Ahoy there, mateys! Lee ho! I bet you’ve already got a picture in your head of a beardy, crusty old pirate, haven’t you?

He’s a weathered white man with a Bristolian accent, eye patch, one leg, parrot on his shoulder, swigging rum and shouting “Arrr!” into the wind. Or maybe you’re thinking of those stereotypical posh British sailing types, you know the ones… the floppy-haired Oxbridge boys in pastel polos and boat shoes with no socks, called “Cuthbert” and “Rupert” (pronounced woo-put).

Well, take a sip of that rum and listen up, because I’m here to blow those outdated stereotypes out of the water. Let me sing you a little shanty about the Black women who sail the seas! Women fierce, free and as powerful as the ocean waves themselves, who said “aye, aye” to something unexpected of them. So if you’re sitting comfortably, me hearty, I’ll begin with the legend of William Brown as told to me by Katt Devitt, a gothic author and historical researcher.