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Race to the beach: Clearwater Ferry

 
Summers and Brassfield relax on the sand after comparing two methods of reaching the beach from downtown Clearwater.
Summers and Brassfield relax on the sand after comparing two methods of reaching the beach from downtown Clearwater.
Published April 2, 2015

I've been stuck on the bridge to Clearwater Beach more times than I can count. On sunny spring days, the westbound half of the Memorial Causeway transforms into a two-lane parking lot. You can see the sparkling Gulf of Mexico off in the distance as you sit stewing in your unmoving car.

So I figured it was time to try the new ferry when the boss told my fellow reporter Keyonna Summers and I to take a couple of different ways to the beach. (Another tough journalistic assignment! Why is this job so brutal?)

Here's how the ferry ride went:

10:45 a.m.: Left the Tampa Bay Times lot in downtown Clearwater.

10:50 a.m.: Arrived at the ferry dock, toting a beach chair and a bag of beach gear.

It's at the Clearwater Harbor Marina, on the Intracoastal Waterway just north of the causeway. It's between Cleveland and Drew streets, near Coachman Park.

There's plenty of free parking at the marina and across the street in the empty Harborview Center lot. They just added a sign that points riders to the ferry.

I boarded the ferry, which leaves every hour on the hour from 9 a.m. to 9 p.m. It's a 41-passenger pontoon boat with a canopy for shade.

I paid for a round trip, which costs $8. They gave me an orange paper wristband with "clearwaterferry.com" printed on it. There was no way this thing would survive on my wrist for a day in the water. I stuck it in my pocket. "We're going to have some better plastic ones for the water so they won't get ruined," crew member Devin Kocsis told me.

The ride took 10 minutes. There was a nice sea breeze, and a crewmember's iPhone played Start Me Up by the Rolling Stones.

Besides me, there were four other passengers. "We've had full boats," said Capt. Billy Teffner.

11:10 a.m.: We docked at the eastern edge of the Clearwater Beach Marina. Toting my gear, I walked the length of the marina, past a row of charter fishing boats. There, Keyonna was waiting triumphantly. Drat, she had beaten me there in her car! But it was a cool, cloudy morning, and traffic had been light.

We crossed Coronado Drive and the Pier 60 lot. We continued to the water's edge, unfolded our beach chairs, and stuck our feet in the sand. The sun came out.

Aaaaaaaahhh.

Mission accomplished, boss.

The question remains: Is taking the ferry worth it?

In real life, I have a wife and two kids. So, like everything else I do, the ferry is subject to a cost-benefit analysis.

When I go to Clearwater Beach in the busy season, I often end up parking in the garage above the Surf Style megastore along BeachWalk. That costs $3 an hour. There's cheaper parking in surface lots, but they're usually full by the time I get there. (The Hyatt garage currently charges $30 per day on weekends, and $5 an hour during the week.)

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Taking my family on the ferry would cost $16 for two adults and $8 for two kids. That's $24, which would cover eight hours of parking in my chosen garage. I probably wouldn't spend that much on parking, but it would be close. And the ferry would let me skip the beach traffic.

Is it worth it? Ultimately, it depends on how large your group is, how long you plan to stay, whether you're willing to lug your stuff a little way, and whether you can make it to the ferry dock at the right time.

Contact Mike Brassfield at brassfield@tampabay.com or (727) 445-4151. Follow @MikeBrassfield.