Island Home, the “newest ferry”; seen in 2014

I know how lucky we are to own the home that we do on the island of Martha’s Vineyard, seven miles off the coast of Cape Cod. (Holmes Coffin House.) It is well-situated in the Historic District of Edgartown. We walk to almost everything. But getting to the island can be challenging, particularly this season, as there were MANY ferry cancellations due to mechanical issues with the ships, or crew shortages. If one person called in sick, that entire ferry’s service had to be scraped for the entire day, and this was a busy summer. So no one who had reservations on those boats was guaranteed passage that day and had to scramble. During the peak of the season in July and August, this could be terribly inconvenient. What if you were trying to get to a doctor appointment, or flying out of the Boston airport later in the day? Tough luck.

As a home owner, I am allowed to make up to 10 reservations in January, when the reservations for the season open up, and I do make mine then, but plans change. (I normally am on the island from late May through the first of October; then I learned that my 50th Brandeis Reunion would be the last weekend of September, so I changed my reservation. A Rose Museum opening and lecture earlier in that week caused another change, and now I incurred a change fee. When something came up on that Monday, there were no ferries off. And it was like that for the entire month of July and August; we could not get a ferry off if we wanted to). On an Islander Facebook page, someone complained that he had a doctor appointment later that week, but the ferry website showed NO FERRIES available for weeks! This is unacceptable. Everyone griped about it all summer. The website frequently showed nothing available. Even if one calls the reservation line, the operator looks at the same information that we do. Evidently the trick is to go in person to the office – something that a person off-island cannot do. The people in the terminals have real-time data, but that doesn’t help those of us who are trying to get or change reservations from someplace other than the island.

And storms would cause ferries to be cancelled or diverted from Oak Bluffs to the more sheltered port of Vineyard Haven, but if you didn’t check, you might not know, leaving you high and dry.

Constant notifications this season from the Steamship Authority

Businesses said their revenues were down because people couldn’t get to the island. (Somehow, car traffic seemed almost as bad as usual during the height of the season, however.)

Because we live so close to the water and frequently dine on the harbor, we do get to see some spectacular yachts in port. After dinner, we’ll walk over to gawk.

Yacht in Edgartown harbor, 2017

Yacht is Tisbury, 2024

Many of these are available for charter. Dan looks them up. The fees are beyond comprehension, but we do like to look at them. Years ago, when we owned small boats, we’d take them out for close inspection and to watch some of the races taking place in the inner harbor.

One foggy September morning, as I left the island to come home for chorus practice, I got a lovely shot of Vineyard Haven harbor before a surly dock hand told me I was too close to the edge of the ship. Being on the water has its own charm. I find it relaxing to see nature in all its beauty. I just want the Steamship Authority to run smoothly. It is clear that the fees for ferry tickets for passengers as well as vehicles will increase next season, as the SSA ran a huge deficit this season and the manager announced that he will step down next year. Costs go up, reliability and service decrease. And this is our lifeline to the mainland. What are we to do? I hear calls for the Steamship Authority to be taken over by the state and become a public utility. Then I look at how badly managed the T (our subway) is and think better of it. There must be someone who knows how to manage the place!

Foggy morning, as seen from the ferry

Betsy Pfau
Retired from software sales long ago, two grown children. Theater major in college. Singer still, arts lover, involved in art museums locally (Greater Boston area). Originally from Detroit area.