The new engines are red, and our moods may be blue, but we will keep running, out there for you. –unknown
Howdy folks,
We hope all of you are healthy and safe, we are in it with you and understand the difficulties faced by all.
We thank JP on the Seahorse for picking up our slack while were tied up at the dock for the winter, we help each other out to keep the peeps of Cuttyhunk having reliable service, year-round, and he sure did his part! Cuttyhunk requires a reliable Water Taxi and a reliable Ferry and losing either one would be disastrous the system works because we work together.
We will need to keep the crew small this year, trips less frequent and rates raised, this is going to be a tough, tough year- for all.
We are fortunate to have Jonathan stay on as Deck Crew for a year now, he is such a dependable and friendly guy; new part time crew this year is Chuck Fontaine, he is a great guy and a welcome addition. We also are getting an intern from Northeast Maritime, interested in a career in boats he will be a big help. Plus, he can get sea time!
This winter starting in the first week of December, we repowered the boat right at our pier in New Bedford, staying in the water made the huge cost of new engines a little more manageable by not having to be in a shipyard.
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The new engines replaced our two Detroit 1271-TI’s which have been in the boat since 1983. They have been rebuilt many times and remained strong and dependable but were unregulated Tier 0 air pollution producers. What really pushed this change was a grant available from the Volkswagen Mitigation Grant. Basically, VW was fined for falsifying air emissions in their diesels, part of the settlement went to every state to use for a huge list of replacing high emission diesel engines for Ferries and Local Tugs. we were selected for the grant and it was enough incentive to finally replace our Detroit Smokies with the new Tier 3 diesels. We searched for the best fit Tier 3 clean diesels and that is what we ultimately went with. The Scania DI13 087M is the pair we have installed. Many dollars, many advantages. Although in retrospect…
Covid19– yup the dreaded Corona Virus hit just as we were finishing off the work. We had obvious delays, but after complicated and safe distancing, we got all the USCG and Scania sea trials done. Yankee Marine Diesel in NB did a great job.
New changes: as of now we are running 4 days a week until June 15th which is an estimated timeline based on the Gosnold Select folks and Gosnold Health Department.
We will be working with JP to split up trips as may be needed to equitably divide up a much smaller pie. We are limiting the passenger limit to 25 or until State Regulations change. Reservations are required for any travel, available from our online system, this is because we need to know how many we have each morning and to process payments and get in touch in case of changes. In addition, for now, you can purchase parking and luggage on the system. We ask everyone to wear gloves and masks aboard the ferry (or water taxi) We do not have the galley open and the office is being kept virus free.
Please understand we have not raised rates in a long time, our dockside infrastructure expenses have more than tripled in the last two years- honestly, this virus will be a very tough year. We have taken out low interest loans and have the paperwork in acknowledged from our bank for the Small Business Federally funded CARES Act. Will it ever trickle down to us? It has not yet and is broke, we are watching closely but we are an invisible small business with because of our size.
“There’s gotta be a pony in there somewhere!” The boat is faster, quieter, and greener!
This is such an unusual and unpredictable time for everyone that we are planning weekly. We have taken out low interest loans and have the paperwork in and acknowledged from our bank for the Small Business Federally funded CARES Act, we are watching closely. We are committed to keeping our employees full time and service continued regardless of anything.
This is what we do, this is what we have invested in for the long term, we are here and remain your humble Ferry Company.
Stay safe, happy, and healthy,
Sue, Jono and the pups
RATES AND GUIDLINES
Rate Changes
Adult Tickets are $35 each way, same day round trip is $52
Childs Tickets are $28 each way, same day round trip is $40, Child is 12 and under
Luggage is 4$ per tote up to 40lbs, up to 70lbs, UP TO 70lbs 6$ each direction.
PARKING
Daily Parking: on the pier is $15per day, that fee may have to change but as of now, all good.
Parking permits are required, available at Cuttyhunk Ferry Company office. Strict enforcement on State Pier includes towing and fines. Parking is on a first come first served basis and unfortunately cannot be reserved. Please arrive with enough time to deal with parking as we leave ON TIME!
Monthly Parking: April, May and June $225 per month, July and August $275 per month, September and October $225 per month. We have limited number of monthly passes available on a first come first serve basis, if you want a monthly pass, you need to email (please no phone calls) Sue(sue@cuttyhunkferryco.com) and clearly state which months you want a monthly pass for, REMEMBER FIRST COME FIRST SERVE!! Monthly passes will require a car key (must be a spare not your regular keys) left with us. Parking permits are required, Strict enforcement on State Pier includes towing and fines. Fees are subject to change.
We strongly recommend that you contact the city parking division concerning the Elm Street Garage and the Whales Tooth Parking Lot. They offer long term parking at a greatly reduced price and offer very convenient shuttles direct to the pier.
LUGGAGE
Once again, we will be offering bulk luggage tickets, notice that 50 tickets can be purchased for $150. We strongly encourage you to take advantage of this offer.
Please note that we cannot be responsible for damage or loss to poorly packaged, unlabeled luggage and freight! We travel 14 miles across often stormy seas so pack right, know how many you have AND PUT YOUR NAME ON THEM. Totes are always the best bet.
PROPANE, GASOLINE, AND OTHER FLAMMABLES OF ANY KIND ARE STRICTLY PROHIBITED. This includes “empty, used containers”. Strict labeling required. FIREWORKS ARE BANNED BY LAW.
U.S. Coast Guard regulations prevent us from carrying containers holding gasoline, propane or other flammables on any of our scheduled runs without special provisions unless we have 25 passengers or less.
This includes the gasoline contained in lawn mowers, weed whackers, chainsaws etc., and previously used empty containers gas powered equipment must be run dry before arriving at the dock.
One Carry-on piece of luggage per person: reasonably sized items attended by a passenger and carried on and off. One carry on item per person is allowed at no charge, all other items must be checked as luggage. Carry-ons may be subject to checking as luggage at the discretion of the crew.
Phone numbers:
Sue- Reservations, tickets, schedule:
Main number 508-992-0200 Cell/text 401-354-9303
Jono- Freight, charters, boat questions
Cell/text- 401-965-3480 Please, text or email, no voice messages.
Sue’s email: sue@cuttyhunkferryco.com
Jono’s email: jono@cuttyhunkferryco.com