TAMPA, Fla. — It’s been two years, but the annual Gasparilla pirate invasion is back!

Despite that long wait, the weather is putting a damper on some of the festivities.

What You Need To Know

  • The Gasparilla pirate invasion returns Saturday

  • Local officials are urging small boats to stay out of the water 

  • Weather conditions will make the waters rough, they say

  • No changes are planned for the parade

It won’t be cold just on the parade route later, but it will be rough on the water, too.

That is a huge part of this event every year, and that is changing Saturday.

Usually, there is a flotilla of hundreds of other boats surrounding the pirate ship, but local law enforcement advised small boats not to take part because of the weather Saturday.

With all the boats that would be out there, the water could get rough.

"We call it the washing machine effect,” Bryce Phillippi of the Florida Fish and Wildlife Commission says. “With all those vessels around, it makes the water rough. With an advisory on top of that, I don’t know the conditions will be it’s definitely not going to be conclusive if you’re in a small vessel."

The good news is the pirates are still planning to sail to the convention center, where they will make Mayor Jane Castor give them the key to the city.

Then the parade will begin.

Nothing is changing about the land parade. Hundreds of floats, krewes, and bead-throwing will still be part of the event.

The pirates will just have to bundle up a little more.