The amended schedule that was put into effect over the weekend will likely stay in place through Wednesday, Jed told us. One of the boats had an unexpected propeller shaft problem, but will be back in the water by Wednesday. Six boats are necessary to run the summer schedule (it went into effect on May 3rd, but was amended a bit because of the prop), and a seventh boat will arrive this week after its USCG dry dock inspection. Number 7's job is to hang around and make extra runs when the other six can't keep up with the daytripper demand.
"We're in good shape for boats for the summer," Jed said.
The ferries are, of course, still using the "long" route, with a crossing of about an hour. The Army Corps of Engineers recently dredged the channel near markers 14 and 15. The dredging will help shave some minutes off the trips, as the boats can get closer to each other before they have to go single file and wait their turn.
What about the short route? Jed reported that the Corps is doing "environmental work to see if the short route can be re-established." They are looking for "best water." The ferry division joins Ocracokers in hoping that short route will come back to us, but "we must have a route that's dependable and safe" said Jed, and for now, that's the long route.
There was a lot of discussion about the bus tours and school field trips that all seem to arrive in April before the ferries are running a summer schedule. "The buses created a tough situation," said Jed, who watches the webcam of the stacking lines at Hatteras all day long. "There were some days in April with long lines." What can we do to alleviate the buses' impact and allow other visitors to get to Ocracoke in a timely manner? Jed and Chris welcomed the suggestions (switch to a 1/2 hour schedule earlier in the season; only give the buses priority if they arrive by a certain time, say, 9am; give up some runs in late October and put them on the front end of the season) and agreed to re-visit the issue after the summer and before the 2017 spring schedule is made. Have a suggestion? Bring it to a meeting. Hyde County manager Bill Rich noted that passenger ferries are designed for bus travelers. Speaking of passenger ferries....
The passenger ferry study is complete! Plan to attend the June 13th ferry meeting on Ocracoke. You'll hear all about the study's findings and recommendations. The state transportation board will meet and look at the study on June 1st, so we'll know what they think about it, too.
The best thing you can do to avoid waiting in long lines at the ferry is to come early! Tell your friends and customers! Between 7am and 9am is the ideal time to catch a boat to Ocracoke! Before 7, the vendor trucks are coming over, and by 10, the lines are forming. 7–9 is the magic time. Be an early bird!
The ferry division is committed to moving people across the sound and inlet. "It's going to be another tough summer," Jed said. "But we're doing everything we can to get people to Ocracoke."
Other highlights of the meeting include:
- Priority passes were issued for residents last week.
- Hyde County re-entry passes will be issued on the 18th.
- The state just christened a new dredge, the Manteo, which is a pipeline dredge for state-maintained channels. It pumps with more suction and a bigger diameter discharge than the old dredge Carolina. It also has cool, state-of-the-art electronics! It pipes sand about 1.5 miles away from the dredge site, and dredging will now be "more efficient and faster." Manteo's first project will be dredging at Stumpy Point.
- The ferry division will do an internal hurricane exercise on May 25th. They will go through all the protocols for a hypothetical scenario that will include the emergency ferry routes.
- The new building in Swan Quarter is 6–8 weeks from completion.
- The sound ferries will go to a summer schedule on May 24th.
- Swan Quarter has a new operations manager, Alan Blevens. Stop in and introduce yourself!