Across Hatteras Inlet and Back Again
When I woke up Friday morning I had a list of things I hoped to accomplish before dinner but just about all of them needed clear weather. Since conditions outside were cold and wet, I seriously considered grabbing a good book and crawling back into the sack. There aren't a lot of options on the island this time of year. But then it dawned on me that today presented the rare opportunity to do something I hadn't been able to do for the past five weeks: I could ride the ferry across Hatteras Inlet!
I mentioned the idea to Sundae and she seemed cheered by the prospect of getting me out of the house and quickly sat down to write a shopping list. As I headed out the door she slipped the trusty point & shoot camera into my pocket and asked me to write a story for the Current about the first day's run on the new temporary ferry channel.
Loyal followers of this column might recall an earlier piece I wrote on crossing the inlet about a year ago when the shoaling problems were really just beginning. The crew that I interviewed then had already seen the handwriting on the wall and, as it turned out, accurately prophesied that the time was coming soon that the ferries would be completely unable to cross.
Arriving at the terminal in time for the 10:30 departure, I noticed right away that the ferry waiting to board the eight or ten cars in line was the W. Stanford White, one of the newer, double-ended vessels. This spoke well for the new channel since these vessels, which require at least a foot more water depth than the older ones, have been out of service for nearly a year because of the shoaling.
The last time I wrote about the ferries, I managed to go up into the pilot house and interview the captain and mate. This time, however, I suspected they'd have their hands full negotiating the unfamiliar waters without being photographed and asked a lot questions. I thought I'd give 'em a break and go pester someone else.
Up in the lounge I met Jeff Goldman, a member of the crew who was chatting with a couple of the passengers.
“Good morning!” I said with one of my best efforts at a smile. “I'm Rob Temple and I'm working on a story for the Ocracoke Current.” For a split second all three of them flashed an expression of panic that nearly made me break out laughing. I'm sure they were wondering whether I was going to try to recruit them for my church or sell them Amway products. Or maybe just give them a sad story about needing a hand-out. I've been told that I have that appearance. Maybe it's the beard. The Bell's Palsy? I digress...
When I explained my purpose they seemed so relieved that they cheerfully agreed to be photographed and interviewed. Mr. Goldman, who has been working for the ferry service here for going on eight years, hails from Denver of all places. He explained how the ferry personnel (those fortunate enough to enjoy permanent status and thus avoid being laid off) had been kept busy over the past few weeks maintaining the vessels and even working shifts at the division's ship yard in Mann's Harbor. It was clear that he was happy to be on the water and underway again. He told me that on yesterday's trial runs they'd discovered some iffy spots in the new route but that after the Coast Guard positioned their temporary markers as needed there seems to be plenty of good water depth throughout with at least five feet under the keel in the shallowest places and twelve to fifteen feet in much of the rest. Several hundred yards to our southeast I could see the dredge Richmond still apparently far from the end of its route from Hatteras to Ocracoke.
The two passengers Jeff had been talking with were school teachers returning home from an NCCAT seminar. This was the first such seminar for Vickie Hayes, a kindergarten/first grade reading specialist from Archdale (near High Point)who was quite impressed and said she would recommend it to every teacher in the state. For Janet Ray, another primary school reading specialist from Thomasville (near Greensboro), this was the second seminar since she had attended an earlier one in Cullowhee. Although both had arrived in Ocracoke via Swan Quarter, they were glad for the chance to return by Hatteras, especially Janet who was planning to visit her grandchildren in Kill Devil Hills on the way.
Seated nearby was a third woman who also had the look of an NCCAT participant. Indeed she turned out to be Deb Fidali, an elementary school librarian from Clemmons. A year ago I wouldn't have had a clue where that was but I was pleased to be able to tell her I'd stayed in a motel there on a couple of occasions while taking my son to the UNC School of the Arts in nearby Winston-Salem. It turns out Deb's son graduated from UNCSA so we had a nice chat.
Had this been the usual ferry route, it would have been time to get back in the car and disembark, but this new passage takes roughly a half hour longer so I had time to meet the other two passengers in the lounge, John and Ludmilla Moore, an adventurous retired couple from upstate New York. They were returning home from a trip to Charleston. While they were good-humored about their Ocracoke experience, it was obviously a little more rustic than they'd expected and the story they told me was hilarious but I promised them I wouldn't share it here so as not to cause anyone embarrassment or offense. Suffice it to say that Ocracoke in the off season provided them with what my father used to refer to as a “character-building opportunity!” I hope they'll come back in a more favorable season and give us another chance.
Finally we arrived in Hatteras. I ran my errands, ate a leisurely lunch at one of my favorite restaurants, and returned to the terminal with time to spare before the 3 p.m. ferry departure. Those who fear the possibility of an Al Qaeda attack on Ocrocoke will welcome the news that the Department of Homeland Security has remained vigilant even throughout the 5-week hiatus in ferry service. The yellow-shirted agent who checked my bona fides seemed a little taken aback at being the interrogatee rather than the interrogator but he did tell me that, like the ferry personnel, he was happy to be back to the usual routine.
My return to Ocracoke was once again aboard the vessel W. Stanford White. Up in the lounge, Jeff Goldman was holding court in the same spot, explaining the ferry to a couple of passengers from Michigan. Although Leo and Sherman, lifelong friends from Detroit, had, like most mid-westerners, often made the long trek down Interstate 75 to Florida's gulf coast, this was their first trip down the eastern seaboard. As they were crossing the Chesapeake Bay Bridge Tunnel early this morning, an attendant at the visitor center informed them of their good fortune that the Hatteras ferry had just reopened. Their plan is to follow the coast at least as far as Savannah before cutting across the Florida peninsula to visit a third childhood chum who has retired to a lake southwest of Orlando. They were obviously enjoying their adventure and I envied them the experience of seeing all this wonderment for the first time.
In a small way, this was like a first-time experience. Had this been a routine mid-season trip up the beach for me, I'd probably have stayed in my car and read a book or taken a nap. Only a tourist would chat up the other passengers and take a bunch of pictures. But the new season is right around the corner. It won't be long before we'll all be meeting new people and hearing their stories. As long as the ferries keep running!
