The ferry Nantucket was repaired and cleared for service by the Coast Guard late Sunday after a problem with a rudder indicator sidelined the ferry for most of the day, causing huge backups on the Vineyard route. SSA general manager Bob Davis said the problem was a rudder indicator.
The ferry Nantucket was repaired and cleared for service by the Coast Guard late Sunday after a problem with a rudder indicator sidelined the ferry for most of the day, causing huge backups on the Vineyard route.
A spokesman for Regan Communications in Boston told the Gazette in a voicemail Sunday evening that the ferry was expected to be back in service Monday morning.
Long queue for the ferry Island Home in Woods Hole Sunday night.
Long queue for the ferry Island Home in Woods Hole Sunday night.
“The repairs have been completed and the vessel has been cleared by the Coast Guard, so the Nantucket will be back on its regular schedule in the morning,” spokesman Geoff Spillane said.
The ferry went out of service around midday Sunday, disrupting travel on a day when traffic was heavy in both directions, with weekenders leaving and hundreds of Islanders coming home.
Speaking to the Gazette by phone early Sunday evening, SSA general manager Bob Davis said the problem was a rudder indicator. He confirmed that the ferry had been out of service since noontime and remained tied up in the slip on the Woods Hole side.
Just before 6 p.m. the freight ferry Gay Head was en route to help clear the backlog of cars, particularly in Woods Hole.
“We are looking at many vehicles traveling back to the Island, and it’s going to be tight tonight,” Mr. Davis said. “We are asking people who are willing to park their cars and come over on foot, and come back to get their cars tomorrow,” he added.
He said the lift decks were in use on the ferry Island Home as well, as the boat line scrambled to accommodate vehicles for reservations that had been left stranded by the breakdown.
He also said repairs were under way on the Nantucket.
The rudder indicator is a sensor, and when the problem was detected, Mr. Davis said it was determined that the ferry would not sail. Safety was never an issue, he also said.
“There was always complete control of the vessel,” he said.
On Sunday evening cars and people queued up in Woods Hole in a busy scene more reminiscent of a summer holiday weekend than an off weekend in early November. Just after 6:30 p.m. the ferry Gay Head was idling at the west entrance to Woods Hole, waiting for the Island Home, which was berthed in the only available slip, number two. (Slip one is under construction and the Nantucket was tied up in slip three.)
Using lift decks, the Island Home had cleared about 70 cars from the lot, but there was a string of headlights backed up the hill beyond the bridge, apparent reservation-holders. All foot traffic was being accommodated, and ferries were running late.
Tom Dunlop contributed reporting.
Comments
Here in 'reservations only
Tom Hallahan Oak BluffsHere in 'reservations only stand-by' since the scheduled 5 PM boat did not run. I was told the boat was cancelled due to mechanical issues, but was assured when the attendant said, "we will get you over tonight". Others in line with me weren't even told the 5 had been cancelled and were perplexed when the time came and went. Four hours later and now being told we 'might not' make it back home. With modern day technology and communications, the SSA needs to use multiple means to update their customers about cancellations and delays - then we can make alternative plans as time allows. The upside - fantastic sunset, catching up with friends I haven't seen for awhile, and meeting new ones.
We were lucky enough to get
Paul Portland MaineWe were lucky enough to get on the lift at mv. Tom is correct much more needs to be done in the realm of real time communication.
I have never, ever seen so
Steve Kraemer Orlando, FLI have never, ever seen so many issues with SSA vessels since my days working with them in 1994-1995. Unreal!!
Apparently the SSA has
Kathy Logue WEST TISBURYApparently the SSA has learned nothing whatsoever from the similar breakdowns a few weeks ago. Each person (passenger) I spoke with was told something different and Tom is right that many were not even told there was a problem with the ferry when they were put in line. I was told, when arriving at 3 PM, to go away and that I could not get in line until 4:05 for my 5 PM ferry. When I went into the ticket office to find out more I was told the best thing I could do was get in line. When I came back at 4:05 I was told to go to lane 12 and they were sorting things through on how (not whether)to get us home. When three ferries had pulled away without taking ANY of the 5 PM ferry line I went to ask at the booth whether they could guarantee we would get home, they said no, if you want to be sure to get home, park your car and walk on. During this time, the Gay Head was pulling in as a substitute for the 7:30 -- the still not running Nantucket. I heard people who were scheduled for that boat be told that their ferry was just pulling in -- no mention of the fact that there wasn't room for all of them. Many of those in line for the 7:30 boat did get on -- leaving some and still ALL of the 5 PM ferry people behind. I was fortunate to be able to park my car nearby and power walk onto the Gay Head before she left -- but still have to go back today (??) and retrieve my car (guess what..no reservations available).
There should be: clear, transparent, consistent messaging; a clear policy about which cars get on the next ferry; and a commitment by the SSA that they will either run past their schedule until all reserved vehicles get home that night or they pay for your hotel room, when the problem is not weather but mechanical. I have every sympathy for those working the dock yesterday, but how nice for them that they got to go home at the scheduled end of their shift!
Something has GOT to change here.
Here we go again. Why doesn't
AB OBHere we go again. Why doesn't the state investigate. Other states have working ferries.
where are the passenger FAST
James EDGARTOWNwhere are the passenger FAST FERRIES???? why build big terminals? MOVE THE PEOPLE
I have been utilizing the
Diana DeBlase West TisburyI have been utilizing the services of the Steamship Authority my whole life, 50 plus years.
• The maintenance of the boats is THE MOST IMPORTANT job the Steamship must see to.
• Second is informing riders of what is going on so they can communicate with their families and adjust their plans.
Yesterday November 7th we pulled up just after 4:00 PM for the 5:00 PM ferry. There were two SSA employees at the booth they handed boarding pass and receipt and said “lane 12”. Never once was there an announcement that the 5:00 PM would not run. When someone finally answered the telephone they let me know that there was mechanical issues and the 5:00 PM would not run. This was about 5:15 or so. I masked when we would have gotten that information. The person said they did not know and thought that someone was sending out an email message. We never received an email. I did eventually access the SSA website with information of canceled boats after 5:15 PM.
The WIFI in the SSA lot was not accessible. If SSA expects riders to get an update of situation on the SSA website and we are all within 50 yards of terminal we should be getting WIFI.
At this point we started realizing that it was not something that just happened. Apparently the 2:00 (something) Nantucket also did not run as that was the trip the fail occurred on.
These vessels should be documented into a system that clearly shows amount of vehicles that will fit. When the check-in booth produces a boarding pass that should automatically register into data to clearly indicate to whoever is looking at the screen how the process to fulfill this passage will happen. I understand that when a trip fails to run due to mechanical failure that the process is to keep the arriving vehicles for the next trip on schedule and to make the un-run trip into “standby”. This keeps from having a domino effect of unsettling more passengers. At this point though when your only extra vessel is ½ or less (I don’t have this data) the capacity of the original you must start crunching the numbers. This information of how many boats can and will run and how many vehicles will be accommodated is a SSA must. So when you have that magic number the unfortunate folks who came later than the final capacity veicle can make alternative plans.
There were many families with small children and school teams that were kept waiting with no explanation. If we had been told about the issue when we arrived it would have given the community options about how to manage our time. Families could have planned about meals and child activities. Please communicate better with the public and residents who count on your services to get home.
We were some of the lucky ones. We did get on a boat home last night about 5 hours after arriving. I have experienced SSA difficulties in the past but at this stage in the process it should run smoother.
Did anyone hear anything from
Dana Nunes MVDid anyone hear anything from Mr. Davis that sounded even vaguely like, “we really sorry for the inconvenience,“ or something to that effect? Did they offer free parking? Free return tickets to come retrieve your vehicle? A voucher for a free trip in the future? Anything?
In almost 50 years of living here, up until three years ago, It never occurred to me to consider that my scheduled boat might not leave because of mechanical difficulties. I worried about sleeping through my alarm, wind coming up during the night causing cancellation, my car not starting when we reached WH; the ferries were reliable, or I was incredibly lucky. I’m taking my first trip off-island since March 2020 this week. I’ve just changed my Thursday 6 AM reservation to whatever I could find on Wednesday night, to ensure that I don’t sacrifice my train/hotel/theater tickets because the Steamship Authority just can’t get it together.
Lifeline to the islands, my ass!
We were there and scheduled
Frank Brunelle Vineyard HavenWe were there and scheduled for the 5:00 PM Nantucket. By sheer luck we were able to catch the 6:00 PM Island Home. In the chaos I was able to snap some photos on my public FB page and it is possible to see what it was like by going there. https://www.facebook.com/photo/?fbid=4117307161708008&set=pcb.411730734…
I got multiple email alerts
Gayle Vineyard HavenI got multiple email alerts throughout the afternoon regarding boats that were canceled due to mechanical problems. I wasn’t even traveling!
I wonder if people don’t know about signing up for those alerts or if the lack of Wi-Fi was hindering things, but I have always found that to be a reliable source of information.
Yes, Gayle, many of us get
ZephyrYes, Gayle, many of us get the totally useless email alerts. The last one I received was at 4:24pm telling me the Nantucket was cancelled for 5pm. Well, my boat wasn't until 7:30 so I wasn't worried. I arrived early and there was the Nantucket, still not moving, a full parking lot, and hundreds of cars waiting to get on whatever boat they could. The Nantucket never moved. My 7:30 boat came and went without me on it because it was a small freight boat. Instead I finally got on the Island Home lift deck after 9pm, but I could see many other cars left behind that had been waiting longer than me. At no point was I told that my 7:30 boat wasn't large enough to accommodate all reservations and therefore those who arrived luckily at a certain time and happened to be in the right place in line got on, then the rest of us were unceremoniously bumped into the standby mob who had been waiting there half the day because their boats had been cancelled.
I too was stuck over at Woods
ZephyrI too was stuck over at Woods Hole for more than four hours, making me question the current system that penalizes those whose boat breaks down while allowing others to just proceed as normal if their boats are on time. This means that some people, in this case quite a few, wait for hours and hours, while getting to watch the infuriating scene of others who arrived after them just driving right onto boats. What is wrong with just lining everyone up in the order of their scheduled ferries and spreading the pain out a little bit for everyone instead of inflicting extreme pain on the folks who were unlucky enough to have a boat break down? On a day where a major boat can't run for multiple trips you end up with many people stuck for many hours with the current scheme. Just limit the standbys to some number, and then prohibit arriving more than 1/2 hour early for the next departure, then line them up in the order they arrive, then put them on boats in the order they arrive. Of course the key would be timely communication of what is happening. I could see a text message saying something like, "The 7:30 boat is delayed until approximately 8:30. Cars may start lining up at 8."
Please let's not hear more
Sara Oak BluffsPlease let's not hear more from the Board of Governors about what a splendid job Mr. Davis is doing and give him a big raise. Whose responsibility was it to COMMUNICATE these issues? The well-known buck stops with Mr. Davis and he should know that.
I WAS traveling that day and
Kathy Logue WEST TISBURYI WAS traveling that day and got NO email or text alerts. And yes, I am signed up for them. Go figure.
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