For nine years, it hasn’t been uncommon to hear an uncoordinated chorus of synthetic quacks take over the streets of downtown Albany. Each guest who climbs aboard an Aqua Duck trolley gets a colorful “Quacker Whistle,” shaped like a duck bill and emitting a distinct squawk. It’s been the attraction’s calling card, almost as notorious as the half on land, half on water tour itself.
But on Sunday, July 15, the yellow ducky-decorated trolleys will take a last spin (and sail) around Albany and the last “Quacker Whistles” will be handed out. Aqua Ducks has been sold.
“We’ve been pretty busy and feel good that we acted as unofficial ambassadors for the city,” said President Bob Wolfgang.
After nine seasons running a “seven days a week, 24 hours a day” business and serving more than 175,000 guests, Wolfgang said the time was “just right” to end things. Though he wanted to keep the trolleys local, things didn’t work out as planned, so they’ll soon travel to an undisclosed location elsewhere in the country.
“I tried to locate someone interested in purchasing and running it here in Albany but was unsuccessful at doing that,” said Wolfgang. “I was approached by someone buying amphibious vehicles for an operation down south, so once that offer came in, we had to move forward.”
Aqua Duck tours was formed by a group of retirees, including Wolfgang, a former Albany chief of police. With 45 minutes spent on land exploring Albany’s historic sites and 45 minutes cruising down the Hudson River, the Aqua Ducks quickly became a favorite field trip among school districts, a popular family activity on weekends and a must-try for out of towners.
A testament to its notoriety, Wolfgang said the trolley has attracted riders from every continent except Antarctica.
“One tour I did … had three different groups from Germany who weren’t there together, out of 44 or 42 people,” said Wolfgang. “We’re very popular in Israel and get written up a lot in Israeli newspapers.”
The only amphibious tour company in the state, Wolfgang said the part land, part water route helps riders see the city from a “different perspective.” It rolled past the Albany Institute of History and Art, the New York State Museum, the Empire State Plaza and Ten Broeck Mansion before splashing into the Hudson at the Corning Preserve and sailing down to the U.S.S. Slater.
Schuyler Bull, marketing manager for the Albany County Convention and Visitor’s Bureau, Inc. said the quirky tours would be missed.
“The Aqua Ducks have provided incredible tours, have acted as welcoming ambassadors to the City of Albany to tourists and even those people that live here in the area and don’t necessarily know the full history of the area,” said Bull. “They have increased visibility of some of our historic attractions and just our general city as a whole and it’s sad to see them go.”
Wolfgang broke the news to loyal customers in an electronic newsletter. The first reply showed him he accomplished what he set out to do from the beginning.
“Thank you—thank you—my kids thank you—my grandkids thank you—you have performed a GREAT service for the City of Albany,” read the email.
“That tells us that we did something right,” said Wolfgang.
The Aqua Ducks are still accepting reservations. A calendar can be viewed online at albanyaquaducks.com and reservations can be made by callin
