(Photo from Ship Island Excursions)
- For 100 years, the Skrmetta family has been the bridge between mainland life and that offshore escape.
There’s a moment that happens just after the boat pulls away from Gulfport Harbor.
The shoreline softens behind you. The air changes. Phones go down. Kids press against the rail, rail, hearts pounding excitedly as they scan the water, convinced they’ll spot the first dolphin. Seagulls ride the wind overhead. And passengers look in awe as The Mississippi Sound stretches wider than most people expect.
But this is more than a boat ride; it’s a step into tradition; a classic Mississippi experience.
In a few weeks, Ship Island Excursions will launch its 100th season—a milestone that reflects both family perseverance and the evolution of tourism on the Mississippi Gulf Coast.
In the early 1900s, long before beach vacations were carefully planned, a young immigrant named Peter Martin Skrmetta arrived on the Coast. Like many newcomers drawn to South Mississippi’s booming seafood industry, he arrived searching for opportunity and found his future on the water.
The Coast was alive then with working boats — oyster schooners, shrimp vessels, and crews who understood tides better than time. Skrmetta learned quickly, building a life shaped by salt air and lengthy days at sea. When fishing slowed during the summer months, he began offering rides into the Mississippi Sound simply because people wanted to go.
What started as practical side work soon became something more: people wanted the islands themselves.
By 1926, those informal outings had grown into a dedicated excursion business — the beginning of what would eventually become Ship Island Excursions, still operating today by the Skrmetta family.
Decades later, in the mid-20th century, Captain Pete’s son guided the company through many changes. After returning home from military service, he piloted ferries himself. When he passed away in 2024, leadership transitioned naturally to the third generation, continuing one of the Gulf Coast’s longest-running family operations.
Every spring, that tradition returns once more.
Passengers gather at Jones Park in Gulfport. They carry coolers, beach bags, and the unmistakable anticipation of a day offshore. The ferry eases into open water and travels roughly eleven miles across the Sound. Dolphins often surface alongside the boat as if welcoming visitors back, as passengers excitedly wave to them.
I’ve watched families board these ferries with toddlers in sun hats, teenagers in sunglasses, and grandparents who have made the trip for decades. There’s always someone pointing to the horizon saying, “Wait until you see the water.”
They’re right.
I’ve learned many of our best memories begin the same way — with a boat leaving shore. My own boys are never happier than when they’re in the sunshine and near the water. Ship Island brings out that same joy in everyone on board, no matter their age.
The one-hour boat ride to the island is invigorating, and when you arrive, Ship Island feels different from mainland beaches. The sand is brighter, the water clearer. There’s an openness that makes the Gulf seem endless. No condos rise behind the shoreline, and there’s no traffic noise competing with the wind. The island gives visitors the gift of time and presence, something rare, especially nowadays.
At the western end stands Fort Massachusetts, its massive brick walls rising unexpectedly from the sand. Built in the mid-1800s to protect the Gulf Coast, the fort now anchors the island’s story, connecting visitors to generations who passed through these waters long before modern tourism existed.
Children race across boardwalks toward the beach, shoes already abandoned. Picnic tables fill up, umbrellas dot the shoreline, and somewhere, someone always says, “I can’t believe this is Mississippi!” But those of us who have been to Ship Island know it is a Mississippi treasure.
For many Coast families, a Ship Island trip marks the unofficial start of summer—a ritual shared warmly like favorite fishing spots or church potluck recipes. The promise of laughter, sunshine, sand, and sea breeze draws people in each year. Many visit the island for swimming and shelling, others for birdwatching or fishing. Yet it’s the rush of wind and salt on the boat ride that lingers in nearly everyone’s memory long after they return.
Today, Ship Island Excursions offers more than daytime ferry services. Dolphin cruises trace the shoreline year-round. Sunset sails glow gold on the water. Private charters turn birthdays, reunions, and celebrations into special evenings carried by Gulf breezes.
However, even after nearly a century of growth, what matters most remains unchanged.
You board a boat.
You cross open water.
You arrive somewhere that feels both new and deeply familiar.
Ship Island has welcomed travelers for centuries — from early explorers to soldiers, fishermen, and now families searching for a day that feels simple and unforgettable. The protected barrier islands remain one of Mississippi’s greatest natural treasures, preserved today as part of the Gulf Islands National Seashore.
For 100 years, the Skrmetta family has been the bridge between mainland life and that offshore escape. They have carried more than a million passengers toward sand, history, and memory.
In a fast-moving world, there’s something anchoring about traditions that endure.
