SMITH MOUNTAIN LAKE, Va. – Smith Mountain Lake’s annual Pirate Days celebration will take place entirely on land this year as the lake remains about 5 feet below its normal level, forcing organizers to adjust one of the area’s signature summer events.
Organizers Commodore P.J. and Lady Cristina Nagel, owners of Capt. Party in Roanoke, said they have been planning Pirate Days for the past 10 years and have never before had to move the event completely off the water.
“We’ve added some new stuff, but it’s just not going to be on the water,” the Nagels said. “We’ve been monitoring it (water levels) for a year, and we realized that it’s not something that’s going to change overnight.”…