ST. AUGUSTINE, Fla. – The deadly sinking Thursday night of a duck boat carrying 31 people on a southwest Missouri lake has people wondering how safe tour boats are in Northeast Florida.
To find out, News4Jax spoke with Capt. James Tulk with Old City Tours in St. Augustine. Tulk said he keeps plenty of life preservers on board and doesn’t take any chances with the weather.
"I have to think that they really got surprised by some very vicious weather, and we are always watching for that," said Tulk.
Tulk, who has experience driving duck boats like the one that sank in Branson, said he monitors the weather conditions hours ahead. If there’s even a threat of bad weather, he cancels the tour.
He said he knows that canceling means letting down as many as 35 people who have signed up for a tour on any given day, but acknowledged that’s the cost of doing business.
Passenger safety is the top priority for Tulk and every other tour boat captains he knows.
"A lot of souls we have to take care of," he said. "… Sometimes we don’t call it right, we cancel and then the sun comes out."
Those who run the St. Johns River Taxi said their service is heavily regulated by the Coast Guard and their boats are regularly inspected. They said their captains make the call on suspending service.
News4Jax also reached out to the U.S. Coast Guard to learn about specific rules about boat tour safety, but we have yet to hear back.