SEATTLE -- Wednesday’s release of the Sports Illustrated Swimsuit Edition hit home for the Seattle Seafair Pirates as they took center stage behind swimsuit model Melissa Haro on page 186.

During their annual visit to the Cayman Islands in November the pirates sneaked away to be a part Haro’s photo shoot for the magazine.

“This is top-secret stuff,” Mark Jensen with the Seafair Pirates said. “I told the guys, ‘There’s a very good chance we’re going to end up on the cutting room floor.'"

Haro, who appeared on the Bravo show Project Runway in the pages of Cosmopolitan and a model for Guess? was happy to have the pirates accompany her.

“She was a doll, an absolute doll,” Jensen said, “We started singing and whatnot, we had a lot of fun,.”

For the months following the photo shoot, the pirates were sworn to secrecy.

“It was absolutely crazy because they wouldn’t tell us if we were in it,” Jensen said.

The Seafair Pirates' appearance was the first time any people other than the models ever appeared in the magazine.

“It’s never been done,” Jensen said.

Six of Haro’s photos appeared in the magazine, including two full page layouts, one including the pirates.

“I told the pirates, ‘If you get a little square, be happy…’ When I heard full page I said, ‘You’re kidding me, this is a joke!’” Jensen said.

Of all the pirates 10 were featured in the magazine but all the pirates are excited over the hype.

“Even guys that didn’t make it are excited, they’re excited as a whole,” Jensen said, “We’ve always had hot babes around us, now they just advertise it.”

To view behind-the-scene pictures from the photo shoot visit SportsIllustrated.com.