Gallop is master 

 Aboard ferry 



Captain Derwood E. Gallop stands 

 on the wooden bridge, smiling and 

 speaking to his prospective passengers 

 as they board the ferry for Swan Quar- 

 ter. But Capt. Gallop is doing more 

 than just getting acquainted; he's 

 checking for leaky gas tanks in the cars 

 and boats being hauled aboard. 



"As captain I always want to know 

 what I have on my vessel before we 

 leave the dock," said Gallop. "If I can 

 smell gas leaking I don't allow them 

 aboard because leaking gas could mean 

 a dangerous fire at sea," he said. 



Gallop is the captain of the Edmund 

 Hyde, the newest and most plush ship 

 in the state's navy. 



Once the boat is loaded, Gallop 

 heads for the bridge to launch the ferry 

 toward Swan Quarter. As soon as the 

 Hyde is safely out of the dock at 

 Ocracoke Island, Gallop picks up the 

 microphone to broadcast the rules for 

 the trip. 



"These rules are for the safety of the 

 passengers and so a few don't infringe 

 upon the rights of others," Gallop says. 



After the rules are out of the way, 

 Gallop settles back to tell passengers a 

 little history of Ocracoke Island. 

 Gallop started giving these informative 

 lessons a short time ago after combing 

 books for some of the area's more color- 

 ful history. 



He has since recorded several tape 

 cassettes for other captains to use on 

 the Cedar Island-Ocracoke and Swan 

 Quarter-Ocracoke ferry routes. 



After the history lesson is finished, 

 Gallop usually leaves the navigation of 

 the ferry to his quartermaster and 

 heads for the lower deck to chat and 

 mingle with the passengers. He is an 

 obvious hit with them. 



"I always enjoy the complimentary 

 letters I receive from the people who 

 ride the ferries," he says. "My basic 

 philosophy is I try to treat people like I 

 would like them to treat me." 



But being a ferry captain isn't 

 always easy, says George Godley, Jr., 

 captain of the Silver Lake, one of 

 Cedar Island-Ocracoke ferries. "Once 

 in a while, people get upset and mad at 

 you because of loading procedures," he 

 says. "They see you put somebody on 

 the boat that arrived after they did 

 and they think they're getting cheated. 



Captain Derwood Gallop 



They don't understand that the ferry 

 has to be loaded in a certain way for 

 safety reasons." 



Godley says large vehicles, such as 

 buses and cars pulling campers, are 

 loaded next to the operator's house, 

 while smaller vehicles are loaded next 

 to the railing. This method of loading 

 prevents the ferry from rocking and 

 the larger vehicles from turning over in 

 rough waters, he says. 



"It's a balancing act," Godley says, 

 "and each load is different." 



Captains also receive complaints 

 when they decide to cancel a crossing 

 because of bad weather, Godley says. 

 "Anytime you are responsible for that 



Photo by Dennis Rogers 



many people, no captain is going to 

 jeopardize his license or his passengers' 

 safety by making a crossing in hazard- 

 ous weather," he says. 



Gallop agrees, but adds that can- 

 cellations for weather conditions are 

 rare. "Usually only high winds of 40 to 

 50 knots will stop us from crossing," he 

 says. 



Both captains say summer months 

 when lots of tourists are traveling are 

 the busiest months for the ferry ser- 

 vice. 



"During the summer, you squeeze 

 every car you can on board and still 

 you leave some cars behind to wait for 

 the next ferry," says one crew member. 



