Page 82 - Play Coastal Mississippi - Spring & Summer, 2026

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> Captain Pete Ship Island Excursions | Coastal Mississippi & RPF Media
A CENTURYon the Sound Story by Cherie Ward
THE LEGACY OF SHIP ISLAND EXCURSIONS
Long before he ever held a captain’s license, before he ever stood at the helm, Louis Skrmetta was a boy leaning against a ferry rail, salt air in his face, watching his father and grandfather work. The Gulf rolled beneath him, Ship Island rose in the distance, and somewhere between the dock and the horizon, a quiet certainty took hold: this would be his life. Now, decades later, Skrmetta is not only living that promise— he’s planning the 100th anniversary of the very journey his grandfather, “Captain Pete,” first set in motion.
Ship Island Excursions began as a family-anchored seasonal business in 1926, but for Skrmetta, the story doesn’t start with a date. It begins with memories of mornings spent riding along beside his father, station wagon packed for the docks, and long days on the water that felt less like work and more like belonging. He grew up swimming off the ferry dock, fishing along the island’s edge, exploring Fort Massachusetts, and learning the rhythms of the Mississippi Sound long before he understood the weight of what his family had built. “I couldn’t ask for a better life as a kid,” Skrmetta said. “I was raised on the water.”
> Historic Ship Island | Ship Island Excursions
82 PLAY COASTAL MISSISSIPPI I SPRING/SUMMER 2026
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