Driftline Sunset Cruises

Captain Hollis Grant has run the same ninety minutes for nine years and still watches the sunset like it is the first one. Driftline leaves the Riverwalk docks an hour and a quarter before the sun goes down, idles out past the old bridge and the sailboats on their moorings, follows the dolphins if they are working the channel markers, and turns back with the sky going orange behind the Roosevelt Bridge and the downtown lights coming on.

The boat is a 30-foot pontoon with a canopy, cushioned benches, a head and room for twelve. Bring your own drinks and a sweater in winter; the captain brings the cooler, the ice and the commentary, which is short and mostly about birds. Children ride free under five and half price under twelve, and the boat waits for no one, so be on the dock fifteen minutes early.

Cruises run Thursday to Sunday from October to May and most evenings in high season. Rain cancels, wind over twenty knots cancels, and a cancelled cruise is refunded or moved. Private charters for a birthday or a proposal take the whole boat.

Good to know

• Departure time changes with the sunset; it is on the booking.
• Bring your own drinks; the cooler and the ice are on board.
• Dolphins are usual and never guaranteed.
• The dock is at the Flagler Avenue end of the Riverwalk; park in the city lot.
• Private charters take the whole boat for the price of eight seats.