Mission Statement

Our mission is to create an organization that will represent the City of Clearwater through friendship, respect for each other, charitable sponsorship and community service. We will do this by ensuring that our membership entertains the citizens of Clearwater by emulating 17th century Spanish Galleon crews and the pirates that roamed the seas during that period of time during parades and other social events.

Krewe Founders and Early History

Jeff DiPolito, Bill Fisher, Rick Amorose and Phil Hester are the Ye Mystic Krewe of Santa Margarita founders. The Krewe is the original brainchild of Jeff DiPolito. Jeff long thought that the City of Clearwater needed to be represented in the Tampa area’s Krewe community.

During the time that Jeff’s children attended Plumb Elementary School in Clearwater, he was the PTA President and had a pirate costume made by a local seamstress, Lauren Whitman. Jeff became the Plumb Pirate and would portray this character during the PTA’s fundraising carnival.

After three years of being the Plumb Pirate, Bill Fisher approached Jeff and asked about his costume. Jeff explained that he had it made by Lauren Whitman and often thought about starting a Gasparilla Krewe in Clearwater. Bill responded by encouraging Jeff to do so and to include him if he acted upon this thought.

Jeff then spent the next three months researching how to structure a Krewe, chose a name and wrote the original bylaws. He then notified Bill and recruited two others to be founders too. Rick Amorose and Philip Hester. Their first meeting was in Jeff’s living room where Jeff divulged his entire vision and Bill, Rick and Phil all agreed that this Krewe needed to be formed.

Five months later, Ye Mystic Krewe of the Santa Margarita was introduced to the City of Clearwater aboard the Captain Memo Pirate ship. Approximately, 110 people were in attendance including the Mayor of Clearwater, several city dignitaries. The present King of Ye Mystic Krewe of Neptune was also in attendance.

Since then, Ye Mystic Krewe of the Santa Margarita has grown to be the largest Krewe in Pinellas County and Clearwater’s Official Krewe.

YMKSM loyal krewmates currently sail two floats, The Santa Margarita and The Rosario, both named after Spanish treasure fleet galleons that were sunk during a hurricane in 1622. Learn more about the ill-fated 1622 Spanish treasure fleet.