FERNANDINA BEACH, Fla. — Fernandina Beach wants to replace its long-standing pirate statue downtown, and some people are calling on the city to abandon ship.
The city says the wooden “Fernandina Pirate” statue on Centre Street has been there since 1978, almost 50 years ago. It’s now wanting to replace the statue because of damage to the wood, among other concerns, but some neighbors are hoping the city walks the plank with the pirate that may replace it.
The city shared a picture of what it says is the proposed “Peg Leg Pete” statue it’s considering to put in place of the one standing on Centre Street. But Action News Jax got in touch with the woodcarver who made the new statue, who says it’s not only an old picture but looks far different than how it is now.
“The eye wasn’t even painted,” said Jett Paxton, the woodcarver tapped by the city to make the new pirate, “the sword was not even finished yet. He did not have the sword, and it was very bad lighting. It was just not a very finished photo.”
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Paxton is an 18-year-old, homeschooled, self-taught woodcarver and business owner who has been learning to carve wood for the last six years. It’s a hobby he tells Action News Jax he first picked up during the pandemic and has now turned into a full-time business, called the Woodworking Dude.
Paxton said the city approached him about the pirate project three years ago. After two months carving the pirate, he tells Action News Jax he took the picture that the city is sharing as its new “proposed pirate” design.
Paxton sent Action News Jax what he said the pirate actually looks like now. He believes people have been getting the wrong idea of his work based on the picture being used by the city.
“If we go and look at the current Pete down there, he has a hole in his chest, his arm is rotting and is falling off,” Paxton said, “whether it’s my design or not, the current Pete is rotting, and we do need to come up with some solution.”
Even though the city is interested in putting up a new pirate, some people living in Fernandina Beach still aren’t sold on replacing the statue they grew up with.
“The new one didn’t look, you know, natural. You know, it just didn’t look like what this place is about. Just kind of goofy,” Benny Hendrix said, a Fernandina Beach native.
Whether the city replaces the pirate or not, the city’s historic district council and city commission still need to make a vote. The historic district council is going over the pirate proposal in its meeting on Thursday at 5:00 PM.
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