The Philadelphia Inquirer from Philadelphia, Pennsylvania • Page 4

Sunday, July 31, 1976 Philadelphia Inquirer Lewes ferry beats the odds in a tricky transit sea DR. M. M. BliDSLOY Cn. P.

A. ABRAMSOH mgase Adeems DENTISTS 714 Market St. thing like six or eight bucks, anyway," said Jimmv Ward of Gettysburg, who was traveling with his wife, Pam, and their two small "We're always driving, so we thought we should have some fun. This gives us an hour to spend with the kids." Better yet, there is no traffic jam. noapp needed M0N.lWE0.'til6P.M DAILY 9 TO WA 2-5100 FREE PARKING BOTH STORES FREE Delivery in Urea BOTH STORES OPIN HI.

9-9 P.M. OtHH DATS 9-5 number of ferry systems across the United States some operated privately, some publicly, some for cars, others for passengers only. The Sausalito ferry is 75 cents each way for a half-hour ride. A small, two-car ferry in mid-Kentucky, with a 2-minute travel time, costs $2 under a system established by a state act around the time of the Civil War that remains cn the books. Drivers pay $1.75 and foot passengers 10 cents'to ride the 42-car Staten Island feI'ry in New York.

But the famous ferry from Wood's Hole to Nantucket and Martha's Vineyard, can cost over $25 for car and driver, one way, during the height of the summer season. The ferry from Oritent Point, Long Island, to New London, comparable to the Cape May-Lewes, costs $14 for car and driver, $3.50 for foot passengers. The fare on the system between Port Jefferson, Long Island, and Bridgeport, is $17.50. The $8 auto fare on the Cape May-Lewes line produces some shrugged shoulders and raised eyebrows, "but we don't really get any complaints," says the Authority's affable Miller. "I'm honestly amazed, because the fare is high." Last week, few passengers were complaining.

"We're taking this for a change of pace," said a tanned Karen Jesel, on her way home to Fort Lauderdale, Fla. "We usually take 1-95, but we want to relax." "I thought it was going to be some- OPEN Fl. 9 to OTHEI DAYS BLACKWOOD, N.J. 460 N. BLACK HOB SI PIKE 931-3676 217.3232 PHILADELPHIA 19JI J7 N.

FRONT IT CA 3.7171 SINK. CABINET FAUCET Inct. Strainer Over 100 on Display VANITIES Complete will bowl mi lau cds ltd formica tops Large selection ofcataets and doot designs. A romantic voyage fflPo CAS RANGES VI ''nir, 85 KITCHENS Fgs) I 4 bathrooms wJC itirl on display V5i fT VI BOTH STORES It fR -d 1 ml MAGIC CHir II. Strainer roHR, un RT 7 VI tj W00D MODE, CUSTOM HALL, T1 42" WOOD ItTWjfAV DELUX WATER HEATER If 17 1 1 $7A' PC superior oual.

KITCHENS ftyrai 4 1 Hi iT ffrigpPflJ i 7T BATHROOM m'mi I Ti 1 Miifjf Sink Cabinet KITCHEN fl' yfca r.rrn.,1 rnr.m llWl Wall CfctS MW I WX' FERRY, From 1-B erflow of travelers unable to board the two scheduled boats. In its 12-year history, the Cape May-Lewes ferry has never cost the taxpayers of New Jersey or Delaware a penny in operating expenses. In its first year of operation the ferry loost $2 million. Then the losses began to decline, year by year. The subsidies were always paid from revenues collect by the money-making Delaware Memorial Bridge, the 50-cent toll span also operated by the bistate Authority.

Then, last vear, the ferry system went into the' black. It made $82,000. This year, current figures indicate that passenger traffic will exceed the average 150,000, and profits may be higher. The money will be invested for later use, and if business remains stable, the Authority members may do something almost unheard of. They might reduce the fare.

How did the Authority do it? "I don't really know," William J. Miller, the director, says with some degree of fodesty. "Just lucky, I guess." And what luck. When the old ferries, vintage World War II. began costing too much in maintenance (about $500,000 in dredging costs alone to keep the heavy boats afloat during their Delaware Bay cruise), the Authority decided that the time had come to buy new ones.

The lowest bidder, a Houston firm, offered to build three ferries for a total of $12 million. The Authority had invested $8 million from bridge receipts, and when it looked into its investments, it found that the original deposits had grown to $13 million. All three new ferries were running last year for the first time again, Ft no cost to taxpayers. (Even the popular California ferry system between Sausalito and San Francisco a pedestrian ferry only received federal funds to buy Its new equipment.) Last year, the U. S.

government decided that the 70-minute, 17-mile ferry ride was important enough to become a highway, of sorts, itself. The ferry route is now listed on maps as part of the country's ocean highway system. It is the official extension of U. S. Route 9, from New Jersey to Delaware.

Despite the advent of the automobile and the great bridge-building era that came with it, there are still a 3-PIICI m) Dflwnco I I 1 RRR1 I II il tm Sink Cabinet Will Cabinets II ut.II ROOM SET Sink i Faucet Laminated Counter Top fliTiViJ ll.yUJ 'Faucet By Howard S. Shapiro Loading a ferry is no simple maneuver. It is like loading the trunk of your car when you have enough luggage for two trunks instead of one. You have got to make the best use of space. You have got to squeeze.

Four seamen on the Cape May-Lewes ferry are doing the squeezing. They direct compact cars into one lane, trucks into another, big Caddies over here, motorocycles over there. Within 20 minutes, 93 vehicles are aboard, cramming the lower deck to capacity. On the upper two decks about 400 people mill around. The music system, turned to a Delaware FM radio station, plays a soothing version of "The Girl From ipanema." Sometimes the radio announcers, aware that their station is played on the ferries, will say a special hello to the folks aboard.

Within 3 minutes, the ferry is sailing gently past a portion of the bay where the old boats used to shake like the dickens. Crow Shoal Channel is only 9 feet deep. The old ferries, sold two years ago, would sink to 12 feet underwater when loaded. The new boats go down only 7 feet. It is a beautiful day.

but at 16 knots (about 18 miles per hours), the boat churns up a steady wind. Mothers run to put jackets and sweaters on their kids. The kids, in turn, run all over the place, and there is a constant chatter everywhere. Meanwhile, 59-year-old Capt. Albert Morris, a gentleman in the old Seafaring tradition, sits aloft in the pilot's cabin.

He has been sailing 40 years. He has a wide smile and gentle eyes. They are fixed on a sleek, metal control panel that spreads before him. Everything is done with lights and buttons and levers. There is not even a wheel.

"We steer with a lever rather than a wheel," the captain explains, pointing to a small metal fixture. "It's much easier." Downstairs, business inside the passenger cabin is booming. The concessionaire is pushing everything from grilled cheese to a shrimp platter. There is milk, soda and beer, but the Delaware lawmakers have refused to allow hard liquor. We pass another of the ferries headed for the same shore we left 35 minutes ago.

At this point, riders can see neither shore. Couples stand at the railings and put their arms around each other. The vast space, with nothing in sight but water, creates an overwhelming illusion that we are on a long, romantic ocean cruise. Exactly an hour and 10 minutes after we started out, the ferry pulls smoothly up to the Delaware shore. People rush below to their cars and stream out onto dry land, back to the realities of a hot summer day.

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