Ferry reports on the deep freeze
There were rumors that a South Ferry boat had been stuck in ice yesterday making the crossing from Shelter Island to North Haven. Not true.
We asked South Ferry president and CEO Cilff Clark about the speculation. Here’s his response:
“We did not have any boats stuck in ice yesterday. Depending on the tide situation — flooding, or ebbing — we had some crossings that took 15-20 minutes longer than usual. The ice is thick. We make sure a senior captain is on each boat with junior captains to ensure a captain with ice experience is on board.
“Customers could think a boat is ’stuck’ when it loses forward progress causing the captain to reverse and attack the flow again,, but there has not been a time when a vessel was unable to move forward, or in reverse to escape an ice flow. We always look for passages of ‘blue’ water to navigate to, but in certain conditions, the only option is to hit a flow with full power. The boats are built for ice conditions, so there is no risk to crew or customers. The wear and tear on the engines and the fuel consumption going from 8-10 gallons per hour to 25 – 30 gallons per hour, per boat is our greatest concern under these conditions. If the forecast holds through the next two weeks, it will only get worse.
“We are posting ice notices as needed on our website at southferry.com, on our phone message and on social media.
“We are advising customers to allow an extra 30 minutes to their commute. During much of the day, that is more than needed, but at times it has been that long.”
NORTH FERRY
There were reports of North Ferry boats running over oyster cages. True.
We asked North Ferry General Manager Bridg Hunt about the speculation. Here’s his response:
“What we thought was a Suffolk County dredge line was, in fact, a line of oyster cages.
“There are other hazards in the bay as well. The Greenport Village speed buoys are adrift, today one of them was tangled up with the red number ten across from the Shelter Island landing. The green number seven buoy which normally is stationed east of Hay Beach Point comes and goes with the ice.
“We have one boat, the Menhaden, in the shipyard for our normal winter maintenance. Our three other boats are in operation, with occasional delays when the ice is thick.
“North Ferry is very fortunate to have excellent crew to manage these conditions — we are very grateful.”
