There are more ways to boat and float on Irondequoit Bay this summer. South Bay Marina on Empire Boulevard has added more boat rental options, including a new boat club to help get you out and enjoy the water.
South Bay Marina has not only added more pontoon boats to the fleet, it has all kinds of flexible boat rental options including a new boat membership program.
Brian Roulin of Rochester used to own a boat but jokes he wised up and is saving time and money on docking fees, winter boat storage and maintenance by joining the South Bay Marina Boat Club.
"Yes, I love boating!” Roulin said. “For us, it just works great. Being retired, we get the whole week. It is not real busy. It is probably more busy on the weekends but we are both retired and we can come out here and enjoy the boating. The other nice thing is that they clean everything up.”
Brian and his wife Donna can go boating three times a week with the membership they chose. They only pay for the fuel they use. The crew handles the rest. Boat memberships range from $2,500 to $4,400 a season. South Bay calls it a season pass for boating.
"People can show up and take the boat out they want,” said Jordan Alger of South Bay Marina. “They can book it and can come as much as they like. It depends on what tier they get and how many times they want to go out. I think it is the future of boating. It just makes it easy.”
"For us, it is just unbelievably calming and relaxing," said Roulin. "It's not for everyone, but just do the math."
South Bay Marina is open from May to October so there is plenty of time to hit the water. It's located at 1350 Empire Blvd. in Penfield on Irondequoit Bay. It's open seven days a week during the boating season.