Pirate’s Cove is the boat-up dive across the bay from Innerarity — technically in Josephine, Alabama, though everyone here treats it as part of the Point’s drinking circuit — that has, for reasons nobody seems able to explain or unwilling to share, a small island of goats just off the dock. The goats live on the island. You can wave at them. You cannot pet them. They are not a petting zoo. They are independent contractors who keep the island vegetation trimmed and serve as the bar’s most photographed amenity.
The bar itself is everything a Gulf Coast dock bar should be — picnic tables, sand floor, a kitchen that turns out the basics, a long bar with a long row of regulars holding it down. The play is to come by boat, tie up at the dock, do your time on the porch with a cold one, and go.
Live music when there’s live music. Cash when the card reader is having a day. Pets welcome on the porch (you’ll see other dogs there). The goats are not pets. Do not feed the goats.
Important note for first-timers: there is also a Pirate’s Cove on Dauphin Island, an hour west, and they are not the same place. The Innerarity one is the one with the goats.
What to order
The kitchen turns out dock-bar basics and the famous thing to know is the pizza — it’s the order regulars push on newcomers. Otherwise it’s burgers and bar fare, all of it built to be eaten with sand under your feet and a cold one in hand. Bring cash; when the card reader is having a day, that’s the difference between a round and a walk back to the boat.
Coming by boat (and the goats)
The intended way to do Pirate’s Cove is by water — tie up at the dock, claim a picnic table on the sand, and put in your time on the porch. The goats live on their own small island just off the dock; you can wave at them, photograph them, and that’s it. They are not a petting zoo and not pets. Do not feed the goats. Dogs are welcome on the porch; you’ll see plenty.
Getting there
On the Elberta/Josephine backwater across the bay from Innerarity Point — Alabama side of the line, despite the company it keeps — reachable by car or by boat. If you’re navigating by name, remember the other Pirate’s Cove on Dauphin Island is an hour west and goatless — the one you want is this one.