Pretty soon, ferry passengers and devotees will be able to show their Steamship Authority pride even while on dry land.

At their monthly meeting last week, Steamship Authority governors authorized the development of an online store to sell SSA merchandise starting late this fall.

According to notes from the board’s meeting in Hyannis, New York-based corporate gift firm Scarborough & Tweed will develop and launch an online merchandise store for the boat line for a start-up cost of $5,000, plus $25,000 for merchandise.

Key products will include canvas duffle and boat bags with an SSA ribbon design featuring nautical flags, customized Vineyard Vines products, Nantucket red baseball hats with a rendering of the ferry Iyanough, and sets of acrylic tumblers featuring the Steamship fleet and/or nautical flags.

According to the meeting notes, the online store will be promoted through e-mails, posters, website ads and print ads. Scarborough & Tweed has committed to launch the store by Nov. 9.

In other business, the governors recognized the crew of the freight ferry Gay Head for responding to a distress call from the U.S. Coast Guard. On August 12, the boat was headed for Nantucket on her 5 p.m trip from Hyannis when the captain, Raymond Oliver, received a distress call from a fishing vessel that was roughly 12 miles north of Nantucket. Within 25 minutes of receiving the distress call, the Gay Head crew, deploying the Gay Head’s small rescue boat, successfully retrieved the three fishermen before their vessel sank.

The governors publicly congratulated the crew, including Captain Oliver, pilot/mate Bernadino Ramos, ordinary seamen Shawn Pimental, John McDonough and Benjamin Burlos, chief engineer Maureen Glennon and oiler Antonio Ferriera.