People line up to see the harbor docking of the Aqualink public taxi
service.
Let's face it. People want a
cheap date...and when the Aqualink high-speed Catamaran began operating
several years ago in the Long Beach harbor, it seemed like a way to
enhance tourist offerings by luring the public out there to explore in a
fun manner. The first rides were only a buck ($1). By the time we write
this, it is now $3/each way. When you think that within 15 minutes you
can drive the family the distance between two spots that takes 45
minutes on a boat, Aqualink isn't such a deal for a family of 4. Round
trip fare would be $24.
But Aqualink is a joy ride that
like it or not, the City of Long finally has learned to handle and cope
with. Telling passengers to get off the boat, re-entry costs $3. They've
quit giving lectures about how "this is not a tour boat." They simply
make everyone get off and get back on for the return trip.
What's funny about people who ride
the boat is their persistence in ignoring the signs that ask them to
wait behind a specific line. They see the dock, they see the empty
boat and off they go. The captain asks, "Who told you to come on board?"
They grin and have no answer, of course.
Another trend or instinct to
compete, rush or be first is the boarding of this "water taxi".
Everybody runs to the front of the boat to grab the closest spot to
jumping off. No, they don't jump. What they do is stand there till the
boat hits the open seas where two things transpire. Front passengers get
wet, and they get cold from the ocean breeze. Before you know it, they
start heading for warmer quarters, one by one.
The summer crowd seems aggressive
and competitive over a simple thing like a boat ride. But come
September, a slower, mellow vibe sticks around for 9 months (same amount
of time for female gestation) till the next round of tourists are
berthed (as in boat), returning to make life hell for the captain and
his crew of the Long Beach Catamaran Aqualink service.
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