Unexpected weather situations can 

 cause any body of water to go from flat to 

 four-foot waves in a half-hour's time, 

 Mitchell notes. But the Southport's 

 advantage is a state-of-the-art Voith- 

 Schneider propulsion system. An uncon- 

 ventional rudder and prop in one, its five 

 blades can be varied in pitch, thrust and 

 direction to enhance maneuverability even 

 in the roughest conditions. 



"We can keep running in wind when 

 others have had to tie up at the dock," 

 Mitchell says. 



The Southport-Fort Fisher route gives 

 passengers another advantage — a view of 

 the ruins of the Price Creek Light. Built in 

 1 850, it is all that is left of a series of range 

 lights used to guide ships along a Cape Fear 

 River channel to the Wilmington port. 

 During the Civil War, the lights were 

 critical to Confederate blockade runners, 

 but were destroyed when the Union troops 

 took control of the coast. 



Less dramatic, 

 but important 



Not all ferry routes have dramatic tales 

 to tell, Gaskill points out. Each meets a 

 particular need. The Minnesott Beach-Cherry 

 Branch run serves a predominantly military 

 population at the Cherry Point Air Station 

 with two ferries making 72 daily crossings; 

 the Aurora-Bayview ferry transports PCS 

 Phosphate mine workers; and the Swan 

 Quarter-Ocracoke ferry connects island 

 residents to their Hyde County seat. 



The Knotts Island to Currituck ferry 

 was initiated in 1962 to provide transporta- 

 tion across Currituck Sound for youngsters 

 attending county schools on the mainland. 

 A 90-minute bus route formerly took the 

 students to school via Virginia Beach and 

 Chesapeake, Va. Now, middle and high 

 school buses sail across the sound in half 

 the time. 



"Some of our classmates from the 

 county think it must be exciting to ride a 

 ferry to school," says Jennifer Hicks, a 

 student at Currituck Middle School. "But, 

 for us, it's kind of routine — except when 

 we have rough weather." 



Her brother, Jeremy Gruzd, says that 

 not much stops the ferry from delivering 



students to and from school. "Fog is just 

 about the only thing that prevents it from 

 going. In case of fog, the buses go the long 

 route through Virginia," he points out. 



Otherwise, Knotts Island middle and 

 high school students board buses in their 

 neighborhoods and roll on the deck of the 

 James Baxter Hunt, Jr. in time for a 7 a.m. 

 departure. 



Captain Gilbert J. Brickhouse recalls 

 that the Hunt was put into service on the 

 Currituck Sound in 1985 to replace the six- 

 car Knotts Island. The growing Knotts 

 Island population soon outpaced the 

 capacity of the Hunt. In 1999, the Hunt was 

 transferred to the Manns Harbor shipyard, 

 cut in half, and 30 feet added to its middle. 

 The overhaul doubled the ferry's capacity 

 — and saved the state millions of dollars in 

 new ferry costs. 



Brickhouse joined the ferry service in 

 1976 and has had his captain's license for 

 15 years. He can't imagine a better job, in 

 spite of the inherent dangers — water 

 spouts, lightening storms and smoke from 

 burning marshes. 



"It can get pretty exciting," 

 Brickhouse says. "But nothing is more 

 exciting than knowing that you are in a 

 place to help kids. Some come on board in 

 the morning with a frown on their faces. If 

 you can send them off with a smile, who 

 knows, maybe they'll make a good grade 

 that day and feel a lot better about them- 

 selves." 



Ferries becoming 

 science labs 



As far as Gaskill is concerned, there 

 are no limits to how the ferry division can 

 serve North Carolinians. Ferries already 

 offer unique views of lighthouses, access to 

 remote communities, emergency evacua- 

 tion assistance, and dredging operations to 

 keep shipping channels open. 



Soon select ferries will become 

 research vessels thanks to a partnership 

 with Sea Grant scientists from the Duke 

 University Marine Lab, the UNC-Chapel 

 Hill Institute for Marine Sciences, and the 

 N.C. Department of Environment and 

 Natural Resources (DENR). "Ferrymon" 

 project leaders are Joseph Ramus, Duke 



professor of biological oceanography, and 

 Hans Paerl, UNC Kenan professor of 

 marine and environmental science. 



Ramus says Ferrymon will use 

 automated devices to monitor salinity, 

 temperature, turbidity, chlorophyll and 

 oxygen levels. The ferries also will collect 

 refrigerated water samples to measure 

 nutrients and other dissolved materials. 



The monitoring devices will sample 

 natural water flowing into the sea chests on 

 the Cherry Branch-Minnesott Beach ferry 

 on the Neuse River, and on the Cedar 

 Island-Ocracoke route and the Swan Quarter- 

 Ocracoke route, both on the Pamlico Sound. 



Coupled with other remote monitoring 

 programs, Ramus says, the scientists hope 

 to get a better sense of how the Pamlico — 

 the most important fishery nursery in the 

 mid-Atlantic — works. 



"Ultimately, we will be able to 

 construct predictive models, so that when 

 there is an increase in nutrient input, we will 

 know what the outcome will be," Ramus 

 says. "This partnership makes sense. Ferries 

 are large stable platforms that can be utilized 

 for efficient water-quality monitoring." 



Larry Ausley, ecosystems unit 

 supervisor for DENR's Division of Water 

 Quality, says the short-term monitoring 

 results will be of particular interest because 

 of the nutrient loading from last year's 

 hurricane season. Scientists will watch 

 closely to see what happens when the 

 Pamlico waters are warmed by the 

 summer's heat. 



Ausley believes the partnership with 

 the ferry division will be a cost-effective 

 way to conduct ongoing analysis of the 

 surface waters of this large and important 

 body of water in real time. Eventually, 

 Ferrymon data will be available to the 

 public on a Web site. 



The Ferrymon Project may cause 

 Gaskill to rethink a Ferry Division promo- 

 tional message that suggests "Looking for 

 Discovery, Adventure and History? Call 

 1-800-By Ferry." Perhaps it should say 

 "N.C. Ferries: Looking for Scientific 

 Discovery. Making History." □ 



For a closer look at ferry schedules, go 

 to www.dot.state.nc.us/transit/ferry on the 

 Internet. 



HIGH SEASON 2000 



