Now, the Martins River resident has offered to share that knowledge, as well as his exceptional artistic talent, in a new book called "A Thousand Years of Pirates."
"I was commissioned to do an entire six-hour documentary on pirates some years ago and that got me into two years of study on the subject, as part of my livelihood," Mr. Gilkerson says, recounting how the subject first sparked his attention. "I took an interest in them from an angle that I hadn't seen treated before."
Already an established non-fiction author with 10 titles to his credit, he later opted to pursue his passion in the form of a pirate-themed novel which he based on the South Shore, a notorious hangout for such adventurers during the 17th, 18th and 19th centuries.
"Pirate's Passage," a tale centered around the mysterious Capt. Charles Johnson and set in picturesque Mahone Bay, copped a prestigious Governor General's Award for 2006 in the children's literature category.
So impressive was the work, in fact, that veteran actor and producer Donald Sutherland is currently developing a 10-part animated series based on the novel.
Although the book saw Mr. Gilkerson's literary genius recognized by his publisher, the equally impressive artwork he created to accompany the text apparently was not.
"I had this entire collection of pictures that I had … which actually illustrate the novel, but which the publisher saw no place for, although the novel had some drawings in it," he says.
It is those works, however, which Mr. Gilkerson produced using several of his friends from the local area, as well as himself, as models posed in a variety of typical "pirate-like" scenes, that form the backdrop of his latest book.
"It's important, I think, to use … actual models, that way you get a picture that has a convincing number of types in it," he says. "You can't make up faces."
"A Thousand Years of Pirates" documents the history of piracy on the high seas from the days of the Vikings to the end of the so-called golden age of sail.
Through word and picture, it recounts the exploits of such notorious individuals as Blackbeard, Capt. Woodes Rogers, Granuaile and others.
The book also remains true to the traditional era of the classic pirate, and does not include reference to the 20th and 21st century, high tech marine pillagers of today.
"It ends with sail. I don't get into motorized piracy, of which there's plenty," he explained. "This purpose is tackling the historiography of a manifestation which never stops."