About The Captain

Our Captain J. McLaughlin grew up spending a lot of time on the water. He was raised in Virginia but found the Gulf waters were calling his name. After moving permanently to Southwest Florida, he worked to get his captain’s license. He completely fell in love with the natural splendor of the Gulf beaches and all of the wildlife that resided there. Hoping to expose and educate others to the beautiful wonder of our natural ecosystems here in Florida, he opened Island Hopper Boat Tours. Now, he gets to spend every day in a place he loves, educating visitors and native Floridians alike!