Ferry Approach, Beneath a Ramp

Here’s a perspective on the ferry that no one but an owner of the service, or perhaps a maintenance person, has EVER seen before.

This video, shot from underneath the Edgartown ramp sometime during the effort to reinforce the foundation and repair the ramp itself (mid April 2013), shows the ON TIME III approaching the slip from the middle of the harbor and docking.

We’re pretty certain that the videographer is maintenance manager Erik Gilley, who recently dove beneath the ramp to funnel concrete into a void along the foundation. But we’ll correct ourselves if we are wrong.

You can tell how little space there is under here. Imagine bringing a camera with you and shooting as you see the ferry come toward you! Imagine CONTINUING to shoot as the captain reverses her engines to slow the ferry down, and all that frothing backwash comes at you!

Maintenance, Launch, and Heading Home, 2012

After undergoing a ten-day-long maintenance program and biennial inspection by the Coast Guard in October 2012, the forty-three-year-old ON TIME II returns to the water at the Tisbury Marine Railway in Vineyard Haven. She then heads out into Vineyard and Nantucket sounds for the five-mile trip home to Edgartown and Chappaquiddick. This is the longest trip either ferry makes all year.

Wearing AMITY Name Board

During JAWSFest (August 9-12, 2012), the ON TIME II wears AMITY name boards as she did in the first, second and fourth JAWS films. Thanks to John (Spurs) Trainor for shooting and posting this video of a famous little ferry in one of her more famous roles.

Strong Tides II, 2008

A year after the Patriots’ Day Storm opens South Beach to the sea in 2007, the ON TIME III (departing Edgartown) and ON TIME II (departing Chappaquiddick) are carried to the south on a strong ebb tide. Since the opening, the tides in Edgartown harbor have “reversed” direction — this is a falling tide.

Ferry Crosses in a Strong Tide, 2007

Two months after the Patriots Day Storm of April 16-17, 2007 opens South Beach to the Atlantic Ocean, the ON TIME III cuts her way across a strong tide running through the entrance to Edgartown Harbor. Captain Brad Fligor at the helm.

Chappy Ferry Book Now Available at the Ferry — And Many Other Places!

You can buy THE CHAPPY FERRY BOOK (and with it THE CHAPPY FERRY MOVIE on DVD) from a captain or deckhand while the ferry is in the slip. Either ask for one as you board, or ashore after the ferry has come in, or from the table (with the umbrella) where tickets or sold. The price is $27.50, including state sales tax.

You can also buy the book at these Vineyard stores: Edgartown Books, Soft as a Grape, Edgartown Marine, the Katama General Store, and Morning Glory Farm (in Edgartown), Soft as a Grape (in Oak Bluffs), and Bunch of Grapes (Vineyard Haven).

It is also available at mainland bookstores (either in stock or by order).

On line, it’s available through publisher Vineyard Stories (vineyardstories.com) or on Amazon.

Or from many, many places on this website!