PORT ANGELES — ArrrgghhRIGHT!
Brian and Sandra Zimmer, after scurrying around Port Angeles all weekend, discovered the lost treasure of pirate Anne Bonney, an 8.5-carat black — actually smoky — diamond ring valued at $8,500.
They had only 35 minutes to spare before Sunday’s 5 p.m. deadline.
The Zimmers’ feat climaxed a weekend of swashing buckles, shivering timbers and otherwise engaging piratical adult fantasies at Port Angeles City Pier.
Dozens of costumed pirates swarmed the area for the festival that coincided with the visit of the tall ships Lady Washington, Privateer Lynx and Bill of Rights.
The ships will remain at City Pier for dockside tours from 4 to 6 p.m. through Wednesday.
The Zimmers, who live in University Place near Tacoma, had a tough puzzle to solve.
“You did not make it easy, which, is the way pirates should be,” Brian Zimmer told costumed spectators, who “huzzahed” the couple heartily.
Both Zimmers are chief master sergeants in the Washington Air National Guard, where Brian Zimmer also is a full-time civilian employee.
The pair joined the hunt when they took a cruise Saturday aboard the Bill of Rights. They received clues on the ship, then hunted posters and pirate photographs posted around downtown Port Angeles. Each participating merchant gave them a piece of the puzzle.
The Zimmers also had to ask specific pirates around town and at the festival for their help.