Manatee County’s Gulf Islands Ferry is hung up at the dock.
The Islander learned the launch of the service was delayed Dec. 7 in a community post on Facebook and confirmed the news on the GIF website.
The service was set to get underway Dec. 8 but its start date was pushed to Jan. 5, 2024, according to a notice at gulfcoastwatertaxi.com.
The notice states: “Thank you for your patience and understanding as we are still in the final approval stages to begin the ferry service.”
The ferry service is managed by the Bradenton Area Convention and Visitors Bureau and operated by Clearwater-based Gulf Coast Water Taxi.
Plans call for two 50-foot open-air catamarans, each able to carry 49 passengers, to loop from the Riverwalk day dock in downtown Bradenton to the Anna Maria City Pier and the Historic Bridge Street Pier in Bradenton Beach. The service is scheduled to run 10 a.m.-9 p.m. Friday-Sunday.
BACVB executive director Elliott Falcione did not respond to a Dec. 8 call from The Islander about the delay.
The GIF website offered no information regarding fare refunds and there is no published phone contact for GIF or Gulf Coast Water Taxi.