A Site for Shore Eyes

In its ongoing infinite management wisdom, the Delaware River & Bay Authority (DRBA), announced a planned rate hike for the Cape May/Lewes ferry service. A spokesman said they also plan on reducing the number of trips. The reason, he said, was due to decreased ridership, which resulted in decreased revenue. Duh! Oh yeah, and they also intend to add a fuel surcharge if the price of diesel fuel exceeds $2.50 per gallon.

Okay, here we go again, in an attempt to explain why the ferry service has never made a profit since its inception. The time to increase prices for anything is when demand is UP, not down. There are reasons why fewer people are using the ferry, and none of them is because prices are too low. I have also never heard anyone mention that there are too many trips scheduled, that it runs too late in the day, or that it makes the trip across the bay in less time than desired.

Back when the service started, they used ferries that had been replaced by the Chesapeake Bay Bridge Tunnel, and they worked fine, although they were a bit too deep-drafted for Delaware Bay. Some years later, they had new boats built, but none of them were designed for any significant speed. The thinking, apparently, was that these were not bridge substitutes, but mini ocean liners, or something like that.

Now let’s look at reality as seen by truckers, businesspersons, and families returning from trips. Coming from the south on I-95 to a location in Cape May County requires driving all the way to the Delaware Memorial Bridge (which makes a profit and subsidizes the ferry), then back down. This adds many miles to a trip, and can add some time, depending on the ferry schedule. If nothing else, it’s more tiresome.

Let’s now look at the ferry, instead. Assuming you’re traveling between August 31 and July 3, the last boat leaves for Cape May at 7:45, except for weekends in June, when an 8:45 trip is added. If you haven’t timed your trip exactly right, or get tied up in traffic, you get there at, say, 8:00. Your options are to either wait until the first trip in the morning, at 9:30, or drive all the way back to, probably I-13, and head for the bridge. Weekends during July and August have a last trip scheduled for 9:30.

We sometimes go to Georgia, and making it to Lewes before 7:45 is nothing less than a frantic drive, holding our breaths that we don’t get caught up in traffic. A reservation sounds like a good idea, but it’s only good if you make it there 30 minutes before the departure time. None of this makes any sense for late-night travelers and truckers.

The first step in making the Cape May/Lewes Ferry a viable means of transportation would be to schedule trips at every two hours, as a minimum, night and day, or at least scheduling the last trip for midnight. Yes, some trips would probably run at a loss, at least initially, but the important thing is to establish ridership by gaining the trust of potential riders. Just imagine closing the Delaware Memorial Bridge at 7:45 each evening, and you can see why the DRBA is way off in its thinking concerning the ferry. Availability eliminates the decision-making process of whether or not to get off the interstate and attempt to make it in time for the last crossing.

Of course, the speed of the vessels is another issue. The advertised crossing time is 70 minutes, but a minimum of 90 minutes is closer to reality. With the amount of money spent on the existing boats, especially the two “mother” ships, faster vessels, perhaps hydroplanes, could have been built. Faster crossings mean more desirability to travelers, and more trips filled to capacity. That’s not to say that an hour and a half to rest up during a long trip isn’t sometimes welcomed, only that the primary purpose of the ferry should be to get vehicles from one location to another, so speed should be of the essence.

That’s not to say that the ferry should be as fast as a car traveling across a bridge, only that a trip of more than an hour one way tends to discourage travelers from using the service. If the idea was to make more money on food, or in the gift shop, neither concept ever happened, and never will. It’s not only the fares that are priced immodestly. As to the food, the health department shut down all real cooking, so only packaged products are offered. Not really what you expect when on a “sea cruise.”

I predict that ridership will drop even more after the fare hikes, and the DRBA members will stand around scratching their heads, wondering why every other ferry service in the world operates profitably. The answer, of course, is that most ferries are not optional, and provide the only means of reaching a destination. When that is not the case, steps must be taken to make the service an attractive and viable alternative to driving.

A few things are changing on the Wildwood boardwalk for the 2009 season. For example, visitors will no longer have to worry about falling through the aging planks, at least for an entire block or so. Originally, the replacement material was designated as black locust, a domestic wood, but the first shipment was judged to be of inferior quality. The municipality’s officials decided to go with ipe (they tell me it rhymes with the auction site), a tropical hardwood.

This immediately brought a group of people who have probably never actually seen a rainforest out of their winter hideaways, protesting the destruction of the rainforests, and the evils of supporting the destruction by buying tropical hardwoods. Okay, let’s analyze this situation. First of all, this wood has already been harvested and milled, so any destruction already took place. Buying this wood contributes nothing to rainforest decimation. If boards are planted, they become pilings, not trees.

If you’re really concerned about the rainforests going away, then hop on a plane and head for South America. The locals will welcome your protests and may even have you for dinner.

Morey’s Corporation held a ceremony to ease its guilt for not making good on its promises to restore and reopen The Golden Nugget mine ride. The Moreys said it would have cost too much, and they understand what it meant to the people, but it just wasn’t feasible, blah, blah, woof, woof. . . More than likely, what they really meant to say was that the ride, first opened in 1960, was a bit too tacky for their tastes. A bit haughty, considering that they got their start by dragging a very tacky used slide back from Florida, proving that sometimes, one person’s tacky is another’s joy. They unveiled plans and a model of a new coaster that would be built on two piers, supposedly making the transit from one pier to the other across the beach, then under the other pier. If ever built, it will be sure to draw the crowds, but not everyone seeks the ultimate thrill ride. Some find more comfort in rides that are unique and entertaining for the entire family, such as The Golden Nugget. They sold the ride to Knoebels Amusement Resort in Elysburg, Pennsylvania, although it’s not clear what they actually sold. Supposedly, the track and some cars, so they say. The new “owners” plan on reinventing the ride, and may well opt for a coal mining theme. The Black Nugget?

In other news, the Wildwoods Boardwalk Special Improvement District, which operates the tram cars, announced that the one-way fare will increase from $2.00 to $2.25. This certainly makes sense, considering the current state of the economy. They’re calling it a “modest increase,” for the care and maintenance of the trams. Sound business sense never really ran rampant in the Wildwoods, and it doesn’t seem to be multiplying at any alarming rates. Increasing the fare brings more money per passenger, but not necessarily more revenue. The extra quarter means a dollar for a family of four, possibly enough to encourage them to put some more mileage on their flip-flops. The two-dollar fare is easier on attendants, and doesn’t require them to carry and handle a lot of coins. But what do I know? I’m only an individual who won’t pay the price.

They’re also going to run a daily all-you-can-ride special, from 11:00 a.m. till 5:00 p.m., for five dollars. How many times one person, other than the tram driver, would want to ride up and down the boardwalk, especially during the afternoon, is questionable. One round trip using the unlimited ride option would cost more than the regular fare. This plan also was obviously well thought out.

Of course, these are not the only three things that will change your Wildwood boardwalk experience this year. There’s always the possibility another giant beach ball could pop up somewhere. . .

For loyal visitors to my site who wonder where I’ve been for the past couple of months, the answer is that I’ve been mostly in and sometimes out of two hospitals.

In November I had a heart attack. I always thought that having a heart attack meant falling on the floor and having someone administer CPR. Sometimes that’s the case, but often it simply means they analyze your enzyme output, rub their chins, and declare that you either had or did not have a heart attack. It’s all Greek to me.

In my case, I had shortness of breath that got so severe we called 911. It seemed pretty traumatic to me, but definitely didn’t fit my vision of a heart attack.

Anyway, the local hospital sent me to Penn-Presbyterian in Philadelphia, for a heart cath, which showed 100% blockage in two arteries, but the even bigger problem was my mitral valve, which was not closing properly. After six days, they released me, and my intention was to have surgery on January 20.

By mid-December I started experiencing congestive heart failure, and checked in at Penn again on the 16th. I guess I had a pulmonary edema, whatever that is, and they put me into a coma for three days. They brought me out of it on the 19th, still on the ventilator that pretty much saved my life, but I don’t recommend it for any other purpose.

With this change in plans, they decided to perform the surgery on December 23. It involved repairing the mitral valve and doing a double bypass.

Since that time, I spent another week in the local hospital due to some complications, but I’m now on my way back. I hope to be writing regularly in the near future.