Third time the Charm? St. Marys floats ferry idea again

Twice it launched. Twice it sank. Now, St. Marys is once again floating the idea of a ferry to Fernandina Beach.

St. Marys wants to try again and has asked the Fernandina Beach City Commission to partner in the endeavor.

Last month the St. Marys City Council approved plans for a 20-passenger ferry to make the 35-minute trek between the two cities.

St. Marys Assistant City Manager Charlie Williams Jr. pitched the concept Tuesday to city commissioners at their regular meeting.

The ferry is not a new idea.

There have been two previous attempts to offer the service, both by Amelia River Excursions founder Kevin McCarthy.

The first was in 2009 and stopped in 2010.

The second was in 2020, but Covid-19 struck, and it failed. There were also disputes with St. Marys over docking accommodations.

Even when operating, both attempts were not economical for the private vendor to maintain. McCarthy is well known to islanders and tourists for providing Amelia River tours, including a Cumberland Island tour, beach creek tour, sunset tour, shrimping eco tour, and other special events.

A third effort in 2015 also never progressed past discussions. During those talks, McCarthy said the business would require $150,000 yearly to operate.

"We tried having a water taxi but it wasn't feasible to keep it going. There wasn't enough business going both ways to keep it going," Amelia River Tours posted on Trip Advisor.

Now St. Marys is back, but Williams' presentation was absent any market data that supported the proposal would be profitable for the operator this time around.

"At one point, we had a ferry service between Fernandina and St. Marys. I've heard multiple stories on why that didn't stick around," Williams told commissioners. "Some of the issues were actually in St. Marys. I think there was a relationship with the vendor at the time they were trying to get certain things from St. Marys that the council back then was not willing to offer them, so it made that relationship a little difficult."

Williams said circumstances have changed in St. Marys.

"Since then, the city has acquired a dock. It is a C-shape dock that we opened purposely for economic development downtown. Since then, we've had a good relationship with your assistant city manager and city manager on bringing the cities together," he said.

St. Marys Assistant City Manager Charlie Williams

"It is a mutual benefit. There's a ton of people on my side that would love to come down here and enjoy downtown without the drive and then enjoy the evening riding back across the water. We are bringing a vendor to the table so that we can start the conversations. We have expectations that we put in the (city commission) packet, but we want to bring it to the table so we can have those conversations on what are the needs for the vendor to be successful."

Williams outlined the parameters St. Marys is requiring for the vendor to provide the ferry service that included:

• Ferry service from 7:30 a.m. to 7 p.m. and run back and forth between the two cities four to six times a day.

• A vessel capable of carrying 24 passengers and up to 12 bicycles.

• City docks available only for loading and unloading passengers, no overnight tie-ups.

• Each city will fund $5,000 to the vendor for the first two years to support sustainability of the ferry service.

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Williams said the ferry service would offer passengers full access to the New East Coast Greenway Trail System between Goergia and Florida.

"It's a perfect trail from downtown Fernandina Beach to downtown St. Marys and then they can continue (north) down the trail," Williams said. "We also want to make sure the ferry runs early enough so you can catch the St. Marys ferry to Cumberland Island."

It would connect Northeast Florida's Timucuan Ecological and Historic Preserve to Georgia's Cumberland Island National Seashore, which has its own water taxi service out of St. Marys. The service would also close the state line gap in the Greenway. The cities are about 11 miles distant by boat, but more than 30 miles away along Florida A1A, U.S. 17, St. Marys Road and Georgia 40.

Commissioner Genece Minshew asked about long-term parking for people who departed Fernandina Beach to St. Marys for extended stays.

"What about people who go to Cumberland Island and camp for a week? We don't have overnight parking. That needs to be worked out with the vendor. If we can work that out, I think it's a great idea," she said.

Minshew, who usually is a stickler for business plan specifics, didn't question Williams on whether there was enough demand for the ferry service to make it feasible.

But she was joined in supporting the proposal by Commissioner Joyce Tuten and Mayor James Antun, however, the commission took no formal vote after the presentation.

The next step would be considering taking bids from vendors for the ferry service and then awarding a contract.