Water taxi expands

Cruises will make 11 stops along Intracoastal Waterway

Northern route includes 11 stops.

To hear city leaders tell it, Pompano Beach’s ship has come in — with a new water taxi service that took its inaugural sail Tuesday.

The city gave the news media a preview of the Pompano Beach Water Taxi before it begins serving the public Saturday. It will start cruises to 11 stops from Lighthouse Point to Fort Lauderdale along the Intracoastal Waterway.

On the taxi, a complete loop around a new route takes an hour. And along the way, passengers can gawk at mansions, take in the historic Hillsboro Lighthouse and visit Lighthouse Point’s oldest structure, Cap’s Place Island Restaurant. The Indian Mound Park is another stop along the way — one of the few remaining vestiges of the Tequesta tribe that once lived in the area.

It’ll allow passengers to reach Fort Lauderdale, where they then could catch the Fort Lauderdale Water Taxi to take them as far as Hallandale Beach, with stops along the New River and Margaritaville along the way.

“This is a monumental day for Pompano Beach,” said Commissioner Michael Sobel, who represents the city’s barrier island. “It’s going to bring an entirely new kind of tourist to Pompano Beach.”

Calm seas and sparkling skies greeted about 60 guests who showed up for taxis’ maiden voyage.

“It’s the ultimate opportunity to come and enjoy our restaurants, our beach, our shops,” said Pompano Beach Mayor Lamar Fisher.

Right now, Pompano Beach’s redevelopment area of the city’s barrier island has three destination restaurants in the works along with two retail centers, and a commitment from a national chain to the zone’s first hotel in 50 years.

Tickets for getting to Fort Lauderdale are $15 each for Pompano Beach residents, military personnel and seniors. Adults living outside the city pay $20 per person. Annual passes will be available for $200 annually. But group rates can be negotiated, city officials say.

Tickets for continuing onto the Fort Lauderdale Water Taxi range from $26 per adult to $12 per child.

CARLINE JEAN/STAFF PHOTOGRAPHER Pompano Beach residents Denise Broderick Amar,left, and Katelyn Smock take part in the inaugural water taxi trip along the Intracoastal Waterway in Pompano Beach on Tuesday.