Holmes Beach is the only Anna Maria Island municipality without a stop for passengers to hop on and off the Gulf Islands Ferry.
But a dock at the Waterline Villas & Marina, 5325 Marina Drive, at the city basin could be the solution.
Bradenton Area Convention & Visitors Bureau executive director Elliott Falcione told The Islander June 21 that he is in dialogue with Waterline ownership about potentially using it as a ferry stop following a successful June 17 docking test.
Manatee County’s ferry program consists of two open-air 49-passenger catamarans that run Wednesday-Sunday between downtown Bradenton and the Anna Maria City Pier and the Historic Bridge Street Pier on the island.
The ferry fleet is operated by Clearwater-based Gulf Coast Water Taxi and is set to expand in about a year.
Manatee County’s Board of County Commissioners approved $3 million in tourist development tax money to build a third, enclosed vessel for the program.
The new vessel would be larger — carrying 91 passengers with 67 enclosed seats — and would operate between Bradenton and Anna Maria.
The vessels currently in operation would be used as “hoppers” between island stops.
The third vessel is expected to take a year to build.
In the meantime, the county has its eyes set on bringing the ferry to Holmes Beach.
“From day one, the objective was to go into all three municipalities on the island,” Falcione said.
When the city recently requested $500,000 from the Manatee County Tourist Development Council to fund improvements along Marina Drive, the lack of a ferry stop in the city entered the conversation.
TDC members ultimately reached a unanimous decision to recommend approval of the city’s $500,000 request with the stipulation that the county and city negotiate a ferry landing.
However, unlike its island counterparts, Holmes Beach does not have a public pier to dock the ferries.
Other potential locations, such as the county-run Kingfish Boat Ramp, 752 Manatee Ave., or a public ramp at 6398 Marina Way, are not ideal stops due to their distance from the city center and a trolley stop.
On the other hand, the Waterline — private property owned by Tampa-based Mainsail AMI Marina — is near the city center and a northbound trolley stop.
Holmes Beach City Commissioner Dan Diggins attended the June 10 TDC meeting and spoke in support of a ferry stop within the municipality.
Diggins told The Islander June 18 that he called Falcione to facilitate the previous day’s run to the Waterline to test the logistics of the location as a ferry dock.
“Before we go through all the legal hijinks to try to make this work, let’s see if the boat can actually fit in there,” he said.
Diggins said a ferry made the trek and docked at the Waterline without issue. He said four captains onboard for the trip told him it was easier to dock there than at the Anna Maria City Pier due to currents in Tampa Bay and winds on the island’s north side.
While Diggins facilitated the test run to the Waterline, it is private property, so city officials will not have a hand in negotiating the new ferry stop.
Falcione said he is “working through” talks with Mainsail AMI about using the location.
“We’re going to talk to all parties involved and, if everybody is comfortable and there’s balances there and everybody wins … then we’ll pursue it,” Falcione said. “Right now, I think it’s an intriguing time.”