ST. PETE BEACH, Fla. — Hundreds of automobiles drive over the Skyway Bridge every single day, however one journey provides one other view of the bridge from under.
Capt. Conor O’Neil is a brilliant fan of coastal dwelling, and will drive a ship earlier than a automotive.
“So I had a little 17-foot skiff and I would pull the boat up to work on the docks behind Treasure Island,” O’Neil stated. “And that’s how I would get to and from work.”
The 17-foot skiff has now become a 45-foot catamaran.
And he’s now not using to work. He’s made the using the work.
Because the president of St. Pete Coastal Cruises, he’s exhibiting off the sunsets from his favourite spots, like a bit of island simply off Ft. Desoto Seashore.
It’s mainly Postcard Metropolis.
“So after running this tour for a year and a half, personally, every single boat, it just doesn’t get old,” O’Neil stated.
O’Neil began this enterprise with one other lifelong boater and St. Pete Catholic Excessive Faculty buddy Chad Cassidy.
Their mission is to make the coastal way of life reasonably priced. Vacationers and locals can soar on considered one of their luxurious passenger boats if they don’t have considered one of their very own.
O’Neil and Cassidy see this magnificence, and they don’t need folks to overlook out as a result of they don’t have a home on the water or a ship of their very own.
That is all main as much as the grand finale — to see the landmark that rises over 400-feet out of the water.
“Welcome to my personal favorite part of the night,” O’Neil stated. “That’s gonna be the Skyway light show.”
Formal title? The Bob Graham Sunshine Skyway Bridge with greater than 1,800 LED lights. And the illuminated columns create a tunnel impact.
A $15 million improve was accomplished in 2019 and paid for with tolls.
And the lights assist pay for and paint the picture-perfect life for O’Neil.
“And that’s really where I get my fun out of being on the water and meeting new people and taking them to new places,” O’Neil stated.
And using the waves into his subsequent journey.
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