A newspaper article about a series of thefts from ships owned by the Magnus shipping company sends the gang to the high seas to track down ghost pirate Redbeard.
This episode includes examples of the following tropes:
- Artistic License – Chemistry: Scooby is able to handle dry ice bare handed without hurting himself.
- The Butler Did It: The Scooby gang has to chase a ghost pirate. Their employer, Mr. Magnus, has a big, creepy-looking butler who is an obstacle to going to see him. At the end of the episode, when the pirate is unmasked, Shaggy is surprised:Shaggy: Like, I thought the butler always did it!
- Chronic Hero Syndrome: The gang has to come up with a convoluted plan just to talk with someone that may need their help. Like the good Samaritans they are.
- Cordon Bleugh Chef: Redbeard forces Scooby and Shaggy to work for his crew as chefs, and they whip up a dish of "ghost pirate stew," consisting of chains, cobwebs, stove ashes, and soap. When they present it, Redbeard refuses to eat it and forces the duo to down two bowls instead.
- Gone Horribly Right: The gang goes out on a speedboat and use a recorded foghorn to pose as the freighter that Redbeard's ghost is after. Their plan works all too well, and Redbeard's ship rams their speedboat and splits it clean in two.Velma: Our plan worked too well. It's going to ram us!
- "I Can't Look!" Gesture: Velma and Daphne shut their eyes (Fred covers his) to avoid seeing Shaggy and Scooby crashing into a pile of tires.
- Insurance Fraud: The villain (the owner of a shipping line) turns out to have been running an insurance scam. He would dress as Redbeard the Pirate and raid his own ships, both to sell the stolen cargo and collect the insurance money.
- Room Disservice: The gang poses as room service to get into Mr. Magnus' penthouse.
- The Password Is Always "Swordfish": Averted. When the gang discovers a secret cave guarded by a voice-activated password, Fred and Velma try using traditional pirate phrases ("Sixteen men on a pirate's chest" and "Yo ho ho, blow the man down") to get in, but fail. Shaggy then chimes in with "Yum yum yum and a liverwurst a la mode"—which works, presumably because Redbeard believed no one would be able to guess such a ludicrous password.
- Skewed Priorities: When Redbeard's ship breaks the gang's boat in half, Daphne is concerned that her hair will be ruined as she, Fred, and Velma sink into the water.
- Strange Minds Think Alike: Redbeard uses "Yum yum yum and a liverwurst a la mode" as the password to protect his hidden cache of stolen goods. Despite the odd nature of the code, Shaggy is able to figure it out.
- Tickle Torture: Shaggy uses an eggbeater to tickle Redbeard when he tries to stop him and Scooby.
- Voice Changeling: In an attempt to fool Redbeard's henchmen, Shaggy dons a paper pirate hat and does a "super Shaggy imitation" of Redbeard's voice, sounding very close to the actual Redbeard's voice, despite the shadow he casts looking nothing like Redbeard. A close ear also reveals that Casey Kasem (Shaggy's voice actor) actually supplied the Redbeard imitation, while the actual Redbeard was voiced by John Stephenson.
