This weekend, take a trip down memory lane with Siesta Key Aqua Adventure’s newest attraction - Bigfoot’s Bumper Boat Adventure. The attraction, aptly named after the company’s mascot - a seven-foot statue of Bigfoot - is as ingenious as it is silly and exactly what it sounds like - bumper cars, but on the water. The idea for the novelty came from the company’s owner, Richard Campbell, wanting to fill a void within the watersports space. “In the state of Florida, you have to be at least 16 years of age to operate watercraft - leaving a large demographic of people that want to drive them, but can’t. I started doing research and found out that as long as you have less than 10 horsepower and the vessels are under a certain size there’s no age restriction,” says Campbell

The process of bringing bumper boats to Siesta Key, however, was a bit more involved than the activity. The bumper boats--classified as rigid inflatables--had to become registered vessels in the state of Florida and pass all safety and licensing regulations. “For it to be a registered vessel, we had to have the manufacturer customize it for our specific use and safety needs. While these types of boats have been around for years, no one has tried to get these registered and titled to be used in state waters,” says Campbell.

Another part of the customization process was ensuring that the bumper boats were environmentally friendly. “We use clean-burn, eco-friendly, Honda 4-stroke engines to power the boats. We also worked with the Florida Wildlife Commision to create custom-built prop cages to ensure the propellers would never damage the environment or in some odd case, the wildlife around it,” says Campbell

The bumper boats have three seats with room for one driver (over 50 pounds) and two passengers (under 50 pounds each). They are in operation for 30 minute time slots from 10am to 7:30 pm and are reservation only after 4pm.

Siesta Key Aqua Adventure, 5253 S Tamiami Trail, Sarasota, 941-359-2782

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