Social Distancing on a Boat
Ocracoke opens to off-island non-resident property owners on Monday, May 11th, and to any and all comers on Saturday, May 16th.
The three ferry routes that serve Ocracoke – Hatteras, Swan Quarter, and Cedar Island – have been running on an amended schedule due to the COVID-19 shutdown. Those schedules will expand as the routes gets busier, but the ferry division hasn't set a date for changes yet.
"We are sticking with the schedules we have for now," said ferry division PIO Tim Hass in a phone interview yesterday.
The online reservation system for the sound ferries has been down since Hurricane Dorian, and the ferry division is working on getting that up and running as soon as possible, Tim reported. Meanwhile, we'll continue to make reservations for the Swan Quarter and Cedar Island ferries by calling the ferry offices.
During the COVID-19 shutdown, the ferry passenger lounges have been off limits to lounging. You can walk through to use the restroom or get some nabs, but then you need to move on out again.
The official recommendation is to "stay in your cars if you can," Tim said. "And stay 6 feet apart from others when you're outside of your car."
"We know that staying in cars is not viable in hot weather," Tim said. "But we can't have a lounge full of people. Moving forward we can't have every seat taken."
One option might be to block off every other seat, so that people have to sit farther apart.
Ferry crew members are encouraged but not required to wear face coverings. (In the past two weeks, I've been to Cedar Island and back and Swan Quarter and back and didn't see a single crew member with a mask.) The same goes for passengers: face coverings, social distancing, hand washing. The pandemic ain't over.
The ferry division cancelled the Ocracoke Express passenger-only ferry service for 2020 due to COVID-19 concerns. The ferry division plans to reinstate passenger ferry service for Hatteras–Ocracoke in 2021.
The current ferry schedule:
Hatteras-Ocracoke* (no reservation needed)
From Hatteras: 6 a.m., 9 a.m., noon, 3 p.m., 6 p.m., 9 p.m. and midnight
From Ocracoke: 4:30 a.m., 7:30 a.m., 10:30 a.m., 1:30 p.m., 4:30 p.m., 7:30 p.m. and 10:30 p.m.
Cedar Island-Ocracoke* (252) 463-7040
From Cedar Island: 10:30 a.m. and 4:30 p.m.
From Ocracoke: 7:30 a.m. and 1 p.m.
Swan Quarter-Ocracoke* (252) 791-3300
From Swan Quarter: 10 a.m. and 4:30 p.m.
From Ocracoke: 7 a.m. and 1:30 p.m.
*(Please note: Only Ocracoke residents, NRPOs, and those with permits issued by Hyde County will be allowed access to Ocracoke-bound ferries until May 16th.)
