THE VIRGINIAN-PILOT
Copyright (c) 1994, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: SUNDAY, June 19, 1994 TAG: 9406190048
SECTION: LOCAL PAGE: B1 EDITION: NORTH CAROLINA
SOURCE: Mason Peters
DATELINE: 940619 LENGTH: Medium
In a study prepared for the Northeastern North Carolina Economic Development Commission, Charles D. Miller & Associates of Virginia Beach said ``the sleek, fast, safe and comfortable high speed ferry is becoming a popular and preferred mode of travel for the commuter and tourist alike.''
{REST} Charles Miller, director of the maritime engineering firm, said the study showed that several types of existing 30- to 50-knot fast ferries could successfully operate on Albemarle and Pamlico sounds.
``The use of ferries in the U.S. has not kept pace with the rest of the world,'' said Miller, adding that in 1993 there were 186 companies operating 718 high speed passenger boats, mostly in England, Scandinavia and the Far East.
With Manteo's waterfront as a hub, Miller said, fast-ferry routes to Elizabeth City, Edenton, Plymouth and Columbia could save travel time between cities and the Outer Banks for tourists and commuters alike.
Miller's study also included high-speed routes between Manteo, Ocracoke, New Bern, Washington, N.C., Bath and Swan Quarter. The only Outer Banks ferries now in service are slow vessels from the mainland to Ocracoke Island, between Ocracoke and Hatteras Island and between Knotts Island and Currituck.
A variety of Coast Guard-approved passenger vessel designs are now available for fast water service, Miller said.
Most of the craft are light catamaran or other multihull boats designed to carry from 50 to 250 passengers at 30 to 50 knots, Miller said.
Some are powered with jet engines as well as diesels.
He gave the following estimated water schedules:
Manteo-Elizabeth City: 1 hour, 13 minutes.
Manteo-Edenton: 1 hour, 44 minutes.
Edenton-Plymouth: 30 minutes.
Plymouth-Columbia: 59 minutes.
Edenton-Columbia: 49 minutes.
Similar high speed routes would connect Ocracoke and New Bern, and shuttle ``water buses'' would travel between Belhaven, Bath and Washington in 34 to 50 minutes.
``A tourist boarding an early ferry departure in Manteo could spend the morning in Elizabeth City; ride a fast ferry to Edenton for an afternoon walk through the historic waterfront district; take the late afternoon water bus to Plymouth or Columbia for dinner and either stay over at one of these towns or return to Edenton for a direct `flight' back to Manteo,'' Miller said.
The survey estimated it would cost ``about $8.34 million a year'' to operate an ideal fleet of seven high-speed ferries between all of the cities envisioned. Costs per seat-mile would range from about 11 cents for 250-passenger ferries to 20 cents for 50-passenger water buses.
``Operating 300 days a year, 7 days a week, 12 hours a day, the ferry system defined in this conceptual model could transport between 3,800 and 7,800 persons a day at 50 percent and 100 percent of capacity utilization, respectively,'' Miller said.
Based on visitor figures derived from an North Carolina State University study, nearly 6 million tourists may be expected to come to Dare annually, Currituck, Hyde and the associated Outer Banks, Miller's report showed.
Of these, nearly 500,000 could be considered likely travelers on a high-speed water transportation system, he said.
With the exception of Hertford, in Perquimans County, all of the existing city harbors in the Albemarle and Pamlico Sounds and tributary rivers now have docking facilities suitable for fast-ferry operation, the survey showed.
New bridges across the Perquimans River at Hertford present a barrier to ferry passage, Miller said, but an alternative docking facility could be established at the Albemarle Plantation marina, a short drive from downtown Hertford.
Miller's survey showed that even at only a 60 percent load factor the fast ferries could operate profitably on the proposed water routes.
The report recommended that a Northeastern North Carolina Ferry Authority be established ``for further development of a comprehensive tourist-based fast-ferry system.''
by CNB