Have you read Under the Black Flag: The Romance and the Reality of Life... (I can't remember the full title)? I'm seconding the dislike of romanticized pirates because they've fascinated me since years before PotC and One Piece.

Hell, I did a presentation with two girls in my class in 1997 (5th grade) about Anne Bonny, Mary Read, and Calico Jack. It was fun.

Pirate realists, unite!