Boat Line Board Names Fast Ferry After Sachem

By JAMES KINSELLA

The Steamship Authority's new fast ferry will carry the name
Iyanough, the Cummaquid sachem for whom Hyannis is named.

The boat line board of governors Tuesday decided to bestow the name
on the vessel, scheduled to go into service on the Hyannis-Nantucket
route about a year from now.

The $9.5 million ferry will replace the Flying Cloud, the first fast
ferry built by the SSA for the route. The four-engine vessel has a
passenger capacity of 350.

The two-engine Flying Cloud, a 280-passenger vessel, has been
troubled by mechanical failures and service interruptions since it
entered service in May 2000, although the vessel has performed more
reliably in recent months.

In other action, the SSA board, which met in Woods Hole, authorized
boat line staff to pursue federal and state grants for projects
including the reconstruction of the seasonal ferry terminal in Oak
Bluffs.

Board members also learned of the continuing impact higher fuel
costs have been having on the boat line's bottom line.

The naming of the new fast ferry reflected the harmony that has come
to characterize the SSA board, in contrast to the divisiveness seen in
recent years.

Barnstable SSA governor Robert L. O'Brien and port council
chairman Robert Jones of Hyannis put the name Iyanough forward for the
vessel, now under construction at the Gladding-Hearn Shipyard in
Somerset.

Mr. Jones called the naming of the vessel a huge step forward in the
relationship between Hyannis and Nantucket, which have crossed swords in
the past over the Nantucket-bound truck traffic traveling through
Hyannis.

SSA tradition holds that the governor of either Nantucket or
Martha's Vineyard is given the courtesy of making the final call
on the name of a vessel principally serving that Island.

Nantucket SSA governor Flint Ranney said he had received 199
suggestions through a contest held to name the new vessel.

Prominent among the names, Mr. Ranney said, were Grace or Bernie and
Grace, referring to the late Grace and Bernie Grossman, the two
Nantucket governors who preceded Mr. Ranney on the board. Another
favorite was Dionis, a descendant of Iyanough, whose name has been given
to a beach on Nantucket's northern shore.

Mr. Ranney, however, decided to sign onto the O'Brien-Jones
proposal.

"Hyannis really is Nantucket's port," he said.
"We've been working pretty well together."

He made the motion to name the vessel Iyanough, which was seconded
by Mr. O'Brien, and passed by the board on a 4-0 vote.

The boat line's new chairman, Robert Marshall of Falmouth, had
said at the start of yesterday's meeting that he intended to
routinely abstain on board votes unless called upon to break a tie.

Board members yesterday also affirmed the proposal by SSA staff to
pursue grants for five boat and facility projects. In addition to the
$10 million reconstruction of the Oak Bluffs terminal, they include a $5
million mid-life refurbishing of the ferry Nantucket; a $4 million
mid-life refurbishing of the ferry Eagle; a $900,000 new building for
the boat line's Fairhaven vessel maintenance facility; and $2.75
million in other improvements at the Fairhaven facility.

Boat line general manager Wayne Lamson has targeted two programs as
funding sources: the Federal Ferry Boat Discretionary Grant Program, and
the Massachusetts Water Transportation Capital Funding Program.

Last August, President George W. Bush signed legislation
reauthorizing the federal program through fiscal year 2009. The program
is the only source of federal funding reserved for ferry systems. Local
matching funds must contribute at least 20 per cent of the project
costs.

The state capital funding program, which assists public entities in
gaining funds for ferry improvements, requires a 25 per cent local
match.

The Oak Bluffs project, modified last year under pressure from that
town's conservation commission, calls for replacing the existing
slip and the passenger walkway, replacing the 35-foot transfer bridge
for vehicles with a 50-foot bridge, adding two vehicle staging lanes to
the pier, renovating the ticket office and expanding the pick-up and
drop-off area on Sea View avenue.

The refurbishing of the Nantucket and the Eagle would include steps
such as the sandblasting and recoating of exterior surfaces, replacing
of exterior windows and the replacing of decking and seating.

Meanwhile, lower revenues and higher costs continue to dog SSA
operations. Mr. Lamson said the boat line posted a net operating loss
for November of $1,773,000, which is $526,000 worse than expected.

He also placed net operating income to date at about $5 million,
which is $1.5 million worse than expected. He attributed $1,329,000 of
the gap to higher fuel costs.

"That's a pretty good chunk of money," Mr.
Marshall said. He asked whether Mr. Lamson would have sought even more
revenue this year beyond a series of fare increases voted last year by
the board.

"We're in good shape for our cash balance for the start
of the year," Mr. Lamson said.

To hold down fuel costs, Mr. Lamson said the staff also has been
talking to SSA ferry captains about running their vessel engines more
slowly while still making the schedule. That's especially key for
the captains of the freight ferries and for large ferries such as the
Eagle and the Nantucket. In contrast, he said, the 56-year-old ferry
Islander always requires the full 45 minutes to make the Vineyard
Haven-Woods Hole run.