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New Ferry Boat Come To Marsh Harbour For an excellent "slice of life" insight into Abaco's ferry service, please Click HERE Albury's Ferry Service has put into service a new boat for its scheduled and chartered service between Marsh Harbour and the cays. The Donnie IX arrived in Man-O-War two months ago after being specially built in Key West, Florida. Measuring 51 feet by 17 feet, the new arrival is the largest of the existing fleet of eight Donnies. This addition is in response to the increasing number of passengers traveling to the cays. The Donnie IX began regular service on August 21 between Hope Town and Marsh Harbour. It has a seating capacity of 100 persons. Albury's Ferry Service operates daily service, transporting approximately two hundred people daily to and from Hope Town, fifty to and from Man-O-War Cay and one hundred to and from Guana Cay. This is not taking into account the scores of schoolchildren who commute to schools in Marsh Harbour. Six feet longer than the Donnies VII and VIII, the new boat has a more powerful 1050 HP Caterpillar engine and a bow thruster which aids in maneuvering the boat. The finish work was completed by ferry personnel in Man-O-War. The total cost for the ferry was $400,000. Albury's Ferry and the Green Turtle Ferry Service together provide a valuable service to Abaco. They both offer reliable efficient service in all kinds of weather and handle many types of problems, all with a smile. For both companies their investments are very heavy and their operating costs and maintenance are high. Fuel costs alone for Albury's Ferry Service were $18,000 for the month of July. Abaco is fortunate to have two such reliable companies. ----- Missing The Boat on Abaco Last week the 9:45 a.m. Albury's Ferry left Hope Town harbour while I, still in my laid back island mode, was engrossed in conversation outside the post office. I missed an 11 a.m. appointment and a luncheon date. I don't make a habit of missing ferries, appointments and most of all luncheon dates. Living on an off-shore cay on Abaco at the mercy of (but eternally grateful to) a punctual ferry service, I have become very vigilant about time keeping. In Nassau it was the order, which often led to the disorder, of the day to be "running late." Here, if I'm "running late" I am in dire straits - and they are not those which stretch from Hope Town to Marsh Harbour! I have discovered there are some things you do only once on Abaco. Missing the ferry is one. Another is throwing an unattached anchor when your boat is out of gas. The local gallants were quick to the rescue but the Bermuda Triangle would have been a more welcome sight! "It's OK," said a tow-headed Abaco Adonis reassuringly, "It happens to the best of us, but only once." I am not sure I believe him. I have still to meet anyone who will admit to it. Unfortunately for me, on the day of the ferry incident there was not a Greek beauty in sight. They must have all been out at sea saving distressed maidens with lost anchors! However, I did manage to eventually hitch a ride with a tourist. Half way to March Harbour it occurred to me that if that same gentleman had offered me a car ride in the middle of Florida, I would have politely declined. There is something about Abaco which, rightly or wrongly, allows you to let down your guard - and sometimes your anchor, too! My "ride" to Marsh Harbour was timely and much appreciated. The "gentleman" lived up to his title. However, it was a far cry from my comfortable seat on the ferry. I was ill-prepared for riding the waves in a small inflatable, and I wasn't dressed accordingly. That morning I had decided to wear a short, tight dress and high heeled shoes for my two meetings. Quite out of character! I spent most of the trip adjusting the length of my dress from thigh to knee high, and stretching its loose neckline up to my chin! While I struggled with my attire, the "gentleman's" gaze stayed solely on the water! When I wasn't wrestling with my attire, I was figuring out what to tell my 16-year-old daughter when she found out I had missed the ferry. When she missed the 8 a.m. school ferry I reprimanded her. "But MUM!" she proclaimed defensively, "I was talking to Miss Carrie and I didn't realise the time!" My answer was unyielding, "That's no excuse, Tara!" I do know of eight people who would willingly miss the school ferry - they are the intrepid drivers of Albury's Ferry who rotate the school run! Just imagine starting out your day with 52 school children in a space of 43 feet by 14 feet. It is not as if they can go outside for a moment, catch their breath, tear out their hair, count to a thousand and regain their composure. They are trapped for 30 minutes with children at every stage of painful development - from the frenetic fives to the truculent teens. The youth of Abaco are no more badly behaved than anywhere else but they are "youth." (Someone said to me recently 14 is not an age, it is a disease!) School buses in Nassau, like here, are mobile madhouses, and I recall that car pooling in Nassau wasn't exactly a bed of roses - and I only had four children for a twenty minute journey! I really do have a deep admiration for the ferry drivers, not just for the school run but also for the wonderful job they do welcoming visitors to these shores. They are always pleasant, helpful and accommodating and are a credit to their boss, Ralph Albury, who owns the Man-O-War based ferry service. The company which Ralph's father, Marcel Albury, started more than 40 years ago with one wooden 40-foot Maine lobster fishing boat has come a long way. Today father and son have a fleet of nine fibreglass boats, all well equipped and impeccably maintained. We, on the cays of Man-O-War, Hope Town, Scotland Cay and Guana Cay, depend on the ferries. They carry everything imaginable from UPS packages and prescription drugs to pizzas and crates of sodas. They are our life-line - often literally by providing efficient emergency transportation. Missing the ferry made me realise how indebted we are to them. No, I don't have shares in Albury's Ferry Service . . . but I wish I did! |
