Company offers tours of the Intracoastal [The Florida Times-Union, Jacksonville]

July 14--By Maggie FitzRoy

maggie.fitzroy@jacksonville.com

Dolphins played together in the water.

A flock of white ibis floated over the marsh like a small white cloud.

An osprey perched on the branch of a tree below its nest, while nearby, a wood stork surveyed the Intracoastal Waterway from the branch of a tall dead pine.

Passengers aboard Capt. Brooks Mitchell's boat last Saturday enjoyed those peaceful scenes and more as they traveled north along the ICW from Jacksonville Beach.

Last summer, Mitchell gave boat tours along the coast of Maine and found it so rewarding that in March he started his own boat tour company in Jacksonville Beach called Jax Boat Tours. He gives eco/nature tours in the mornings and sunset cruises in the evenings aboard a 35-foot pontoon vessel that carries up to 14 passengers.

"I had a blast on the water, and I had fun watching people see all the wildlife," said Mitchell, a Jacksonville resident, of his time in Maine. "I said that's what I want to do down here."

By July 4, he'd given 100 trips in 100 days to about 1,000 passengers.

"This is a great idea, I would come again," said passenger Teresa Moonly, a fifth-grade teacher, who said she is always looking for enjoyable things to do around Jacksonville in the summer.

All tours leave from Beach Marine at 2315 Beach Blvd., where Mitchell docks behind Nippers Beach Grill.

The family-oriented two-hour morning trips leave at 9 a.m. to maximize chances of seeing wildlife and to avoid midday boat traffic, and go north to the Wonderwood Bridge and back.

The 7 to 9 p.m. sunset tours go south to Palm Valley and back. These tours are for adults only, and passengers are encouraged to bring their own wine, beer and other beverages and snacks. The cost is $39 for the first ticket for a couple or group, and $20 for each additional ticket for either the day or sunset tour. During July and August, tours are scheduled from Thursday through Sunday. Advance reservations are required and can be booked by calling (904) 322-7194.

Mitchell also books private tours for groups who would like a custom-tailored trip. Groups can book the entire boat for $299 for two hours. The boat is covered, and passengers can move around freely under most circumstances. The tours include complimentary ice water, and there is a bathroom on board, as well as life jackets.

On Saturday, the tour began at low tide, and boat traffic was light on the waterway. The air felt cool as the boat traveled along.

"Early morning is a good time because it is calmer and wildlife is waking up," Mitchell said.

While every trip is different, he said he usually sees dolphins near the Atlantic Boulevard Bridge. There were several in the area that day. Passengers gathered at the front of the boat for photos. They also looked for manatees, but didn't see any. Mitchell said he sees manatees about every seven to eight trips.

<p>Passing by marshes and wooded areas, he pointed out Indian shell middens, great blue herons and other birds.

On the sunset tours, he said he often watches the moon rise on one side of the waterway as the sun sets on the other.

Becoming a boat captain was a career change for Mitchell, who was inspired to leave a 25-year career in the insurance business after watching the movie The Bucket List a couple of years ago. The film, about making a list of things you want to do before you die, motivated Mitchell to make his own list, and becoming a licensed boat captain was high on it.

He went to a captain's school in St. Augustine, passed the course, and then took the job in Maine, where he also owns a home.

He realized there was a need for the kind of tours he gives at the Beaches because "people say, 'I've been in Jacksonville for 20 years and I've never been out on the water,'" he said. "I'm loving it."

Cat Eidsness of Seattle said she loved it, too. Eidsness and her three children, Maggie, 11, Noah, 9, and Xander, 14, are renting a home in Atlantic Beach for a month this summer, and she was looking for activities beyond the beach and pool.

"This is what I'd hoped for," Eidsness said at the end of the tour. "It's cool."

Maggie FitzRoy can be reached at (904) 302-3394.

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