Although it’s been 35 years since The Ships Chandler opened its doors in downtown Destin, owner Peter Wright still loves going to work every day.
And part of the reason he loves his work, is he gets to share it with his son, Pete Jr.
“I come to work every morning loving it,” said Peter Wright Sr. “And a lot of that has to do with my son taking a lot of the pressure off me.”
Pete Jr., 31, came to work for his father right out of college.
“A hundred percent I knew I was coming back to work here,” Pete said.
“It’s what I like to do and it’s an opportunity to make money and be in the fishing industry and just enjoy it.”
But Pete Jr. is not the first son in the business to go to work with his father. Peter Sr. learned the business from his dad William “Bill” Wright, who originally opened the store May 31, 1980 where
Peter went to work for his dad in 1981 after he married Beth.
William Wright started the business because he had a commercial boat and wanted to be able to buy tackle for his boat as well as set up others in the boat business.
When Peter Sr. came on board he wanted to expand the business to sport fishing, not just commercial.
“Back then Destin had about 40 charter boats,” Peter said, noting the Kelly Docks, Bradens and Marlers.
“I came in and started helping my dad and long story short, boom here we are today,” Peter said.
The Ships Chandler has moved several times over the years. From the spot at
“We also got into the yacht brokerage business a little bit and was very successful,” Peter said.
“We were really doing good. I kind of drifted out of the tackle business little by little … and got more into the boat side of it. I figured it was easier to sell a $100,000 dollar item than to sell a bunch of $1 items.”
In 2000 the boom was happening and Wright couldn’t rig the boats fast enough, and then the recession hit, then the oil spill hit. “And business went to heck in a hand basket,” Wright said.
“So I had to rethink things,” he said. That’s when he went back to his first love, the tackle and supply business.
“I knew I needed to concentrate on what got me to the dance,” Peter said. “And fishing tackle and all my friends up and down the docks, commercial and recreational and charter fisherman all is what got me to where I am now.
“So I started catering to them about four years ago, and Pete got out of college and came to work here, and low and behold over the last three years it has grown quite a bit and this year it’s just out of control.
“The business is just so much fun, seeing all your old friends come in,” he said.
Wright gets a kick out of the variety of people that come in on any given day. He said they may have someone coming in to buy a $120,000 Pathfinder, or a commercial guy getting his BB rigs ready, or a charter fisherman looking to buy lead sinkers and hooks.
“It’s so much fun that you have a blend of people and the stories that goes along with it … it’s really a lot of fun,” Wright said.
THE WRIGHT OF PASSAGE
Of course Peter wants to eventually hand the business down to Pete Jr.
“My dad passed it to me and I’m going to pass it to Pete. And I think he is doing an exceptional job. He has the energy, he’s been in it and he knows everybody,” Peter said.
“He’s getting this new social media marketing. That’s not my cup of tea,” said the 57-year-old Peter. “I’m still working on things with a telegraph,” he chuckled.
Social media has grown the business along with the websites. “He’s really good at that … and he’s knowledgeable about the fishing and boats. It’s all good,” Peter said.
And the feeling is mutual between the two.
“It’s good working together,” Pete said. “It takes a special relationship.”
Peter Sr. said things got a little “testy” at times working with his dad. “He drove me because he was in the service. He taught me a lot about being regimented. So I really enjoyed working with my father, who gave me time off to still be able to go fish.
“I also learned a lot from him that I need to apply to my own son,” Peter said. “Everybody is going to make mistakes … you just learn from everything you do.
“And in this business if you don’t get your customers too mad at you, you are going to be OK,” he said.
THE WRIGHT TEAM
And Peter and Pete work well together and share duties in the store.
“That’s the biggest thing with any kind of realationship in business, but especially with your dad is to realize your strength and weaknesses,” Pete said. “He’s better at different stuff. I like to handle the service side of things and employee kind of things and dad he’s got the sales side of thing and just relationships with people and maintaining those. You can’t do it all. So it’s good to divey it up and realize that.”
“It’s such a good team,” Peter said of his son, and of all his employees at The Ships Chandler.
“The ones that we have are multi-tasking and watching the other ones back, it’s all good, it’s unbelievable,” Peter said.
“And Pete’s got my back on everything. He understands every side of the business. He’s really good at it. So I feel comfortable at walking away from the store when I want to go.”
THE WRIGHT TIME
Although Peter likes his time off, he’s not planning on retirement any time soon.
“I don’t have a reason to even think about retirement,” Peter said. “To me retirement means you’re not working and I enjoy working. So I don’t want to do that. I’m doing what I enjoy.”
The same is true for Pete.
“I can’t imagine doing anything else,” Pete said. “This is it.
“I like that it has a variety. I’m not just a charter boat guy, or private boat guy or service guy … we do it all. We cover the bases of everything in the fishing
“And I like watching people become successful at fishing,” Pete said. “I’ve caught enough fish in my life and so has dad. I have more fun watching people have fun. If we can be a part of that somehow, that’s my favorite thing about the whole business,” Pete said.
“It’s all good,” Peter added.