'Cyclone' Offers High-Speed Boat Tours of Ocean City

Making a run along the oceanfront of Ocean City on Friday afternoon, the Cyclone covered the three miles between 30th Street and 59th Street in about four minutes.

With 2,800-horsepower diesel engines powering the 70-foot boat, the Cyclone's passengers took an 18-mile tour of Ocean City in less than an hour. Along the way, a young man named Rocco celebrated a fifth birthday, the crew challenged passengers to soak up spray on the "wet" side of the Cyclone, a water-gun war drenched some more passengers and classic rock provided a soundtrack to the whole outing.

The Cyclone is Ocean City's newest attraction. It started this week making four trips daily from its dock at 308 Bay Avenue. The boat rides provide Ocean City visitors with an alternative to the beach and boardwalk.

Andrew and Chris Pustizzi ran Ocean City excursions in the boat in the 1990s before selling it to Circle Line Sightseeing Cruises in New York. When Circle Line upgraded its fleet, Andrew Pustizzi bought the boat back and spent the first part of the summer completing a long renovation process.

"Ocean City has been without something like this for a while," Chris Pustizzi said. "We decided to revive the Cyclone."

Speed boat trips — including the converted PT boat "Flying Saucer" that ran out of Chris' Restaurant in the 1960s — have long been a part of Ocean City history.

The Cyclone's length made for a smooth ride on Friday through wind-driven chop on the trip from the dock at Third Street and Bay Avenue, through the Great Egg Harbor Inlet, up along the ocean side to a spot off 59th Street and back.

The boat runs daily trips at 10 a.m., noon, 2 p.m. and 4 p.m. and is available for sunset and evening cruises, birthday parties, fundraisers and other group events. Tickets are $23.95 per person, but discounts for online reservations are available.

To make reservations or get more information:

• Visit occyclone.com
• Call 609-391-6362
• Follow the Cyclone on Facebook