Black Buccaneer

The Blue Barnacle (formerly Smugglers Galleon & Black Buccaneer) is an upcoming swinging pirate ship at Chessington World of Adventures Resort in southwest London, England. It opened in 1988 in the Pirates' Cove section of the park.[2]

The Blue Barnacle
Previously known as Smugglers' Galleon (1988–1998) & Black Buccaneer (1998-2018)
Chessington World of Adventures
AreaPirates' Cove
StatusUnder construction
Opening date1988 (as Smugglers' Galleon)
1998 (as Black Buccaneer)
2021 (as The Blue Barnacle)
Closing date1998 (as Smugglers' Galleon)
2018 (as Black Buccaneer)
General statistics
Attraction typePirate ship
ManufacturerHUSS Park Attractions
ThemePirates
Capacity950 riders per hour
Rows9
Riders per row5
Durationabout 3 minutes[1]
Height restriction100–130 cm (3 ft 3 in–4 ft 3 in)

History

Black Buccaneer was originally opened in 1988 as Smugglers Galleon[3] in Pirates' Cove, an area adjacent to Transylvania in Chessington World of Adventures Resort. It was manufactured by Huss Rides.[1]

The ride received a soundtrack in late 2013. The ride and surrounding buildings were refurbished in 2014.

During the 2016 season, frequent rainfall meant the motor underneath the ride flooded, causing the attraction to close for around a month.

For the start of the 2017 season, the ride received a new coat of paint, a single rider queue was also added. For the start of the 2018 season, until July it was not open and was on land near Seastorm.

After spending the 2018 Winters Tail event operating the ride closed for normal winter maintenance, and at the start of the 2019 season was announced as opening late along with three other rides. Whilst the other rides opened after a month, Black Buccaneer remained in pieces and was not re-built. It was eventually removed from the queue time boards, park app and website before Chessington confirmed on social media that the ride will not operate for at least the 2019 season. The ride was to be replaced for 2020 with a brand new ride hardware replacement ship with a blue colour. Work however stopped due to COVID-19 and the progress of construction is delayed to 2021.[4]

Description

The ride is themed as a pirate ship. Riders sit in 9 rows of 5, before swinging back and forth at heights of up to 60 feet.[1] It is painted was black (hence the name), but is now painted silver.

Restrictions

You have to be a minimum of 1 meter tall to ride. Anyone under 1.3 meters must be accompanied by an adult.[5] In the 2016 season, a rule was added where you have to be 16 years or older to be seated on the edges of each row, which meant anyone under 16 had to be seated in the middle. This saw queue times increase.

  • The ride in movement
  • Full view

References
  1. "Black Buccaneer Review". Theme UK.com. Archived from the original on 17 October 2013. Retrieved 15 October 2013.
  2. Chessington World of Adventures (13 March 2020). "A'hoy mateys! We're pleased to announce the name of our new swingin' ship THE BLUE BARNACLE. Suggested first by the Hawkins family. More information will be sailing in soon…". Twitter. Retrieved 15 March 2020.
  3. "Chessington History". Theme Park Guide. Archived from the original on 3 November 2013. Retrieved 15 October 2013.
  4. Chessington World of Adventures. "Ahoy mateys… Shiver me timbers! Any ideas on wha' this may be?". Twitter. Retrieved 14 November 2020.
  5. "Pirates' Cove". Chessington World of Adventures. Retrieved 15 October 2013.

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