Big Hit on San Diego Bay : Gangplank to the Ferry Runneth Over

The San Diego-to-Coronado ferry, which two months ago returned to the waters of San Diego Bay after an 18-year absence, apparently is one of the biggest hits of the summer.

Although ridership on the 47-year-old Silvergate is off from the grand-opening crowds that averaged 2,670 a day, its operators report that the ferry still carries about 1,000 each day and has been more popular than expected. The Star & Crescent Boat Co. is planning to add a second boat to the service.

The second ferry, tentatively named the Spirit of ‘76, is scheduled to begin its run later this month. It will accommodate 125 passengers and have a separate loading ramp for bicycles, said Jackie Kreisler, spokeswoman for Star & Crescent.

Yet another plan is to extend the ferry route and add a second leg that would take commuters from the 24th Street Pier in National City to North Island Naval Air Station.

“This is so new to us and the response so overwhelming,” Kreisler said. With the crush of people has also come an unforeseen problem: bicycles.

When the ferry resumed service on July 1, so many people showed up with bicycles that it not only took Star & Crescent officials by surprise, but it also caused a problem because the bikes were taking up too much space. Finally, the company set a limit of 25 bicycles per trip.

The company said the limit was in the best interests of passenger safety. At first, cyclists complained of long waits caused by the quota. Tension and tempers flared, although never to the point of violence.

“We’ve had to work out the kinks and that was certainly one of them,” Kreisler said.

So far this summer, about half the people riding the ferry, which links the Broadway Pier with the $7-million Old Ferry Landing retail and restaurant complex near the foot of Orange Avenue in Coronado, are tourists.

“The biggest bunch of all is from Arizona,” said John Alioto, the ferry’s skipper. After the Arizonans, he said, the biggest segment of out-of-towners is made up of foreign visitors.

The other half of the ferry’s ridership are not people from Phoenix or Tucson or Paris but from right here in San Diego.

Setting out on the choppy waters Monday, for example, were a couple of first-time passengers.

Rick Assam, a freshman majoring in business at San Diego State University, was commuting from his Coronado home to his first day of classes via the ferry and his 10-speed bike.

“I’m taking the ferry because it’s convenient,” Assam said. “I’d rather skip the 1 1/2-hour bus wait in Chicano Park (at the San Diego end of the San Diego-Coronado Bay Bridge). This is a lot more pleasant.”

Then there was Ed Gallagher, a San Diego resident since 1972, who--like any other tourist--took his first ferry ride for the simple pleasure of sightseeing.

Crew members report that the Silvergate regularly encounters a couple of crowd pleasers on its 15-minute transits. Two California sea lions, which the crew has taken to calling Mack and Merryl, draw attention by frequently lounging on Buoy 22, sunning themselves.

Because of the ferry’s popularity, Kriesler said, Star & Crescent is already tinkering with the idea of adding a third vessel, though she cautioned that the plan is still “in the thinking stage.”

The ferry costs $1 each way and leaves the Broadway Pier at 10 a.m. for its first voyage. Trips are scheduled each hour on the hour from the San Diego side, and on the half-hour from the Coronado side. The final departure from San Diego is at 11 p.m. All-day passes are available for $4.