The winter schedule on the Chappy Ferry begins on Sunday, Oct. 20 with an increase in service hours. That is, weather permitting, the ferry will begin operation at 6:30 a.m. and operate continuously until 10 p.m., then again from 11 to 11:15 p.m.

Also, beginning on Sunday, Oct. 20, only one ferryboat will be in service. Expect the vehicle waiting line to be longer during the normally busy times. If you remove your trailer hitch there may be just enough additional room on the ferry for your neighbor to get aboard.

The longer of the two ferryboats will be out of service for Coast Guard inspection and maintenance from Oct. 20 until hopefully no later than Thanksgiving. During that period, the Chappy Ferry vehicle “cut line” on Dock Street will be temporarily suspended. The temporary suspension is an effort to accommodate vehicle traffic fairly during the period of time when only one ferry boat is in service. As soon as the other ferryboat returns to service the “cut line” will be reinstated.

During the period of the temporary “cut line” suspension, all vehicle traffic will approach the Chappy Ferry by way of Simpson’s Lane. Only the school buses as well as fire, ambulance and police vehicles responding to emergencies will be able to use of the “cut line.” Watch for signs at the monument at the intersection of Main street and Pease’s Point Way. If you have any questions, call me at 508-627-1577.

Sometime in the coming weeks, North Water street will be blocked off in front of the Edgartown Inn for at least one day while a water line excavation takes place. On that day, all of the ferry traffic will line up on Dock street. Watch for signs at the monument.

The storm of last week was a true-to-form three-day northeaster. When I was a kid, every northeaster lasted three days. If a snow storm blew in on Sunday afternoon with the wind out of the north east, you knew that there would be no school on Monday and likely not on Tuesday as well. So, you could stay up late watching the Sunday night movie and there was no rush to do homework.

This last storm even got a name: Melissa. The wind gusted up to 51 mph at the ferry point. Oddly, the tide only flooded the street by inches instead of the feet predicted. Seaweed invaded the Chappy slip. The stuff was like baling twine which wound around the ferryboat propellers and shafts. At the height of the storm we had a diver come three times a day to cut the weed out. To keep the propellers from immediately fouling again, we pulled the seaweed out of the Chappy slip by hand with pitch forks. We ended up with a mountain of seaweed in the parking lot. Happy gardeners hauled it away by the trailer full.

Send Chappy news to peterchappyferry@gmail.com.