For the past nine years, Captain Frank Keesling has done the majority of his business by shuttling concert-goers back and forth across Dillon Reservoir, between Frisco and the Dillon Amphitheater, in his water taxi.
But Colorado’s low snowpack and minimal rain have drained the reservoir’s water level to an estimated 72% of normal, , which owns it, with about a 2-inch decrease every day. It’s the worst drought Keesling has seen since 2002-03, when the lake dropped 58 feet. He’s heard the reservoir could be down as much as 50 feet by late October.
While Keesling continues to launch from the Dillon side, the Frisco marina is significantly shallower, so it has drastically reduced operations since people have to row out to deeper water. But water-related activities like paddleboarding, sailing, boat rentals, and private charters have plummeted on both sides.
“From a business standpoint, I lost one-way trips from Dillon to Frisco, Frisco to Dillon, private charters out of Frisco, and concert [transportation] out of Frisco to the Dillon Amphitheater,” Keesling said. “Literally, about 90% of my business went away.”
Enter the Captain’s Table.
Keesling launched the gourmet dining experience in early July, welcoming up to 10 guests at a time aboard his 30-foot tritoon for a lake cruise and catered breakfast or dinner. Keesling has teamed up with local restaurants to provide the meals, which are laid out on tables running the length of the boat. (Alcoholic beverages are BYOB, though Keesling provides glassware.)
The menus, available online at , have come from Tavern West, Eclectic Kitchen and Bar, Wildflower BBQ, Enza’s Delicatessen & Market, Blue Moon Bakery and Hacienda Real. Breakfast cruises cost $50 for adults ($25 for kids), plus the cost of the meal, which varies based on the provider. Dinner cruises are $60-$65/adult and $25/kid, plus the meal.
Excursions run about 90 minutes — every Thursday to Sunday through late September — with the dinnertime outings offering sunsets and breakfast cruises usually finding the calmest water. And despite the low water level, Dillon Reservoir, also called Lake Dillon, is beautiful, with 27 miles of shoreline juxtaposed by a background of jagged peaks. The photo opps are unparalleled.
The communal set-up on board encourages conversation from beginning to end, and that translates into word of mouth. Keesling recently had a party of 8 drive up from Denver for the experience. “This group totally caught me by surprise,” he said. “They drove 140 miles [there and back] to have dinner, and they walked off the boat saying this was way more than what they expected.”
The fledgling concept is, in fact, a scaled-down version of a project Keesling had already proposed to Denver Water for sometime in the near future. “That, in essence, is a 60-foot houseboat with a canopy and an inside enclosure that could do food service,” Keesling explained. “My main direction is going after the wedding industry and sizable events.”
Denver Water (not to mention the Dillon Reservoir Recreation Committee, which issues permits) hasn’t given its go-ahead yet, but Keesling is hopeful that a successful summer of Captain’s Table events will be proof of concept. “Itap unique, itap attractive. I think itap here to stay,” Keesling said. “The experience is that every seat in the house has the best restaurant window seat in the county.”
In the meantime, the idea has allowed him to salvage the summer season amid extreme drought conditions, support local restaurants with catering orders, and look to building something bigger for the future.
