New BI Ferry

[CB Paradise]

I see that the new BI ferry will have a narrower beam for greater fuel efficiency but will it be as stable in rough seas? Was any thought given to having this 3rd BI boat being a high speed passenger ferry only, similar to the Mackinaw Island boats, instead of a car ferry?

CB

[jrunberg]

sounds like a good idea.

[JFPowers]

I told them that for years and all I got was excuses that it was going to cost too much. At the present rates their isn't enough of a difference to warrant many people to ride the boat as opposed to the airplane. I have told them for years that to change the dynamics and to create something unique you need a faster ferry. Out east there is a ferry service that is a similar distance from the mainland Block Island and they have conventional ferries and recently they purchased a high speed ferry.

http://www.blockislandferry.com/ShozamG ... Athena.htm

One of their ferries was built just a few years prior to the Emerald Isle at the same shipyard. I talked to Block Island ferry system last summer and they said it has been great for business to have the high speed ferry. I don't think that even though the proposed ferry is going to be paid for with predominantly public dollars, that passenger factors are as high a priority as freight hauling is with the new plans for the vessel here.

[Mullen Family]

http://www.lake-express.com/about/news_ ... spx?id=128

Muskegon to Milwaukee in 2 hours...

[Trish Scott]

How long would it take for a high speed ferry from Charlevoix to B.I.?

[JFPowers]

I am no expert but I would imagine from what I know it could reduce the trip time to an hour or a little over an hour. The high speed ferry would be of most benefit during the summer and early fall, which is when most people want to visit the island anyway. It would truly allow for the island to be visited in a day trip fashion.

The boat company will tell you they tried a faster ferry before, I think it was in the early 80's, and it had none of the technology of the fast ferries of today..... big difference in societal needs and technology between 30 years ago and now, the pace of society makes time a much greater priority today.

[Trish Scott]

People really view time as a critical commodity. Plus lots of folks are in a perpetual hurry. Two hours is a LLLLOOOONNNNNGGGGG time.

Without vehicles, boarding time would be quicker too.

It seems logical that a shorter ride would bring more tourists.

[Tuneman]

We had gone to the meeting about the new ferry a couple of years ago, and mentioned that a hovercraft would benifet BI 12 months of the year.The point here is: it would be a Great Novelity to ride that no one else has on the Great Lakes (Great Tourist Attraction) be faster service, (roughly 1 hour or less one way) more economical to run with fewer crew members and could be designed to carry passengers all summer long and be reconfigured in the fall to carry freight or snowmobiles, quads or any type of recreational vehicle (when the ferry is done running) therefore you would have the best of both worlds. The Emerald Isle could carry cars and passengers all summer long at the slow pace that the islanders are used to. The hovercraft could carry nothing but passengers all summer long at much higher speed for the tourist who are always in a hurry to get where they want to go because time is a very big commodity to very busy people. After all most tourists that come to BI are still in the rush mode as they only have a weeks vacation and want to get here as quickly as possible and get off as quickly as possible. In the wintertime it can be configured to carry freight and passengers to bolster the winter activities and tourist trade on the island. We were told by the BI Transportaion authority that it wouldn't be feasible to have a hovercraft with faster service all year round because we don't have the infrastructure here to support it. My question is: What business person is going to invest large dollar amounts in building the infrastructure that was mentioned above when they can only re-coop their investment roughly 3 to 4 months out of the year??? And wouldn't it be nice to have businesses running 12 months out of the year because they can get building supplies all year round and also tourist year round. We would be able to get fresh fruit, soda's could be brought over fresh, beer would be fresh and so on..... There are more opportunities for other activities such as dog sled races, ice fishing jamborees, and so forth.
The price of a hovercraft which would go 12 months of the year is about the same price as a new ferry would be.
So why aren't they looking at buying a hovercraft and they are just looking at a ferry? But I suspect that I will be ignored again, or they'll say that it is too late that they already have a ferry ordered or designed.

Mike Hurkmans

[Trish Scott]

I agree that the current infrastructure would need to evolve to accommodate additional visitors. Perhaps this order of change is an anathema to lots of folks. Beaver Island is such a treasure as it is. To strike the perfect balance of numbers of tourists and development is our conundrum. With the number of properties on the market of late, it appears that some growth is necessary to preserve a way of life. Businesses for sale, especially, indicate an inability to operate at a sustainable profit. The higher cost of living on the Island is a deterrent for sure. The myriad issues are complex. To address these issues, absent of emotion, is a challenge that we all face. A new boat certainly factors into the equation. A high- speed boat seemingly would bring additional tourists and the requisite infrasructure would translate into more employment opportunities for those Islanders that would prefer not to leave their home.

[Liam Shan Ballymore]

A "day tripper" boat is coming. Wow! Link that as an idea with the Recreation plan or natural resources. Historical tours, eco-tours, horse carriages, rickshaws, Magic Bus rides; all leaving the boat dock. Where are they going to go? Memorial Day, July 4th, Music Festival, Home-coming, Labor day, and a few other holidays or special occasions canbe figured on. What about any day? Spend money? Where? Do they "gotta know somebody." Do they always have to call ahead? Ideas?

[lindawearn]

I would like a faster ferry ride for the entire season with the trips spread out during the day. One could have appointments on the mainland and come back the same day without the cost of flying one or both ways.

[Sue Avery]

I agree Linda. It would be so nice to be able to take an early boat off the island and then come back at the end of the day - and not just for a couple of weeks in the summer months on the weekends, when we are too busy to take advantage of it.

[Tuneman]

Yeah, that would be nice if we had a speedy ferry service. I would just go over to go shopping for the day and would like to be able to get back home in the early evening hours.

Sharon

[CB Paradise]

If the new boat as I understand it is paid for with taxpayer dollars then shouldn't the public determine what type of boat best meets their needs. Who should one contact to express what the people want? Increased people, increased tourism, increased dollars, increase concenience, increased economy for Beaver Island - sounds like the right thing.

CB

[JFPowers]

The main bodies involved in this process are the Beaver Island Boat Company http://www.bibco.com/

the Beaver Island Transportation Authority.

http://www.michigan.gov/mdot/0,1607,7-1 ... --,00.html

Above that I would imagine MDOT itself, state and federal legislators.

I believe the ferry funds itself would potentially come from the Federal Ferry Boat Discretionary Funds

http://www.fhwa.dot.gov/discretionary/fbdinfo.cfm

I have attempted to relay all of these exact comments made in this thread for many years as have others.