Forums, etc.), where it then spread to numerous guild sites. It was quick in drawing the attention of a large group of pirates.

The Blockade
On the night of the event, pirates spanning from many guilds gathered on the docks of Tortuga on the Antik server, under the command of Delmaria and the various Guildmasters and Officers who would lead their separate guilds.Members of the following guilds aided in the event:


 * Partners N Crime
 * Wrath of Ravens
 * Elite Thievery Co.
 * Pixie Pyrates
 * Dark Archive
 * Shadow Sorcerors
 * The Crimson Era
 * Thirsty Souls
 * Spania
 * McRaging

When the event began, Darkskull soon realized that he had far underestimated the number of pirates who would attend, and within minutes, the blockade had already reached Devil's Anvil. With this, Delmaria ordered that the blockade then aim to reach towards Port Royal, which it did. This caused for the blockade to become one of the largest in recorded player history.

Once the blockade had successfully been formed, the pirates pulled out of the blockade to form a fleet of ships south of Devil's Anvil. After a quick speech by Captain Del, who headed the fleet at his War Frigate the Victory Shark, the fleet charged full steam towards Kingshead, sinking an and all ships in sight.



After reaching Kingshead, the crowd of sailors met on the docks just before the gates of the fort, where overly-eager pirates were held back from recklessly running to storm the island. Delmaria spoke with the pirates a final time before the battle, instructing to "destroy all in your paths!," before meeting up again at the highest point of Kingshead, within the jail.

The pirates stormed the fort in full force, clearing out all areas of the island, instructed to "Show no mercy, black and red uniform alike!" Fortunately enough, by the sheer size of the mass of pirates, there were little to no deaths, aside from a few lower-level pirates who jumped in with the higher levels.

Victory and Aftermath
thumb|300px|right|Video assembled by Leo, Captain of the Golden Lion. The pirates met after Kingshead had been cleared in the highest jail on the island, where a victory party was thrown in celebration of the success of the event. Before leaving for a guildmate's Boss Battle, Delmaria gave a final statement that events such as the blockade, and larger, will be held more and more over the summer.

The event was regarded widely as a large success, with the event's ability to unite pirates from all over the Caribbean in a single full force. Captain Whale, a Pirate Lord of the Founder's Association, commented "Twas an awsome event as pirates from many guilds all over the Caribbean gathered together to unite under the flag of Captain Delmaria Darkskull. The Call went out and was answered in staggering fashion!!.... Truly an awesome display of unity! We need more events like this to get everyone together."