Post by ferryfast admin on Jan 19, 2006 17:52:00 GMT -5
PASSENGERS: Waves invaded cabin, threatened to capsize boat
NY WATERWAY: In captain's view, "boat was never in danger"
Ferry riders feared for lives
Posted by the
Asbury Park Press on 01/19/06
BY BILL BOWMAN
STAFF WRITER
www.app.com/
Kathy Sullivan thought she was going to die Wednesday morning.
The Fair Haven woman was one of more than 100 people on the 7:30 a.m. NY Waterway ferry en route from Belford to Manhattan when the boat was caught in a squall that sent waves crashing over its bow and poured water into its main cabin. The terrifying trip prompted passengers to create impromptu prayer groups and call their loved ones to say goodbye.
"It was unbelievably scary,'' said Sullivan, 36. "I could hear a woman behind me calling her husband to say goodbye and tell her how much she loved him.
"I thought this was it,'' she said.
Rough seas tossed the boat about like a toy, said passengers who nonetheless had high praise for the captain and crew for how they handled their jobs during the ordeal. The boat was eventually met by Coast Guard and New York Police Department marine units, which escorted it to its scheduled stop at Pier 11.
Ferry service between Belford and New York was postponed for several hours but restored by the late afternoon runs.
"It is regrettable that the passengers were concerned about this incident,'' said Pat Smith, a spokesman for NY Waterway. "The captain in his very seasoned professional opinion did not determine there was danger at any time. The boat had a bad two minutes, but proceeded under its own power.''
A number of passengers questioned why the boat … one of the smaller vessels in the NY Waterway fleet … was even allowed to go out in the stormy weather. Some claimed they were told the captain wanted to cancel the trip, an assertion denied by the company spokesman.
The passengers also said life jackets were hard to find and that many were too small for adults.
Sullivan, who is five months pregnant, said the trip got off to a rocky start when the captain tried to back out of the slip in Belford.
"The wind was so fierce, they couldn't back out the normal way,'' she said.
The terror began once the ferry had cleared Raritan Bay, Sullivan said.
"You could see the swells coming close to the boat,'' she said. "Then, all of a sudden, a wave of water hit the boat, and that's when the water started coming in. There were several inches of water running through the boat.
"Our feet were soaked. That's when people started getting nervous. Then it happened again, another huge swell came.''
Bow down
Eric Vervoordt of Holmdel said the boat was struggling against the waves "pretty much from the get-go.''
"About 20 minutes in, the bow of the boat plunged into the water,'' he said. "It didn't get overcome by a wave, it planed right in. That happened several times, in addition to the boat veering off to extremes to the left and the right.''
"I was pretty confident we were going to go swimming,'' he said. "This boat was really in trouble.''
James Young, 34, of the West Keansburg section of Hazlet, said that's exactly what he told his wife when he called her.
"Personally, I thought it was going to go under,'' he said. "I've lived at the shore all my life, I've never experienced something like that.''
Passengers said the decision to put on the life jackets … which were supposed to be stowed under the seats … was not made by the crew, but by them.
"Everybody started yelling, "get the life jackets on,'‚'' Young said.
But even that proved problematic, passengers said.
"It was hard to get under the seats,'' said Cheryl Payton, 48, of the Port Monmouth section of Middletown. "There didn't seem to be enough, and they were children's life jackets, which people couldn't put on. They were new, with the cords and strings wrapped tightly around them.
"It was like, how much longer are we going to survive?'' she said.
The life jackets "weren't right under the seats where people were looking for them,'' Vervoordt said. "They were stowed further up the boat. They were passing out children's jackets. It probably took way longer to distribute the life jackets than under a normal situation.
"With people screaming, "We need more life jackets,' there wasn't an orderly way to get them out,'' he said.
Some passengers said the boat was over capacity, a claim also disputed by the company.
"There was standing room only,'' Vervoordt said. "Obviously there were more people on the boat than there were seats for. There were people sitting on the stairs, about 10 or 12 of us were standing at the bar.''
"There were people sitting on the stairs that went to the upper level,'' Young said. "It was definitely overcrowded.''
NY Waterway's account
Smith, the spokesman for NY Waterway, said the captain expressed no hesitation at taking the boat out Wednesday morning and said there were enough life jackets … 165 adult life jackets and 16 children's life jackets for the 149 passengers on board.
"At 7:30 when that boat left Belford, the conditions were within the parameters for the operation of that boat,'' he said. "In the captain's estimation, the boat was never in danger.''
Smith said the captain did not call the Coast Guard for help, but merely to inform it of the "sudden wind condition and to advise them he was considering a change in course. Then he called to advise them he had it under control.''
Some passengers, like Vervoordt, said they would not be taking the ferry home Wednesday night.
"There's a bunch of us who take the ferry, we're going to take a car service home,'' he said. "I think I'll give the ferry a pass.''
NY WATERWAY: In captain's view, "boat was never in danger"
Ferry riders feared for lives
Posted by the
Asbury Park Press on 01/19/06
BY BILL BOWMAN
STAFF WRITER
www.app.com/
Kathy Sullivan thought she was going to die Wednesday morning.
The Fair Haven woman was one of more than 100 people on the 7:30 a.m. NY Waterway ferry en route from Belford to Manhattan when the boat was caught in a squall that sent waves crashing over its bow and poured water into its main cabin. The terrifying trip prompted passengers to create impromptu prayer groups and call their loved ones to say goodbye.
"It was unbelievably scary,'' said Sullivan, 36. "I could hear a woman behind me calling her husband to say goodbye and tell her how much she loved him.
"I thought this was it,'' she said.
Rough seas tossed the boat about like a toy, said passengers who nonetheless had high praise for the captain and crew for how they handled their jobs during the ordeal. The boat was eventually met by Coast Guard and New York Police Department marine units, which escorted it to its scheduled stop at Pier 11.
Ferry service between Belford and New York was postponed for several hours but restored by the late afternoon runs.
"It is regrettable that the passengers were concerned about this incident,'' said Pat Smith, a spokesman for NY Waterway. "The captain in his very seasoned professional opinion did not determine there was danger at any time. The boat had a bad two minutes, but proceeded under its own power.''
A number of passengers questioned why the boat … one of the smaller vessels in the NY Waterway fleet … was even allowed to go out in the stormy weather. Some claimed they were told the captain wanted to cancel the trip, an assertion denied by the company spokesman.
The passengers also said life jackets were hard to find and that many were too small for adults.
Sullivan, who is five months pregnant, said the trip got off to a rocky start when the captain tried to back out of the slip in Belford.
"The wind was so fierce, they couldn't back out the normal way,'' she said.
The terror began once the ferry had cleared Raritan Bay, Sullivan said.
"You could see the swells coming close to the boat,'' she said. "Then, all of a sudden, a wave of water hit the boat, and that's when the water started coming in. There were several inches of water running through the boat.
"Our feet were soaked. That's when people started getting nervous. Then it happened again, another huge swell came.''
Bow down
Eric Vervoordt of Holmdel said the boat was struggling against the waves "pretty much from the get-go.''
"About 20 minutes in, the bow of the boat plunged into the water,'' he said. "It didn't get overcome by a wave, it planed right in. That happened several times, in addition to the boat veering off to extremes to the left and the right.''
"I was pretty confident we were going to go swimming,'' he said. "This boat was really in trouble.''
James Young, 34, of the West Keansburg section of Hazlet, said that's exactly what he told his wife when he called her.
"Personally, I thought it was going to go under,'' he said. "I've lived at the shore all my life, I've never experienced something like that.''
Passengers said the decision to put on the life jackets … which were supposed to be stowed under the seats … was not made by the crew, but by them.
"Everybody started yelling, "get the life jackets on,'‚'' Young said.
But even that proved problematic, passengers said.
"It was hard to get under the seats,'' said Cheryl Payton, 48, of the Port Monmouth section of Middletown. "There didn't seem to be enough, and they were children's life jackets, which people couldn't put on. They were new, with the cords and strings wrapped tightly around them.
"It was like, how much longer are we going to survive?'' she said.
The life jackets "weren't right under the seats where people were looking for them,'' Vervoordt said. "They were stowed further up the boat. They were passing out children's jackets. It probably took way longer to distribute the life jackets than under a normal situation.
"With people screaming, "We need more life jackets,' there wasn't an orderly way to get them out,'' he said.
Some passengers said the boat was over capacity, a claim also disputed by the company.
"There was standing room only,'' Vervoordt said. "Obviously there were more people on the boat than there were seats for. There were people sitting on the stairs, about 10 or 12 of us were standing at the bar.''
"There were people sitting on the stairs that went to the upper level,'' Young said. "It was definitely overcrowded.''
NY Waterway's account
Smith, the spokesman for NY Waterway, said the captain expressed no hesitation at taking the boat out Wednesday morning and said there were enough life jackets … 165 adult life jackets and 16 children's life jackets for the 149 passengers on board.
"At 7:30 when that boat left Belford, the conditions were within the parameters for the operation of that boat,'' he said. "In the captain's estimation, the boat was never in danger.''
Smith said the captain did not call the Coast Guard for help, but merely to inform it of the "sudden wind condition and to advise them he was considering a change in course. Then he called to advise them he had it under control.''
Some passengers, like Vervoordt, said they would not be taking the ferry home Wednesday night.
"There's a bunch of us who take the ferry, we're going to take a car service home,'' he said. "I think I'll give the ferry a pass.''