Post by ferryfast admin on Mar 25, 2005 19:14:57 GMT -5
Hovercraft Ferry To Ocean City?
Shawn J. Soper, Staff Writer
Maryland Coast Dispatch
www.mdcoastdispatch.com/
OCEAN CITY (03/25/2005) - Time honored ways of reaching the beach – by car, bus, train or plane – could soon be joined by another method if the conceptual idea of establishing high-speed hovercraft ferry service from the big metropolitan areas to Ocean City gets off the ground.
A private company has contacted Worcester officials about exploring the possibility of establishing high-speed hovercraft service from metropolitan areas on the western shore and beyond to waterfront resort areas in the county. Hovercraft come in all shapes and sizes, but the models proposed to service to Ocean City could hold as many as 90 passengers and transport them by water to the resort in under two hours.
Details about the plan are still in the exploratory phase, but county officials are not merely paying lip service to the concept.
“We’re serious about looking into the concept of utilizing hovercraft as an alternative method of reaching Ocean City,” said County Economic Development Director Jerry Redden. “We’re always looking at pursuing alternative methods of getting all of those people to our resorts and this deserves consideration.”
Much has been written and said about improving the highway system along the route to the beaches, and earlier this year, a private company expressed a desire to establish daily commuter air service from the Ocean City Airport to BWI, but an improved and expanded water transportation system has not been mentioned until now.
“We can’t ignore water transport as a method of getting more people to our tourist destinations,” said Redden. “Whether or not this works out remains to be seen and there is a lot of details to consider, but we are a water community.”
Utilizing hovercraft as a major method of transporting travelers is not a new concept. Commercial hovercraft service has been available in Europe for over three decades and the idea is starting to catch on throughout the U.S. and Canada. The largest commercial hovercraft are capable of transporting hundreds of passengers and hundreds of vehicles quickly, safely and economically in a single trip.
For example, the British company Hoverspeed has been transporting passengers and their vehicles across the English Channel for over three decades. The premiere ship in the line, the “Princess Margaret”, carries as many as 675 passengers and 155 vehicles across the Channel in around 55 minutes, or roughly the same amount of time it takes the Cape May-Lewes Ferry in Delaware to cover its route. Hovercraft ferry service is also currently available in the Great Lakes and in the Pacific Northwest, and a pilot program has begun in Florida in the Tampa Bay-St. Petersburg area.
As the name implies, hovercraft hover just above the surface of the water on large, inflatable cushions that skim across the water and over obstacles with little or no turbulence. The width and depth of the inflatable bottoms depends on the size of the vessel. For example, the “Princess Margaret” mentioned above floats on an air cushion nearly 10 feet thick.
The largest hovercraft are typically powered by two large engines; one that maintains the flow of air into the cushion and one that propels the vessel forward. Larger hovercraft are engineered to withstand winds of 50 knots or more and can handle seas of 10-12 feet. Because of their floating design, the vessels can either be docked in water or moored in land-based facilities.
Redden emphasized the idea of establishing commercial hovercraft service to and from Ocean City is in its infancy, but could envision a day when it became reality.
“Imagine hopping on a hovercraft at the Inner Harbor in Baltimore or somewhere along the waterfront in Philadelphia and reaching Ocean City less than two hours later,” he said. “It really is quite an experience. It could be very enjoyable as well as being practical.”
Shawn J. Soper, Staff Writer
Maryland Coast Dispatch
www.mdcoastdispatch.com/
OCEAN CITY (03/25/2005) - Time honored ways of reaching the beach – by car, bus, train or plane – could soon be joined by another method if the conceptual idea of establishing high-speed hovercraft ferry service from the big metropolitan areas to Ocean City gets off the ground.
A private company has contacted Worcester officials about exploring the possibility of establishing high-speed hovercraft service from metropolitan areas on the western shore and beyond to waterfront resort areas in the county. Hovercraft come in all shapes and sizes, but the models proposed to service to Ocean City could hold as many as 90 passengers and transport them by water to the resort in under two hours.
Details about the plan are still in the exploratory phase, but county officials are not merely paying lip service to the concept.
“We’re serious about looking into the concept of utilizing hovercraft as an alternative method of reaching Ocean City,” said County Economic Development Director Jerry Redden. “We’re always looking at pursuing alternative methods of getting all of those people to our resorts and this deserves consideration.”
Much has been written and said about improving the highway system along the route to the beaches, and earlier this year, a private company expressed a desire to establish daily commuter air service from the Ocean City Airport to BWI, but an improved and expanded water transportation system has not been mentioned until now.
“We can’t ignore water transport as a method of getting more people to our tourist destinations,” said Redden. “Whether or not this works out remains to be seen and there is a lot of details to consider, but we are a water community.”
Utilizing hovercraft as a major method of transporting travelers is not a new concept. Commercial hovercraft service has been available in Europe for over three decades and the idea is starting to catch on throughout the U.S. and Canada. The largest commercial hovercraft are capable of transporting hundreds of passengers and hundreds of vehicles quickly, safely and economically in a single trip.
For example, the British company Hoverspeed has been transporting passengers and their vehicles across the English Channel for over three decades. The premiere ship in the line, the “Princess Margaret”, carries as many as 675 passengers and 155 vehicles across the Channel in around 55 minutes, or roughly the same amount of time it takes the Cape May-Lewes Ferry in Delaware to cover its route. Hovercraft ferry service is also currently available in the Great Lakes and in the Pacific Northwest, and a pilot program has begun in Florida in the Tampa Bay-St. Petersburg area.
As the name implies, hovercraft hover just above the surface of the water on large, inflatable cushions that skim across the water and over obstacles with little or no turbulence. The width and depth of the inflatable bottoms depends on the size of the vessel. For example, the “Princess Margaret” mentioned above floats on an air cushion nearly 10 feet thick.
The largest hovercraft are typically powered by two large engines; one that maintains the flow of air into the cushion and one that propels the vessel forward. Larger hovercraft are engineered to withstand winds of 50 knots or more and can handle seas of 10-12 feet. Because of their floating design, the vessels can either be docked in water or moored in land-based facilities.
Redden emphasized the idea of establishing commercial hovercraft service to and from Ocean City is in its infancy, but could envision a day when it became reality.
“Imagine hopping on a hovercraft at the Inner Harbor in Baltimore or somewhere along the waterfront in Philadelphia and reaching Ocean City less than two hours later,” he said. “It really is quite an experience. It could be very enjoyable as well as being practical.”