Each year, groups of citizens dressed as pirates provide a ceremonial beginning to the Buccaneer Days festival, courtesy of the Mayor (or their designee), who is escorted aboard their ship. The mayor then ends up in Corpus Christi Bay after being shoved, jumping, doing a front flip or a cannonball … methods have varied over the years. The dunking of the mayor symbolizes the pirates and pirate queens taking control of the city for the duration of the festival.
In Mayor McIver Furman’s first dunking in 1965, he rode aboard the Tawhiri before he was ordered into the Bay. Dr. Furman was a recognizable Corpus Christi resident even before he became Mayor – he was the city’s first Eagle Scout, acted as Clara Driscoll’s personal physician and worked tirelessly toward the creation and stability of Driscoll Children’s Hospital after her death. He famously said, “We have passed from a small town. We now must think in larger terms,” before leaving office after one term and continuing to practice medicine.
Since 1980, only 13 Corpus Christians, including a police chief, council members and mayors pro tem, have been privileged enough to be ordered to the plank. Corpus Christi Mayor Paulette Guajardo’s first jump came in 2021. This year, she’ll take her fifth plunge into the water as pirates seize control of the city for the 2025 Buc Days Festival.
To take part in the tradition, head to the Peoples Street T-Head at 5 p.m. on May 1 and grab a seat along the Seawall. Arrr, matey!
EDITOR’S NOTE: This article was originally published in the April 2020 edition of The Bend. It has since been updated to reflect current events.
