“Gulls circling o’erhead” is probably not close enough to the wording to be recognized as a reference to The Azores Mystery, which, as it’s a story written by Paul and Nate years ago on Wordperfect, is probably not close enough to general cultural consciousness to be recognized. However, it should be noted that that is what I was thinking about.

Title refers of course to Captain Sparrow. That’s not why I used sparrows–I just picked the most tiny, common, chirpy bird I could think of–but it was a happy coincidence.

The Script

ESKIMO: The salt sea air… the wind in my hair…
KRYS: It’s freshwater and calm.
ESKIMO: Gulls circling o’erhead…
KRYS: They’re sparrows.
ESKIMO: My contrarian hired muscle by my side…
KRYS: I’m behind you.
ESKIMO: Yes, this is the life for ESKIMO JONES, CUTEST PIRATE o’ the SPANISH MAIN!
KRYS: It’s Sycamore Lake. And normal people don’t emphatically state their own name and superlative.
(Long shot of ship sailing alone in lake)
KRYS: And there’s not exactly a lot of competition.