While on lookout duty, the students of Pirate School spy a ghost ship following them, and when they bravely board it they receive a warning that may save their lives, if only they can convince Rotten Tooth or the captain that danger lies ahead.
When, after finding buried treasure guarded by giant sand crabs, the crew of the Sea Rat comes down with a mysterious illness, the pirate students suspect that the treasure is cursed.
Concerned that Santa will not be able to find them aboard the Sea Rat, Pete and the other pirate kids plot a course to the North Pole, where the ship gets stuck in a sheet of ice.
While spending a week on the Bone Rattler, a ship that is not exactly ship-shape, the pirates-in-training get stuck in Shipwreck Pass and must come up with a creative plan to save the Bone Rattler and find the treasure Captain Stinky beard seeks.
Captain Stinky Beard's pirate students, who want to win without cheating, compete in sailing races, treasure hunts, and swashbuckling events at Camp Buccaneer.
A boring homework assignment involving knot tying proves invaluable when the student pirates help Captain Stinky Beard foil an attack by a rival pirate ship.