Entertain your guests by land or sea…
Out-of-town guests? Let us help you get your ducks in a row, beginning with a land/sea tour.
RIDE THE DUCK
Here’s how you can ride the Diva Duck:
Diva Duck tours leave daily from CityPlace in downtown West Palm Beach.
Full fare: $25
Child fare: $15
Infant fare: $5
For more information, including tour schedules, visit divaduck.com or call 561-844-4188.
YOU TELL US!
You’ve got relatives in town and you want to make a big splash.
You could wow ‘em with a scenic Everglades hike or a nostalgic cruise on the New River aboard the historic Jungle Queen.
Or you could do something different, something that’s just ducky.
You could waddle aboard the Diva Duck and let the quacking begin!
The Diva Duck, if you’ve missed it, is a combo boat and truck that transports you on the downtown streets of West Palm Beach and floats around the Lake Worth lagoon.
You ride! You float!
Along the 75-minute trek, a spirited tour guide regales you with sights, sounds and lots of duck jokes. You know, just trying to quack you up!
“We’re going under a bridge. You know what to do. DUCK!”
Just around the corner, look! There’s Trump Plaza. And the 1916 Palm Beach County Courthouse, now being restored to its glory days.
The Diva Duck turns north on Flagler and gently splashes into the water at the Currie Park boat ramp. Music plays: Splish splash, I was takin’ a bath.
The Duck “swims” east on the water before turning north toward Peanut Island, passing one Palm Beach mega mansion after another.
The tour guide sprinkles historical tidbits throughout and names are dropped — Henry Flagler, Jimmy Buffett — both Palm Beachers but nearly a century apart. All the while, riders, at least those who’ve bought the $2 sunshine yellow duck whistles, can honk away.
It’s no wonder that people smile and wave at the Duck as it lumbers by. It’s big, bulky and painted ocean blue with splashes of orange, and holds 46 sitting ducks — er, passengers. The name comes from owner Judy Davis, a former opera singer.
Diva Duck — get it?
Davis occasionally narrates the tours and breaks into an aria, once bringing a man to tears as she sang “O mio babbino caro” from a Puccini opera.
She went into business four years ago after seeing a similar tourist attraction in Portland, Ore. In fact, these daffy looking “ducks” cruise and float in tourist towns all over the country, including Miami Beach and Boston.
All it takes to get a Ford F650 truck to float is a wrap-around aluminum hull and foam for floatation. For waterpower, there’s a marine transmission and a propeller.
Alas, the original Diva caught fire on I-95 last fall due to a mechanical problem.
“But we’ve got our wings out again,” she says.
And the duck whistles.
Quack! Quack!
By Liz Doup
South Florida Sun-Sentinel
