Martha's Vineyard Steamships and Ferries | Vineyard Gazette

Browse the Vineyard Gazette's coverage of the steamships and ferries that have shuttled residents and visitors across Vineyard Sound.

Nobska stranded off Oak Bluffs beach

The steamer Nobska stranded off Oak Bluffs beach in 1971

Richard Beattie Photo

Ferry Islander Nears Historic Mark: She Becomes Ship of Longest Service

Tom Dunlop | Friday, October 9 1998 - 1:44pm

She was christened by the eight-year-old daughter of Jimmy Cagney. A truckload of 200 live quail once opened up her freight deck (“They were pulling them out of the rafters,” Donna Honig of Edgartown said of the crewmen that trip in 1991. “They were diving after them”). And once on a night back in the fall of 1972, an assassination nearly took place on her darkened hurricane deck when a man, angered by Robert S. McNamara’s role in the Viet Nam war, tried to throw the former Secretary of Defense over the side.

To these events, add one more that will happen at the end of this month:

Steamships and Ferries

Steamship Approves Budget, Raises Some Rates Article updated

Louisa Hufstader

The Steamship Authority board of governors Tuesday approved next year’s $137.7 million operating budget, raising fares for some travelers, but mostly protecting rates for Island residents.

Nobska Ferry Engine Lives on at Steam Museum

Louisa Hufstader

The New England Wireless and Steam Museum, in East Greenwich, R.I., plans to restore the former Steamship ferry's 1925 engine to running order for public demonstrations.

Conversion Work Starts on Future SSA Freight Boats

Louisa Hufstader

Two of the Steamship Authority's new vessels entered dry dock earlier this month in Alabama and could be running to the Island's next summer.

Steamship Authority Grapples with Deck Officer Shortage

Louisa Hufstader

Four experienced Steamship Authority deck officers — licensed mariners responsible for safety and navigation aboard ferries — will not be reporting for duty this spring, potentially affecting the summer operating schedule.

Steamship Sets Special Meeting for Conversion Contracts

The Steamship Authority board of governors is expected to vote Thursday on a shipyard contract to convert two of the boat line’s three recently-purchased service vessels into freight boats.

Ferries Now Event Makes Case for Move to Electric Ferry Boats

Louisa Hufstader

Electric ferry operators from Denmark, Maine and Washington state shared their experiences Friday in a half-day public conference aimed at encouraging the Steamship Authority to begin reducing dependency on fossil fuel.