The ferry Islander of the Massachusetts Steamship Lines will make her shake-down cruise on Sunday and begin regular operation Monday, April 15, with four round trips daily between Woods Hole and Vineyard Haven, according to the schedule released today and announced by the line’s president, Paul E. Thurlow.

The ferry is the former Hackensack, used on the run across the Hudson between New York city and New Jersey. She can carry fifty automobiles and seat 500 passengers in service between Woods Hole and Vineyard Haven. Her scheduled time is one hour form slip to slip.

The Islander, a typical double-ender automobile ferry, has been entirely refitted and decorated. She is painted aluminum and has the insignia of the line on her twin stacks.

A Sun-Promenade

The ferry’s passenger accommodations have been modernized. On the upper deck, the company’s announcement says, “there is now a sun-promenade with steamer chairs for those who wish to ride outside. On the lower deck, the former fourteen foot headroom has been cut down to room height. Fireproof wallboard has been used to sheathe the walls and bulkheads, and the inside passenger section is completely air-conditioned.”

“Ladies’ and men’s rest rooms have been modernistically re-styled,” the announcement goes on. “A luncheon bar has been installed where passengers may get sandwiches and soft drinks. Leather upholstery covers in gay color, comfortable benches and alcove seats give the passenger accommodations the appearance of a hotel lobby.

“A ship to shore radio telephone in the vessel’s pilot house keeps officers in constant contact with shore stations.

“The vessel’s large passenger and automobile capacity, together with its frequent round trips, is expected to eliminate the traffic bottleneck occasioned in past summers by those who wanted to get their cars to the Islands.”

Under the new schedule which goes into effect Monday, April 15, the first trip out of Vineyard Haven for the Islander will be at 6 a. m. daily. The ferry will arrive at Woods Hole at 7. Trips scheduled from Woods Hole are to start at 7:30 and 11:30 a. m., and at 4:30 and 7:30 p. m., in each case arrival time at Vineyard Haven being an hour later.

The Sunday Schedule

On Sundays the ferry will make only three round trips, leaving Vineyard Haven at 7:30 a. m. and at 4 and 8 p. m., and leaving Woods Hole at 8:50, 5:20 and 9:20 p. m.

For the present there will be only one round trip daily to Nantucket. The steamer Nantucket will sail from New Bedford at 9:15, with stops at Woods Hole and Oak Bluffs, and will arrive at Nantucket at 2 p. m. The return trip is scheduled to start at 2:30, and the steamer is due at New Bedford at 7, after stops at Oak Bluffs and Woods Hole.

The new schedule, beginning Monday, will be in effect until May 28. The complete schedule is advertised in this issue of the Gazette.