Sea turtle

This article is about the animal species. You may be looking for the musical cue.

"How did Jack get off the island?"
"Well, I'll tell ye. He waded out into the shallows and he waited there three days and three nights till all manner of sea creatures came acclimated to his presence. And on the fourth morning, he roped himself a couple of sea turtles, lashed them together and made a raft."
"He roped a couple of sea turtles?"
"Aye, sea turtles."

―Will Turner and Joshamee Gibbs^[src]

Sea turtles are a species of marine reptile. With shells that protect them from predators, sea turtles can be found throughout tropical and subtropical seas around the world, including the Atlantic and Pacific and Indian Oceans, as well as the Mediterranean and the Caribbean Sea.

The name became a term associated with miraculous escapes from desperate situations, most likely popularized by the fanciful legends that surrounded Captain Jack Sparrow, though the term was first used by his father, Captain Edward Teague.

History

"That can't... How did..."
"What?"
"Sea turtles, mate."

―Ragetti, Pintel and Teague about the Prison Dog^[src]

As a species, sea turtles existed for many years. As a term, it is unknown when "sea turtles" was coined. The term was relatively often used by Captain Edward Teague, the Pirate Lord of Madagascar and Keeper of the Code, as his usual reply to all questions he didn't want to answer, especially if those questions were asked by his young curious son, Jack Sparrow.^[1]

One of the most notable uses of sea turtles as a term was after a well-known legend arose of Jack Sparrow himself having escaped from a desert island.^[2] It was said that days after Hector Barbossa marooned him on Rumrunner's Isle to die, Jack roped himself a couple of sea turtles to make a raft.^[3] Will Turner was quick to point out a flaw in this story when Joshamee Gibbs relayed it aboard the Black Pearl: "What did he use for rope?" Jack himself supplied an addendum to the legend, stating he used human hair from his back. However, instead of sea turtles, Jack revealed to Elizabeth Swann that the rumrunners came, using the island as a cache, and the infamous pirate was able to bartered passage off the island.^[4]

Later, as Jack Sparrow regaled an alternate version of events, in which Jack and Elizabeth escaped Rum Island on sea turtles, to an audience at Fort Alvo Grande.^[5] During the search for the Dead Man's Chest, Will Turner would use "sea turtles" to answer Jack Sparrow's question as to how Will got to Isla Cruces, despite being tricked aboard Davy Jones' ship, the Flying Dutchman. Jack grinned at Will's slight, referencing the well-known legend that Jack escaped an island on the backs of turtles, and simply responded, "Not so easy, is it?"^[2]^[6]

During the Fourth Brethren Court, when Pintel and Ragetti recognized the Prison Dog with the keys to the Pirata Codex, having last seen the dog at Pelegostos Island,^[6] the Keeper of the Code Captain Teague simply said, "Sea turtles, mate." This brief explanation, suggesting that the dog rode on the backs of sea turtles lashed together with his fur,^[7] satisfied those present, notably Pintel, Ragetti, and Joshamee Gibbs.^[8]

Behind the scenes

Sea turtles were first mentioned in Irene Trimble's junior novelization for the 2003 film Pirates of the Caribbean: The Curse of the Black Pearl.^[3]^[4] Although sea turtles appear in the 2006 video game Pirates of the Caribbean: The Legend of Jack Sparrow, they only appear through a flashback or a version of events of The Curse of the Black Pearl, as told by Jack Sparrow to an audience at Fort Alvo Grande.^[5]

The well-known legend that Jack Sparrow had escaped the island, Rumrunner's Isle, on the backs of turtles was referenced in multiple media, beginning with The Curse of the Black Pearl,^[3]^[4] and led to the usage of the phrase, first used in Trimble's junior novelization for the 2006 film Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Man's Chest,^[2] "Sea turtles, mate."^[6] While the explanation was used for the Prison Dog's appearance in the 2007 film Pirates of the Caribbean: At World's End,^[8] despite previously being seen at Cannibal Island in Dead Man's Chest,^[6] the "Pirates Secrets Revealed" leaflet in the film's DVD/Blu-ray release suggests that the Prison Dog did indeed escape by having rode on the backs of sea turtles lashed together with his fur.^[7]