International 'Talk like a Pirate day' was in full swing in New Plymouth this year.

Talk Like a Pirate day is probably the one day you could get a cheer for carrying a cutlass down the main street.

More than 40 people walked the streets of New Plymouth dressed as pirates, and a parrot, on Saturday for the 12th annual Talk Like a Pirate pub crawl, the event's biggest crowd yet.

Organiser Steve Ngapo, aka Captain Sword Arm, said it began with a small group of friends who decided to take the day off work for international Talk Like a Pirate day, which is September 19.

SIMON O'CONNOR/Fairfax NZ It was no holds bard on the costumes for the annual Talk Like a Pirate pub crawl.

It had since been moved to the Saturday closest to the 19th, which allowed more people to take part.

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"I've moved away from Taranaki but I still come back every year for it," he said.

SIMON O'CONNOR/Fairfax NZ Loot was not accepted as payment for a pint.

Starting at 11am at the Black Hart pub, the group made its way up and down the main street visiting 11 pubs along the way, before finishing at 8 Ball.

Other pirates travelled from near and far for the event, while one claimed he had come forward from 1855 just for the occasion.

While it could be hard to get used to talking like a pirate at the start, Ngapo said that it was often hard not to talk like a pirate at the end of it as everyone around them was talking in the same way.

SIMON O'CONNOR/Fairfax NZ While it started with about 20 pirates, it soon grew to more than 40 as the day went on.

Any one of the pirates would have looked right at home aboard Black Beard's ship and Ngapo said a lot of work and preparation went into making them look authentic.

"Every year everyone's costumes seem to get better and better," he said.

"We like people to be in costume but you can turn up with just an eye patch.

SIMON O'CONNOR/Fairfax NZ 1855 met 2016 along the pub crawl.

"But after peoples second year, they really get into it."

When the time at the pub is up, a horn was used to signal it was time to move on to the next one.

"It's more about laughing and singing than drinking," Ngapo said.

SIMON O'CONNOR/Fairfax NZ Josh Hatu, in the feather hat, said dressing like a pirate drew some interesting looks.

"I try and get people to move on to the next pub before they drink too much."

Josh Hatu said the public reacted differently to a group of pirates than him walking down the street on his own.

"We walked down to the $2 shop and everyone was like 'what are these guys doing'," he said.

SIMON O'CONNOR/Fairfax NZ Organizer Steve Ngata always comes back to Taranaki for the event.

"Then we walked down as a group and everyone's like 'yea'."