Inflatable, floating water park proposed for Portsmouth

It’s like an obstacle course on the water, with different levels.”

Dave Gallagher, owner of Over the Bridge Island Adventures

PORTSMOUTH — Dave Gallagher wants to bring summertime amusements back to Island Park in the form of a inflatable, floating water park.

If the Island Avenue resident has his way, by next summer visitors from all over will be splashing, jumping and bouncing around at his Over the Bridge Island Adventures off the Park Avenue beach between Boyd’s Lane and Flo’s Drive-In.

The pieces for the modular-style water park are manufactured by German-based Wibit. Similar floating parks are located all over the world, but most of them are in enclosed areas such as lakes or indoors. This one would be one of the few in the United States to be placed in open waters, Mr. Gallagher said.

“There are only a dozen or two ocean parks in the U.S.,” said Mr. Gallagher, who’s 33. “Basically it wouldn’t just put Portsmouth on the map, but Rhode Island itself. That’s the idea — bringing people from all over, which Newport already does.”

The project is still in the early stages. Mr. Gallagher wants to present his plan to the Town Council and the project has to be reviewed by the R.I. Coastal Resources Management Council (CRMC). He also needs financing.

“It will be at least $200,000,” said Mr. Gallagher, who currently works for Rhode Island Solar Solutions and Home Depot. “I hope it will come from local investors, local companies. They also have options to lease.”

However, he’s confident he’ll be in business by next summer. Everyone he’s talked to about the idea has expressed enthusiasm, he said.

“There’s no reason why it shouldn’t,” he said. “I’m willing to do anything and everything possible to bring this to the town.”

What is it?

Wibit sports parks feature everything from action towers to wiggle bridges.

“There are water slides, monkey bars, a trampoline, a blob (human catapult). It’s like an obstacle course on the water, with different levels. And then there will be an area for the lifeguards, who will be higher up,” said Mr. Gallagher.

The beauty of the park, he said, is that it can be modified or expanded —  not just with Wibit parts but from other companies such as Aquaglide. 

“You can customize it. There’s a kids’ zone that you can buy, there’s a paddle board area,” he said. “Eventually we’ll add pieces to it. The biggest piece is 10 feet tall, so it’s nothing crazy-large.”

This one would be the second-largest water park offered by Wibit: 167 by 130 feet in size (just under 22,000 square feet in area).

The floating water park’s distance from the shoreline will depend on the water’s depth, he said.

“It has to be in waters at least eight and a half feet deep. But I’m thinking it’s going to be more like 11 to 15 feet because of how the tide goes in and out,” said Mr. Gallagher, who hopes it won’t be more than 200 feet from the mean shoreline.

Older participants could choose to swim out to the park — life jackets are required for all — but Island Adventures would also have a small inflatable boat to ferry customers from the beach.

Tickets would be about $15 to $18 for the first hour of play, with a discount for the second hour, said Mr. Gallagher, who’s also toying with the idea of season passes. The park could also host camps, large parties, corporate and charity events. 

Mr. Gallagher has six children ages 7 months to 10 years old and said they were on the forefront of his mind when he came up with the idea.

“I love that Flo’s is right there and Schultzy’s is right there, and I wanted to do it in a way that was perfect for young kids,” he said. “There’s not much for them to do here except go to the beach, unless they go off the island.”

Read more about Dave Gallagher’s proposal to bring an inflatable, floating water park to Island Park in the Aug. 3 issue of The Portsmouth Times.