When other ferries cancelled trips due to fierce northeasters, the stout and staunch double-ender would still make the seven-mile journey to bring us home. She wasn't pretty, looking more like a 200 foot long bathtub with a black ring around the hull, but she was dependable. She had a cruising speed of 11 knots and made the trip in 45 minutes. She held 48 cars, 3 semis and approximately 700 passengers.
Last week, her replacement Island Home began practice runs into the harbor.
One of my young co-workers started humming the Deathstar theme from Star Wars as she steamed in; it seemed appropriate, the new ferry is HUGE! 255 feet. She looks more like a cruise ship than the vehicle of our everyday transportation. Islanders hate change and we were prepared to sneer at the new-fangled boat. Where's the pool deck? Where's the shuffleboard?
However, yesterday was the dedication and open boat. Carley Simon and her kids sang, a few words were said, and we all clambered aboard to see the Island Home.
The freight deck holds 76 cars, and 7 semi-trailer trucks
She is still a double-ender with twin bridges,
a concession made to island pressure because we objected to ferries pirouetting in the harbor and dredging the bottom on landing. She still has the black ring around her hull, a reminiscence of the Islander. She will carry 1200 passengers and make the trip in only half an hour. It remains to be seen whether she is as reliable in foul weather.
They put on a nice party for us, they dressed the ship
and served us with snacks. Everyone seemed impressed.
We looked out at the almost deserted harbor and wondered what summer will bring.
P.S. Our new ferry was built in Moss Point, Mississippi and survived Hurricane Katrina as a half-built hulk.
P.P.S. As of Spring 2009 the Island Home has been accepted as part of the fleet and the beloved Islander is in limbo having been sold to a company in New York for transport to Governor's Island and then found to be unseaworthy.
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