DANA POINT : New Ferry Service to Catalina Set for June

A new passenger ferry service from Dana Point Harbor to Catalina Island recently approved by the county Board of Supervisors should be underway by June, according to a spokesman for the firm that will run the service.

The board granted a five-year license on March 31 to Chula Vista-based SeaJet Cruise Lines to begin operating a daily 150-passenger shuttle from a dock near the Wind & Sea Restaurant to Catalina. W.T. (Ted) Gurnee, president of SeaJet, said the shuttle will be similar to those his company currently operates from San Diego County to Catalina.

“We already have a service from San Diego and Oceanside to Catalina. We’re just taking it the next step to Dana Point,” Gurnee said. He said the operation should be launched “at the latest” by July 4.

Gurnee estimated the 30-mile trip would take less than two hours on a 120-foot boat. The initial cost for passengers, which includes breakfast and tours of the island, would be about $50, Gurnee said.

A recent agreement by the county to open up parking at the county-owned Selva Road parking lot near the dock allowed the ferry service to proceed, Gurnee said. The county approved the designation of 150 spaces there for shuttle passengers, which should not impact the heavily burdened harbor parking lot, said Ted Miller, the county’s master lease manager.

“We don’t want to create any more of a problem in parking in the harbor,” Miller said. “Otherwise, I think the Catalina service will be a great addition to the harbor.”

Miller said the board’s approval of the license is contingent on Gurnee’s submission of an operating plan for shuttling his passengers from the Selva Road parking lot to the harbor launch area.

“He needs to assure us that the people are parking at Selva,” Miller said. “Once he does that, he’s in business.” Miller estimated the ferry service could be in operation in “less than 30 days.”

The Catalina ferry service would be launched from a dock operated by master lessee Maury Harrison, owner of Dana Village Properties. Harrison would sublease the area to Gurnee, just as he does with other area tenants, including the Jolly Roger restaurant, Jon’s Fishmarket and Dana Wharf Sportfishing.

Harrison said the ferry’s launching spot was chosen so it would not disturb other harbor activities. “It will be on the last dock, the closest to the entrance and exit to the harbor,” he said. “It’s an ideal spot for getting in and out, and it offers high visibility.”