Lower gas prices helps those who make living on Harbor

CHARLOTTE COUNTY, Fla.- Most of us are thrilled that gas prices are down but if you have to buy a lot of gas in order to make your living, you’re probably ecstatic.

“As a charter boat captain we’re driving some of the most fuel inefficient vehicles that are on the planet,” joked Cayle Wills, a charter guide who runs Bad Fish Charters out of Charlotte Harbor. “So, it’s definitely nice to see the gas prices go down.”

Wills is ecstatic that gas prices for boats have gone from over $5 a gallon down to $3.75 at Fisherman’s Village in Punta Gorda.

“My boat gets 4-6 miles to the gallon but your bigger boats, your off shore boats, your multiple engine boats, are probably more accurately measured in gallons per mile than miles per gallon,” he added.

Ralph Allen owns King Fisher Fleet in Punta Gorda which has fishing guides and sightseeing boats. “We burn a lot of fuel. We have boats that run every day, day in-day out, sometimes night and day, so we have fuel bills that would petrify most people.”

But, he’s not sure it will last, “If six months from now it’s still down then we’ll be very, very pleased. So far, it’s given us a little Christmas present.”

However, Allen does remember the  day when gas prices were much, much lower, “18 cents a gallon,” he recalled. “Unimaginable in today’s world. But at that time the $3 a gallon we have now would have been unimaginable to us then too.”