CAPE CORAL -- Yacht Club Beach is open again. That means more traffic for Boat House in Cape Coral.
“It’s just great to be out here again,” said John McLaughlin’s a regular at Boat House. He said it’s his first time back on the water since last season and it’s his second weekend in a row at Boat House since the water’s cleared.
The Department of Environmental Protection says the water is free from cyanobacteria, or blue-green algae, so it's now safe for swimming.
“We came here again today…by boat this time,” said McLaughlin.
And he wasn’t the only one.
“You see there’s a lot of boats here today. So it was hard to get a parking spot,” he said.
More traffic at the beach is a good sign for Boat House manager Jay Collins.
"It’s been a very good weekend for us."
He said their loyal customers kept the restaurant afloat this summer.
“We’re fortunate that our locals are loyal and they’ve taken care of us through a tough time of the year,” said Collins.
With the water clear and the beach now open again for people to come and swim, locals said they hope the Boat House isn’t the only one to get more business.
“It did hurt the boat business. I work for a boat rental company. We didn’t rent as much as we should have,” said Mike Whelton, who works at a boat rental company. He stopped by Boat House with his buddy to catch the New York Jets game. He said the water crisis hurt his boating business, but now he’s hopeful.
If you want to take a dip in the Yacht Club pool, it's still open, but you'll have to pay about three dollars to get in.
