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The Tim's II boat shuttle at Fairview Beach lets off passengers on a Sunday afternoon. The water taxi runs from spring to fall.
Tara Maxam (left) and Robyn Sugart wait for the
Virginia and Will Sapp board the shuttle with their daughter, Reagan, |
IT'S 11:30 on a summer Sun-
It's a 26-foot, tri-hulled pontoon boat that serves as a water taxi for the thriving Tim's II restaurant and crab house, a magnet that on busy weekends draws hundreds of boats to the King George County riverfront.
Steffen is the guy who picks up boaters after they anchor or raft up in front of Tim's II, a restaurant built on a pier that extends into the Potomac River.
There are only a handful of spots at the dock for boaters to tie up. So droves of boaters toss out their anchors and radio, yell or wave for Steffen as he zigs and zags between boats.
"I don't worry about getting around the boats, it's the people walking around in the water that worry me," said Steffen, who lives near Montross and has been wheeling the water taxi for nearly eight years. "Some get a bit oblivious by the end of a hot day out here."
Steffen gets occasional help from driver Robert Jackson, who mans a second rig on busy days.
The pair said there are plenty of challenges to wheeling the long, blocky rigs powered by 90-horsepower outboards and filled with seats for 22 passengers.
"The currents may be going one way and the wind the other," said Steffen. "The canvas top here catches that wind, almost acting like a sail at times."
Both drivers said you get used to handling the rig by putting in hours at the wheel, maneuvering the specially connected bow boarding platform up to waiting boats for passengers to step on.
"To be honest, the toughest thing about this job is worrying about scratching someone's boat when we pull up," said Steffen. "Most of the time we don't, but it can be tricky when the waves are kicking up and both boats are bouncing."
Pulling the taxi's boarding platform up to the stern of the waiting boat is usually the best way to make the exchange. Boats with outboard motors in the way necessitate pickups on the side.
On busy weekends, they steer the taxis through a maze of vessels that range from a 12-foot johnboat to a 56-foot cruiser.
Watching Steffen approach each boat demonstrates what years at the helm have taught him, as he shifts between forward and reverse a dozen times or so to nudge the taxi into just the right spot for boarding.
Virginia and Will Sapp, who stepped aboard the taxi from their Carolina Skiff runabout, said they appreciate being able to anchor out and get shuttled in to eat.
Their daughters, 6-year-old Kenley and 18-month-old Reagan, were like most who hop onto the water taxi, seeing it as an adventure.
"This is cool!" said Kenley of her second boat ride of the day. "It's like a water bus."
Ron Howard, who came from Occoquan for the day, said the waters around Fairview are relatively shallow and offer a nice, sandy bottom to anchor in and walk on.
Tara Maxam and Robyn Shugart, both of Spotsylvania County, said they like to raft up with other boats off Fairview and enjoy the waterfront fun in summertime.
"Whenever we want to head in, we just wave and Buddy comes by to pick us up," said Maxam, on her way to shore for lunch. "It makes things so easy."
The only thing the drivers can't control: the length of their season.
"If it stays warm and boats keep coming, we'll work well into the fall," said Steffen. "It's a great job and I really enjoy it."
Rob Hedelt: 540/374-5415
Email: rhedelt@freelancestar.com
