The Bee Line Ferry From Bradenton To St Pete

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The Bee Line Ferry From Bradenton To St Pete

by Edward Brantley
(St Petersburg, Florida)

Bee Line Ferry

Do any of you oldtimers remember when the Bee Line Ferry crossed Tampa Bay from Bradenton to St Petersburg?

In the old days before the first Sunshine Skyway bridge was built, it was a 69 mile trip from Manatee to Pinellas County. You went up 41 through Tampa and across the bay on either the Gandy Bridge on the south or the Courtney Campbell Bridge on the north through Oldsmar.

The ferry shortened the trip from Manatee to Pinellas County to just 22 miles, and it crossed Tampa Bay in one hour.

The ferry stopped running in the early fifties after the first Sunshine Skyway Bridge opened to automobile traffic.

Too bad, because I've been told it was a fun ride.

NOTE FROM FLORIDA BACKROADS TRAVEL

Since Mr. Brantley's original post back in 2009, visitors have commented on this ferry. It was surely very popular. These visitors have given us a couple of links with great information on the ferry:

Article From Bradenton Herald

The Cape Fear River Steamers

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The Bee Line Ferry From Bradenton To St Pete

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Aug 13, 2011

Beeline Piney Point History
by: Anonymous

The Bradenton Herald article on the Beeline Ferry.

"http://www.bradenton.com/2011/08/12/3415413/winters-brothers-remember-piney.html"

Mar 29, 2011

MY DAD
by: SANDI

My father passed away on March 22, 2011 at 91 years old. He worked as a seaman on The Bee Line for a number of years in his younger days. I was going through his papers and discovered a letter to him from the Bee Line dated in 1955. Basically, they thanked him for an outstanding job and were very sorry the job would end for him. They mentioned the new Sunshine Bridge as the cause. After that job ended my parents and 2 siblings moved to California (and I was born :)

Mar 24, 2011

Remember the ferry very well
by: Prof. Don Auble

I'm 66 now, but remember the ferry crossings very well -- quite exciting to be on the "open sea" for a little guy. Funny -- I remember the wooden decking of the ferry... and that it moved at great speed! (I have a photo of me on the ferry, but don't know how to attach it here... so please advise. (dauble@bw.edu)

Feb 12, 2011

Bee Line Ferry
by: Anonymous

The Bee line Ferry Ran From Apollo Beach to Pinellas point in St Petersburg. O'Neils bait shop was at Pinellas Point. When the Sunshine Skyway was built, O'Neil's Bait shop moved to the end of 34th st in St Petrsburg FL where it operates today as O'Neils Marina. My Family grew up there and my uncle told me stories of the Bee Line Ferry.

Dec 07, 2010

The Pinellas (nee Wilmington)
by: Bill

http://bgibson135.wordpress.com/2010/10/31/the-steamer-wilmington/

The Pinellas, formerly the Wilmington, had run many years on the Cape Fear river in North Carolina shuttling cargo, mail and people between Wilmington and Southport and the beaches. In 1926, the Wilmington was sold, and remodeled to become the Pinellas, a diesel ferry. For a brief time, during WWII, the Pinellas was sold to the Navy, and became the Seabrook (YFB-38). It was sold back to its original owners after the war. It was probably about this time that David may have ridden it. And then it became the fishing tour boat under "Tampa Bay Excursions, Inc." (see postcard image at the above link).

David, if you have a fishing story for the Pinellas, or a photo of you & your dad on it...

Nov 01, 2010

Bee Line Ferry Memories
by: Mike Miller

David:

That's really neat you carry such strong memories of you and your father and the Bee Line Ferry.

Thanks for sharing your memories with us.

Nov 01, 2010

I rode it!
by: David

I remember it well. On a summer vacation from PA to explore Florida for potential places to move to, my parents and I had visited cousins in Miami first. From there our '51 Chevy carried us up the Tamiami Trail to the Piney Point terminal in Manatee County, and rode the ferry to St. Pete. What a ride and what a view of the newly constructed but not yet open Skyway Bridge. We moved to St. Pete the next year. Not long after the ferry business shut down, one of the ferries was used as a fishing party boat and I made several outings on it with my father. These remain special memories of my growing up in St. Pete.

Oct 14, 2010

Ferry
by: Anonymous

Didn't know that ferry existed. It would be neat today, as another ferry runs from Fort Myers to Key West. It would be great, if a ferry ran from St. Pete (even better if it ran from Clearwater), to Fort Myers, and connected with the Key West ferry.

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The Bee Line Ferry From Bradenton To St Pete

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The Bee Line Ferry From Bradenton To St Pete