In May, Paul Ashworth and I set off to ride all the vehicle ferries in NC. On that trip we rode on 6 of the ferries leaving 4 to wrap up on our next trip. As with any good adventure there were some challenges that prevented completion in one trip. The easiest part of this is the DOT manned ferries that run on a published schedule and pretty much to the minute. We completed 5 of these.
Completed ferries in May:
Aurora to Bayview
Cedar Island to Ocracoke
Cherry branch to Minnesott
Southport to Fort Fisher
Hatteras to Ocracoke
Swan Quarter to Ocracoke
All great rides and only 2 with a charge $10, that being Swan Quarter and Cedar Island. Those were also the longest rides at 2 1/4 and 2 3/4 hours long. If you go this route be sure to pack snacks and water. For whatever reason DOT has removed the vending machines from these ferries. If you are going to Ocracoke make sure of the schedule and be there for checkin 30 minutes ahead and have reservations. The penalty for missing the ferry is high! Both Swan Quarter and Cedar Island are at the end of the earth, sorry, road in the middle of nowhere.
Both Elwell and San Souci ferries were not running due to mechanical problems and high water. We didn’t try to get to Knott’s Island or Parker’s Ferry. So we had another trip to make.
October 14th we are off to complete the remaining 4 ferries:
Currituck to Knotts Island (DOT)
Elwell Ferry
San Souci Ferry
Parkers Ferry
We left Cary on a beautiful day heading for the Elwell Ferry. Along the way Paul managed to pick up some state parks in his Passport book. Singletary Park was a short way from Elwell. This is our second trip here and again mechanical problems.
This is a tough start since this is the southernmost ferry but we can catch it later on a lunch trip to Calabash. So now we are watching the clock to make sure that we can make the 4:30 Cedar Island ferry so we needed to be there at 4:00 to check in. We had reservations.
The route to Cedar Island is a pure 2 lane rural route with many road changes and it looked like it was going to be close but we needed gas and food because now it was 1:00.
We needed to pick up the pace to get there and with me being one of the slowest people in the Club I wasn’t sure I could get there. Paul, with Ducati blood in his veins, should have been leading. We got there with 12 minutes to spare and I suspect that I might have been speeding at some point. This was the only time critical crossing that we had to make. After this we were on vacation.
Arrived in Ocracoke at 6:45
Great dinner, nice hotel room and off to bed. We were a bit tired!
Another beautiful day and after breakfast at a little coffee shop we were off to the Hatteras ferry.
The Hatteras Lighthouse was closed for repointing the bricks and painting and would reopen next year in October. Bodie Island Lighthouse was closed for Climbing season.
Day 2 found us in Kitty Hawk so why not the birthplace of aviation!
We spend a couple of hours and climbed the hill to the monument. It’s a beautiful museum.
Another great seafood dinner and off to our little hotel.
We hustled off to the Currituck Ferry and of course we missed the 1:00 by 15 minutes. That left a gap of 3 hours before the next one so we rode into Elizabeth City to look around and returned to catch the 4:00 and turn around returning on the 5:00 because it was late.
There was a small problem here! The ferry ride across Currituck Sound was smooth with high winds. As we were approaching Knott's Island the wind blew the ferry sideways into the pilings. I saw it coming but expected the pilings to give a bit but they didn't and it was a solid hit. Paul and I were both bracing for the hit but is was severe. We were on both bikes and prepared but the bike and I were laid out on the deck and Paul was up against the wall of the ferry. No damage but a good scare. The crew was on us in a second and helped us up and checked to make sure we were ok. No harm done but a shock to say the least.
We found a little restaurant on river road in Elizabeth City and had another great meal. Our last day was coming up and with at least one new ferry crossing we had 2 cable ferries left.
Thursday morning started with a cold rain so we reluctantly decided to eat the free breakfast at the Baymont. Not good but the rain lifted while we were eating so it looked like another dry day.
To get to the Parker’s Ferry you have to drive through the Courthouse parking lot, out a small road in the back, drive past a huge new prison onto a pretty ugly dirt/gravel road to the ferry. We weren’t optimistic. The road kept getting smaller and we couldn’t understand why a ferry would be there, but it was.
We later found out this one was closed because of low water. They seem to have many excuses for not running. There is a large fish hatchery on the other side of the river but nothing else in this area.
Neither one of us figured the San Souci Ferry would be running but it was an hour south near Plymouth and maybe better water. Paul was sure we would be skunked on the cable ferries but I was trying to be more positive. Our record so far wasn’t very good.
But:
This man was just sitting there waiting for us. The flashing light on the sign said OPEN!
This ferry was a 2 car, maximum of 6 people ferry. It was just us. The ferry slides along a steel cable across the river and the front ramp drops on the bank leading up to the road.
We ended up on a very nice road until a sign appeared THIS ROAD NOT MAINTAINED BY THE STATE!
This was an unplanned part of the adventure, a sand road for 2 miles through the cotton fields.
2 miles through some farmers field of cotton back to pavement. We really had no problem.
We were back onto the road home after a chicken lunch at a very old chicken diner in Williamston.
Still 2 cable ferries left to complete and I doubt we will get them this year. It is kind of like golf, you can have a terrible day on the links but get a birdie on the last hole and you are raring to go out again. We finished on a high note and we will get the last 2 done but maybe not this year.
A great trip! Paul was a great companion for traveling the NC Ferries!
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