home

T

he N.C. Department of Transportation’s Ferry Division has made changes to its Cherry Branch, Cedar Island, Ocracoke and Swan Quarter routes. The Ferry Division states the reason these changes are being made is in order to meet U.S. Coast Guard requirements of no more than a 12-hour work shift per day, per crew member, per vessel.

The end result for those of us who use the ferries is that there will be fewer runs scheduled after 3pm. The schedule is significantly reduced in the evening hours.

The following runs at Cherry Branch have been stopped:

• 3:35p from both sides
• 5:15p from Cherry Branch
• 5:45p from Minnesott Beach
• 8:45p, 10:45p and 12:45am from Cherry Branch
• 9:15p and 11:15p and 1:05am from Minnesott Beach.

Time changes to the Cherry Branch schedule include:

• The 3:15p run from both sides will now depart at 3:25p
• The 9:45p from Cherry Branch is changed to 9:30p
• The 11:45 p.m. run is changed to 11:30p
• From Minnesott Beach, the 8:15p departure is changed to 8:30p and the 10:15p hanged to 10:30p

Other Ferry Schedules Effected

Departures from both Cedar Island and Ocracoke are 7:30 a.m., 10:30, 2 p.m. and 5.
Departures from Swan Quarter are 10 a.m. and 5 p.m. and from Ocracoke 7 a.m. and 1 p.m.

The schedule changes at Swan Quarter, Cedar Island and Ocracoke routes went into effect Jan. 21 and will last through May 18, when the heaviest tourist traffic begins.

The adjusted schedule for the Cherry Branch – Minnesott ferries is effective Monday January 26 and will be year-round.

Posted Sunday January 25, 2009 by Melinda Penkava