Cold weather impacts businesses along Fort Myers Beach

Charter boat captains are taking precaution as cold temperatures descend on Southwest Florida.

Offshore Charter captain Chris Kreis says it’s too risky to take out the boats due to wave height and wind.

“It’s mostly wave height … we can’t go out there when it’s 4 to 5 foot seas, people get sick, and it is dangerous as well and we can’t be putting people in danger,” Kreis said.

But some tourists just couldn’t help themselves.

“We did have some Canadians that were very adamant about going out last week,” Kreis said. “We told them ‘It’s going to be rough, listen to us,’ They said ‘No, we want to go anyway,’ And they ended up wanting to turn around halfway through the trip.”

While bike rental shops near the beach say the weather has not impacted their business, Kreis says they’ve noticed a slight difference.

“Before Christmas, we were really busy … we’re canceling every trip this week and looks like for the next week because it’s going to be pretty windy,” Kreis said.

Other charter captains plan to take the weather day-by-day.