Portsmouth water taxi plan hits choppy waters; use restrictions in Prescott Park

PORTSMOUTH — A plan to launch the city’s first water taxi service may have hit some rough waters already.

Dover resident Mike Comeau plans to launch Portsmouth Water Taxi in April to ferry passengers around the city’s waterfront and popular attractions by boat.

Comeau reached out to the city about his idea in January, and asked if he could attach a sign to a chain-link fence at the city-owned Prescott Park.

“Also for the purpose of dropping off incoming passengers efficiently and safely, a sandwich board sign could be out on the dock itself,” Comeau wrote in a recent letter to Mayor Deaglan McEachern. “I will put it out there during operating hours only. This is how many of the docks in Boston worked, a small portion of certain public docks would be designated for water taxis only with a sign.”

Comeau, who said he earned a Coast Guard master captain's license in 2021, spent last summer working for Red Top Boats in Boston, as a captain for the water taxi company there, he said.

“I had a blast. I learned about Boston, Boston Harbor and the Seaport,” Comeau said.

Not only did the experience inspire him to start a water taxi service in Portsmouth, but he “saw how the business worked, and what the business model was.”

Plan to dock at Prescott Park hits troubled waters

After receiving his request, the city’s Legal Department looked into the matter,

Senior Assistant City Attorney Jane Ferrini examined city ordinances and deed restrictions at Prescott Park to respond to Comeau’s request.

Her research determined that “commercial crafts are prohibited from using the piers, floats and docks at Prescott Park by city ordinance.”

“A water taxi, as a commercial craft for a commercial purpose, would be prohibited from using the Prescott Park docks, vending and posting any signs in Prescott Park,” Ferrini said in a memo to City Manager Karen Conard.

But she noted the city has entered into license agreements with nonprofits to use portions of Prescott Park when they expand its “recreational scope and are in the public benefit.”

What are the restrictions in Prescott Park?

But “charitable deed restrictions limit the use of Prescott Park property to park and recreational purposes and are enforced by the New Hampshire Charitable Trust Unit of the Attorney General’s Office,” she explained.

“Any use of or license for running a commercial water taxi from Prescott Park would need to be reviewed and approved by the Charitable Trust Unit,” Ferrini added.

She added it might be possible to “designate a portion of the public docks located off the Prescott Park Off-Street Parking Area for public drop off and pick up only.”

“This would allow a commercial vessel (water taxi) to drop off and pick up at that location,” but would also require a change in city ordinance and the attorney general’s approval, Ferrini said.

After hearing from the Legal Department, the council recently voted to reach out to the attorney general's office to get feedback.

Comeau could not be immediately reached for comment.

Where would the Portsmouth water taxi take people?

During the recent meeting, City Councilor Andrew Bagley described the water taxi business as an “exciting” request.

“I don’t know … if it’s going to be a profitable venture, but I think it’s kind of an exciting new way for people to get around the city,” Bagley said. “And it gives an opportunity for people that might not otherwise have a chance to see the city from the water …as easy way” to do so.

“I don’t know what the Charitable Trust will say, but I think it’s worth investigating just because I think it’s a nice idea for our city,” Bagley said.

City Councilor John Tabor, the former publisher of the Portsmouth Herald and Seacoastonline, shared that “for years” Comeau was a sales representative for the paper.

Tabor described Comeau as “hardworking and entrepreneurial and very dependable.”

Comeau or “Captain Mike” said in a recent interview he’ll transport people on his boat, and drop them off at “public docks, marinas and restaurants.”

Ideally that would include, Comeau said, Prescott Park, Peirce Island, Martingale Wharf, the River House, Wood Island Life Saving Station and a host of other stops.

This article originally appeared on Portsmouth Herald: Portsmouth NH water taxi plan hits some choppy waters