The catamaran Mickey Murphy, bright yellow and sporting black-and-white checks like and old Checker Cab, makes its way in a trial run past the Statue of Liberty in New York Harbor. On Sept. 24, New York Water Taxi will launch three of the boats on commuter runs from Fulton Ferry in Brooklyn to Pier 11 at Wall St., Pier A at Battery Park and North Cove at Battery Park City. The fare will be $3 one-way or $2 one-way with the purchase of a $20, 10-trip book. The catamarans can accomodate up to 75 people.

Baseball starts tomorrow, and the first Mets home game is Thursday afternoon. (The Yankees don’t play in the Bronx until April 13.) We’re going to Citi Field on Thursday, so we headed to the New York Water Taxi site to get our boat tickets … and found that they had canceled the service. We were crestfallen: Taking the boat to Mets games is one of the best reasons to go to a Mets game. We spoke with Stacey Sherman, spokesperson for New York Water Taxi, who confirmed the bad news. “It’s the end of a two-year streak of generous corporate sponsorship picking up the tab for NYC baseball fans to enjoy free rides aboard the baseball shuttles to Citi Field and Yankee Stadium,” she said. “New York Water Taxi will not be running the Baseball Shuttle this season.” The problem is that Delta decided not to sponsor the boats this year, and no one else stepped up. Sherman says the NYWT is still looking for sponsors, though — so hey, Goldman Sachs, here’s a way to have your name attached to something positive. Otherwise? Looks like it’s the 7 train all season again.