Pirate Paddler makes his way down the Mississippi

GREENVILLE - In the history of the Mississippi river.... river pirates are nothing new.... but these days... there's a self-styled river pirate raising money for others.

You don't meet people like Peter Frank every day.

Call him what you will.... off-beat... quirky... unusual... but you've got to call him dedicated.

He's paddling down the Mississippi, disguised as a pirate... all for a good cause.

"I primarily I'm raising money for a charity in Marquette, Michigan. It's called the Beacon House, it's kinda like Ronald McDonald house, or St.Jude Hospital. When I was 14 years old I was hit by a car after the beacon house had given my family a place to stay while I was in the hospital, I rode a unicycle across America and I raise 28-thousand dollars in funds for the organization," he said. 

He hopes to raise more on this trip.... he hopes the pirate get up... which happened quite by accident after he beaded his hair... will help.

"I looked at myself in the mirror one day and said hey I look kinda like a pirate and I thought it would be so funny if I just pretended to be a pirate and I made the hat. I sewed it myself over the winter. Made out of 100 percent deer hide, did it all myself and now I'm paddling the Mississippi river and I get a kick out of it," he explained.

He posts to social media every day so we can all keep track of his progress.  Look for the link in the picture in this story.

He expects to make it to the Gulf of Mexico, in 3 or 4 weeks.

"How do I top myself next year? I don't know, we'll just have to see where the road takes me," he said.

For now, the road will take him down the meandering Mississippi...with periodic stops along the way.