San Antonio Riverwalk - Captain's licenses?

[Keith]

I was in San Antonio earlier this week and watching the riverboats carrying passengers on those little river tours. They have essentially little barges carrying 30 or so passengers for hire, and started wondering what type of license they had to have, if any. The captains all look like college kids. Is there an exemption for things like that? How about amusement parks? Maybe non-navigable waterways? What say you, oh vast and unpaid research department?

 

[RT Firefly]

Greetings,
Hmmm.... 30 or so people? I would guess with morbid obesity rampant a 100 ton license would be mandatory.

 

[capt jerry]

any time you carry passengers for hire you need a license

 

[HeyJude]

If the forum will fund drinks & dinner, I'll check it out.

 

[Tony B]

I would assume they would have to have a 100 Ton Masters. Anytime you carry passengers for hire, a Capt'n license is required. If you dont have the tonnage experience, you can (or used to get) a 100 Ton Masters with a 50 Ton restriction.
Same test as a regular masters except you dont have the sea time on a 100 Ton vessel. Then, if you want the unrestricted version, all you have to do is get the proper tonnage experience and bring documentation to the CG and they will up your license.

 

[HeyJude]

Got the skinny from the operator. The section of the SA River that runs thur downtown where the barges operate is a city park thus the boat operators do not have to be USCG license. The river consession begin in 1968 during Hemisfair using gondolas & evolved to barges soon there after. New operators go thru 3.5 weeks of training, are paid minimum wage plus tips, have to stand the entire day & be able to lift the engine to clear props & to help passengers off & on the barge. The operate 12 months a year, in fair & foul weather.

Side note....a retired, fairly well off buddy of mine in New Orleans started driving the horse drawn carriages after Katrina for something to do while the city recovered. He is very personable & knows the city well so he tailors his preformance to the passenger's desires. He makes huge tips. Does not like dealing with the horses.

 

[HeyJude]

Tony, are you going to be around the marina this Sat afternoon or evening? We're coming down to meet our kids at the boardwalk Sun for birthday party & Easter.

 

[Keith]

Thanks! I knew someone would have the answer. I was pretty sure none of these kids had a 100 ton masters. If they did, they sure wouldn't be piloting these boats.

 

[ARoss]

I've never heard of a Titanic/Hindenberg incident on the San Antonio Riverwalk... ohh.. the humanity!!!

I'm not sure it's more than a couple of feet deep anyway.

 

[CPseudonym]

I had a blast on the Riverwalk boat ride. Those kids sure know how to make the trip fun. Wife and I plan on returning to San Antonio in a couple years.

 

[HeyJude]

River in the downtown area averages 3' deep & every Jan the city stops the inflow & cleans out all the muck including chairs, cell phones, glasses, cups, beads, articles of clothing, etc using front end loaders & dump trucks. While the river is "dry" some civic group holds a Mud King & Queen celebration...just another excuse for a party. A week later the river is full & flowing again.

Since the mid 1800s the river was a sewer & garbage dump & prone to flooding the downtown area. During the renovation for Hemisfair in 1968 the immediate area was cleaned up, concrete & rock banks were built & sidewalks laid. It became such a draw that the river walk has been extended for miles both N & S. It quite a beautiful sight, especially in winter with the holiday lights.

 

[Tony B]

Tony, are you going to be around the marina this Sat afternoon or evening? .......

Sorry, Jude. I am still offshore and wont be back until April 15. You coulda got a ride on a sailboat if I was home. It's slow but will get you there.
I would have enjoyed meeting you and hopefully other people from this forum some day. Hopefully, next time in town, I will be home. Another 271 days and scheduling will no longer be a problem.

Tony B

 

[ARoss]

Jude, we lived in Houston during the 70s-80s, and the San Antonio riverwalk was an annual event with the kids. Wife always liked the TexMex restaurants, etc. Seemed every time we went over it was hotter than h*** and since the entire stretch of the canal is below street level the heat/humidity was unbearable.

 

[markpierce]

Phoney "paddle wheel" river boats powered by propellers really bug me. Is this the case here?

The Contra Costa, the largest railroad ferry. It plied between Port Costa and Benicia, crossing Carquinez Strait. It was slightly longer than its sister ship Solano which ran the same route, concurrently. (But it had a steel hull versus the Solano's wooden hull.) Each ship had its own pair of terminals/docks.

 

[FF]

Inside a State on State waters, there is no USCG requirement , only State rules.

Remember the NY tour boat that flipped upside down , no USCG inspection , cert or license for the boat or operator.

FF

 

[HeyJude]

Barges on the SA River have outboards. What we're more famous for is our annual 11 day Fiesta celebration in mid April that includes a couple of night river parades with 100s of decorated floats on barges, royalty, bands...everything but the horses.

 

[meridian]

Interesting question. There are small 18' water taxi's that take you to and from a mooring to land at Put-in-Bay, South Bass island in Lake Erie again, run by college kids. The lake is controlled by the Coast Guard.