Ferry Captain Knows the Bay By Heart

NORTH CAPE MAY — Captain Robert Vance backs up the M.V. Delaware, a boat in the Cape May Lewes Ferry fleet, into Lewes, Del. like your dad backed up the family’s station wagon into a parking space at the grocery store.
Vance has the confidence that 27 years on duty brings and knowledge of Delaware Bay so thorough he could draw you a chart with hundreds of features of the bay between North Cape May and Lewes including buoys, shoals and wrecks on the bottom. That was part of a test of local knowledge ship’s pilots and captains must pass.
“When you’re out here, you know the bay like the back of your hand,” said Vance.
On a sunny November day with calm seas, the Herald hitched a ride on the bridge of the M.V. Delaware on a crossing to Lewes. The ferry has been a good match for Vance because it allows him to work on the water “and be home every night.”
Backing the boat out of the North Cape May ferry terminal is no big deal for Vance and its even an easier job backing into Lewes due to a stone breakwater that calms that side of the bay producing little tide or current.
“It steers from aft while a vehicle steers from forward,” he said of the boat.
About half way across the bay, the ferries cross a very busy shipping channel populated by commercial tankers and freighters headed for ports on the Delaware River. Vance said the crew uses systematic radar observation as well as visual sightings. Other ships are plotted on radar to keep a distance from the ferry, he said.
The ferry is in radio contact with other ships. Vance said the ferry normally will alter its speed as necessary to avoid the ships because the ferries are more maneuverable than larger ships.
On our crossing, he was watching a large number of pleasure boats fishing for stripers on three-mile range of the ferry’s radar. On 12-mile range, the radar showed how far the ferry had traveled from North Cape May.
Vance was watching a ship bound for the Delaware River both visually and on radar. The ferry never got any closer than 1.4 miles to the ship.
An Automatic Identification Signal identified the ship as the Blue Fin, headed for Paulsboro.
The foggy months on the bay are December through June when the water temperature is cold and warm moist air is above, said Vance. During foggy times, the ferry navigates with radars.
A fog whistle blows aboard the ferry every two minutes identifying the boat as a power-driven vessel plus a look out is stationed on the bow to watch and listen.
There are two of everything on ferry in case on system fails. The ferries have two radar systems, two generators and two engines.
Due to high fuel prices, the revolutions per minute (rpm) of the two diesel engines are monitored for maximum efficiency.
“If we have the tide with us, we’ll try and reduce rpm to make the same speed so we are conserving some fuel,” said Vance.
The Cape May-Lewes Ferry uses about 1 million gallons per year of fuel according to Marketing Director Mike Porch. He said even a 10 percent reduction could mean a savings of $350,000.
The captain is well aware of late passengers hurrying to the boat both visually and by radio contact with the ticket counter.
“We try and help them out as much as we can,” said Vance.
If another ferry is not leaving for three and a half hours, he said the ferry can leave the terminal five minutes late to accommodate passengers.
The captain is never alone on the bridge. On this trip, Quartermaster Tom Papale steered for a portion of the crossing. When docking, three officers are on the bridge. On this crossing, Pilot Dan Cluff was part of the crew on the bridge.
The Delaware is steered with a joystick rather than a ship’s wheel. Papale followed a course set by the captain. The Delaware was moving 10.5 knots, fighting tide on this crossing.
When backing into Lewes, the captain leaves the bridge and moves to a steering stand on the starboard wing along the edge of the ferry for a close up view of the dock.
Among the more mundane duties of the captain are announcements on the ship’s public address system alerting passenger their car alarms are sounding from the motion of the boat. The quartermaster will respond to medical emergencies on board which occasionally are related to a passenger who has had one too many beers.
Before Hurricane Irene, the ferries were taken up the Delaware River. Vance said two boats went to the Port of Wilmington and two others to Gloucester City, just above the Walt Whitman Bridge.
He stayed on the boat for three days, sleeping on the deck.