A well-known pirate ship returns to the community!

The famous Skullywag is back parked at its home spot outside of public works on Anna Maria Island.

The 63-foot pirate ship on wheels belongs to the Privateers, a service group from the island.

In December, while participating in a Christmas parade in Sarasota, a drunk driver hit the float. Luckily, there were no major injuries. However, that wasn’t the case for the Skullywag. It needed major repairs.

As a result of the damage, for the first time in 20-years, the beloved ship could not participate in their own parade that they put on, “the Anna Maria Island Privateers’ Annual Christmas parade."

Since then, the group, who normally raises money to give out for college scholarships and groups in need, focused on making repairs to their beloved ship.

“We didn’t know if we’d ever get her back,” said Bob Dominas, AMI Privateers President. “But, we did get it back.”

On Saturday night, the Skullywag will make its debut at the annual Desoto’s Heritage Festival parade.

“Everybody is happy about this, the whole community is happy,” said Dominas.  “I’ve been getting calls the last couple days since we put it back here.  People are asking me if it’s working?  Yes, it is working. Come out to the Desoto parade Saturday night and you’re going to see it.”

In addition to the Desoto parade, the Skullywag will also be participating in several other local events coming up over the next few months.