Ferry Me Across the Bay

I wasn’t on the first Cape May-Lewes Ferry crossing on July 1, 1964, but two months later, I figure I was on about the 1,800^th. My parents were taking my brother and me home, from Cape May to Richmond, Virginia, for the start of school. The ferry was the long-awaited, long-in-coming shortcut for drivers heading down and up the Atlantic Seaboard. I was only a half-price fare then, but I still remember how much shorter the ferry made the trip home seem, and how strange that our car was on the boat with us.

Captain Billy Ray Phillips was on the ferry’s first crossing. He was at the helm of the MV Cape Henlopen, the first boat of the day out of Lewes, Delaware. The Captain pulled away from dock at 6:47 a.m. – seven minutes late – carrying eight cars and 15 passengers.

He recalled being optimistic about the service, “It had potential,” he said.

The ferry celebrates its 50^th anniversary this year. Since that first run, it has carried 14 million vehicles and 42 million passengers. It also has weathered many storms, from natural disasters to economic upheavals, and seen its role evolve from a means of transportation to a destination in its own right. By most accounts, it’s been quite a ride.

A Tale of Two Capes

The idea of a ferry service between southern New Jersey and southern Delaware had been floating around since the late 1800s. Early maps show a “Ferry Landing” at Cape May’s southernmost point, but there is no evidence one existed.

Several groups championed a ferry service during the first half of the 20th century but few efforts got off the ground. One attempt actually ran aground. In 1926, a developer from Baltimore, Colonel Jesse Rosenfeld, bought the SS Atlantus, a concrete transport ship used in World War II, and had it towed to Cape May Point to form a ferry dock. Unfortunately, the ship broke free from its moorings during a late spring storm and ran aground off of Sunset Beach, where its bones still can be seen.

It wasn’t until the Garden State Parkway was completed in 1957 that plans for a ferry gained sustained momentum. Suddenly, motorists could drive the entire length of New Jersey, from New York to Cape May, only to come to a halt 17 miles shy of Lewes – over water, admittedly.

Recognizing the economic benefits of connecting the dots, an Act of Congress, and the New Jersey and Delaware state legislatures created the Delaware River and Bay Authority (DRBA) in 1962. Its mandate was to manage all conveyances over the river and bay.

“Delaware wanted a bridge [a second span of the Delaware Memorial Bridge], and New Jersey wanted a ferry,” said Scott Green, Executive Director of the DRBA. Both got what they wanted.

The DRBA fast-tracked the two projects, awarding the Cape May-Lewes Ferry $12.7 million in start-up funds and proposing 1964 as its launch date. Then, the DRBA went ferry shopping. It just so happened that the Chesapeake Bay Tunnel District had four boats for sale. The District had begun work on the Chesapeake Bay Bridge-Tunnel, which, when finished, would eliminate ferry service on the route.

The DRBA bought all four vessels. The SS (Steam Ship) Delaware, SS New Jersey, SS Cape May and MV (Motor Vessel) Cape Henlopen swapped owners and bays, and four captains, including Captain Bill, followed them.

The ferry crew worked around the clock to ready operations. It dredged harbors, built bulkheads and docks, and erected terminals and support facilities on both sides of the bay. It also embarked on charting a safe route.

Captain Dan Cluff III, a 17-year captain at the Ferry, remembered his grandfather being enlisted as an advisor. “Six months before the Ferry started, ‘Grandpop’ was asked to help,” he said.

“Grandpop” was the late Daniel W. Cluff, Sr., then captain of a buoy tender at the Coast Guard base in Cape May. Having set the buoys in the bay, the senior Cluff knew the waters intimately. He also had experience going in and out of Cape May and Lewes’ harbors.

Captain Dan III’s father– Captain Dan, Jr., now a retired river boat captain – remembers events firsthand. “The ferry brought a boat up from Norfolk and put in at the Lewes Army dock,” Captain Dan, Jr. recalled. “My father (Captain Dan, Sr.) rode with the [ferry] captain from Lewes into the ocean, crossed the beaches at Cape May, came into the inlet, and tied up at the Coast Guard base. Obviously, it wasn’t a ferry route.”

The ferry launched service as the summer of ’64 was getting underway. It celebrated for a week before inaugurating regular service. Skydivers jumped out of planes, fighter jets executed a flyover, sailboats raced, power boats paraded, bands played, and pipers piped.

“The Cape May Airport started flying to La Guardia the same week, and all it got in one of the local papers was two inches on the front page,” Scott said. “The entire rest of the paper was about the ferry.”

Unfortunately, it wasn’t all smooth sailing that week. Less than 24 hours before scheduled service was to begin, Cape May’s namesake ship, the SS Cape May, had an accident on its approach into Lewes.

“The docks were nowhere near complete, and we were still dredging the harbor,” Captain Bill recalled. “The captain was trying to maneuver, but he didn’t have enough room and the ship’s propeller got caught on a cable.”

The snag crippled one of the boat’s engines, but the captain was able to back the vessel into port and disembark VIPs attending the dedication ceremony in Lewes. A second ferry retrieved the delegation, and the disabled ferry was repaired and back in Cape May in time for opening day.

Treading Water 

The ferry struggled for the first few years. The boats were costly to operate, and the harbors were in constant need of dredging.

“It wasn’t unusual to get stuck on a shoal, coming out of either side,” Captain Bill said. 

Initially, the ferry operated its fleet 21 hours a day, tying up the boats only from 2 a.m. to 5 a.m. When captains were on duty, they ate and slept onboard. Occasionally, extreme weather idled operations. In 1976 and ’77, icy conditions kept the boats docked for 45 days straight.

The ferry took aggressive steps to right its financial situation. It cut the schedule, reduced fares and trimmed other expenses. By 1972, its frugality had begun to pay off, and the ferry was able to order three new diesel-powered vessels. Two years later, the MV New Jersey, MV Delaware and MV Twin Capes joined the fleet. The following decade, the new MV Cape Henlopen and MV Cape May came aboard.

With new ships on the horizon, the ferry sold its four original boats to Cross Sound Ferry in New London, Connecticut. Few people outside of the boats’ new and old owners knew the Cape May-Lewes Ferry’s “First ferry – the MV Cape Henlopen – had been a decorated naval vessel in WWII. 

On July 6, 1944, then LST-510 (Landing Ship, Tank) transported 200 men and 70 vehicles to Omaha Beach for the Normandy Invasion. The battle had begun by the time the ship arrived. The beach was not accessible, but LST-510 was able to transfer its men and cargo by pontoon boats and LCTs (Landing Craft, Tanks). The ship received a battle star for its service.

The MV Cape Henlopen still operates as a ferry in New London. A few survivors of the invasion gather on the ship every year.

Captain Bill retired in 2002, after 38 years at the ferry. Not surprisingly, he has a few “war stories” of his own, like the time he rescued a cruise ship.

“It was Memorial Day, 1990,” he remembered, “and this cruise ship – the Regent Star – was heading up the Delaware and lost steering. I was home that day and got called in. The Coast Guard asked us to help.

“There was heavy traffic at the ferry, but we pulled the MV Delaware off its run and took it up the river. When I got to the ship, I saw, maybe, 75 people in wheelchairs, and thought, ‘How are we going to get them on this boat?!’ It turns out there were closer to 900, and nobody wanted to leave their luggage behind. There must have been 2,000 bags!

“The weather was deteriorating so we had two tugs lock us in from the back and side so we could stay close to the ship. Finally, we were able to get a platform down on the car deck and transfer everyone to the ferry.”

“I think captains live for days like this,” said Captain Bill’s wife, Maggie. “It’s something other than going back and forth, back and forth, all day.”

“I didn’t mind it,” Captain Bill said. “It was different.”

Turning the Tide

In 1994, the DRBA embarked on a $54-million campaign to modernize its fleet, largely gutting its ferries from the hull up. Two ships, the MV Twin Capes and MV Cape May, underwent the most extensive surgery; their entire superstructures were removed. They emerged from drydock more cruise ship than ferry.  

The improvements increased traffic significantly. The ferry set a high water mark of 1,321,910 passengers in 1997. A year later, it carried a record 408,610 vehicles.

Captain Dan III became a captain during the record-breaking years. He had been a commercial clammer before a friend of his father recruited him to work at the ferry.

“Two weeks later, I was on the ferry and never left,” he said.  “Most of us guys here now started on deck and came up through the ‘hawsepipe’ [roughly translated, from the bottom up].”

By the turn of the millennium, the Cape May-Lewes Ferry was on the verge of entering a new era itself.  With modern terminals taking shape on Cape May and Lewes’ waterfronts, featuring spacious meeting and entertainment areas, it appeared the Ferry was looking as much toward land as the sea to build future business.

“We were starting to become more of a destination,” Scott said. “Today, our business is purely a discretionary choice for consumers.” 

Google the Cape May-Lewes Ferry today and you’ll see cruise-related tours and events headlined as prominently as the ferry schedule. Rock the Boat concerts, Downton Abbey cruises, Sunset Wine Lovers crossings and a Dogfish Head bocce ball tournament (at the Lewes terminal) are attracting a new wave of customers.

The ferry is targeting tourism partners in both port communities; particularly those that can help it promote greener activities. Cyclists are a growing market for the ferry – 25,000 hopped a ride last year. Their wheels travel for free. 

I went on a Sunset Wine Lovers Cruise out of Lewes last fall.  Now in its 8^th season, the wine cruises are popular and often sell out, particularly those out of Lewes.

I don’t think my parents would recognize the ferry today. Modern vessels with cruise-ship comforts and full-frills amenities have replaced barebones boats and scant services. Improved highways have rerouted some leisure and commercial travel, making the “long way ‘round” faster. Fares, inevitably, have climbed. In peak season today, a family of four (with two children between six and 13) pays $64 one-way. We paid $5.50 in 1964.

Perhaps the future of the ferry has less to do with boats, cars and bicycles, and more to do with how we view our quality of life – friends gathering for a concert at sea or for a wine cruise, even beer buddies competing at bocce ball. 

Scott Green at the DRBA sees the future of the ferry as providing timely, safe travel and partnering with the community. Having watched ferry-goers rock out, dress in Edwardian costumes, and debate the merits of a brilliant Montecastillo Priorat wine from Spain, I think the ferry is on to something that will help it navigate the next half century.