YMKG christens its second ship, the José Gasparilla II, on January 5, 1954, by King Carlton Cone and Queen Suzanne Lowry with a bottle of old Jamaican rum, at Tampa Ship Repair. Also in attendance were Captain James W. Warren and First Lieutenant Richard McKay. This is the only ship that has been constructed for “piratical” purposes in the past two hundred years. The cost was $100,000 and took seven months to build.
This year marked the 50th Anniversary of YMKG and special coins were produced to commemorate the occasion.
YMKG appears in the September issue of National Geographic Magazine, in an article entitled, “America Goes To The Fair.” Excellent pictures of the invading ship and crowds along the Hillsborough River are shown.
