Final U.S. Coast Guard approval for The Moses Grandy — Harbor Towns Inc.’s second passenger vessel — will be delayed, forcing cancellation of the boat’s planned appearance at next weekend’s N.C. Potato Festival and Elizabeth City-to-Manteo cruises scheduled for May 17 and May 22.
Harbor Towns announced the delay in a press release on Monday, saying it had “just been informed” by the boat’s builder, Bryson City-based Smoky Mountain Jet Boats, that the Grandy wouldn’t receive a final certificate from the Coast Guard’s Marine Safety Center in Washington, DC, in time for the scheduled events.
The delay won’t affect Harbor Towns’ other fast ferry, The Penelope, which is based in Edenton, from beginning service as scheduled next week, Harbor Towns said. The Penelope is set to begin offering passenger service starting Friday, May 17, with a trip from Edenton to Columbia at 10:30 a.m. and return trip at 2:30 p.m. Each leg of the trip costs $25 for each passenger age 2 and older.
The Penelope also will be making its inaugural evening tour of Edenton by way of Edenton Bay and the Albemarle Sound at 5:30 p.m. on May 17. The cost for that is also $25 for each passenger 2 and older.
The delay for The Moses Grandy also won’t affect the schedule for the Albemarle Queen, Harbor Towns’ 120-passenger dinner-excursion boat, the nonprofit said. The 21-year-old, 99-foot paddle wheeler, which Harbor Towns recently purchased in Bradenton Beach, Florida, is “on schedule to be fully operational” for a private event in Edenton on May 26 and then for multiple cruises at the National Black Bear Festival in Plymouth on May 31 and June 1, Harbor Towns said.
According to Harbor Towns, The Moses Grandy can’t be put in service as a commercial carrier of passengers without a final certificate of approval from the Coast Guard. Harbor Towns officials had anticipated receiving that certificate late last week but were informed by Smoky Mountain Jet Boats this week that the Coast Guard official at the Marine Safety Center responsible for issuing the document would be out of town this week.
Harbor Towns officials apologized for the delay.
“We and our builder ... always follow USCG guidance and regulations and no one would have us do otherwise,” the group said in the release. “We have great respect and appreciation for the USCG and especially for the local USCG officials who are responsible for our geographic area.
“The local USCG officials are great, supportive, and understand the economic importance of having both these boats and our paddle wheel dinner boat operational and in service on the Albemarle Sound, but the officials in the USCG Marine Safety Center in Washington have the final say,” Harbor Towns said.
As things now stand, Harbor Towns expects to have final Coast Guard approval for The Moses Grandy in time for the vessel to make two passenger trips from Elizabeth City to Manteo and back on Friday, May 24, and two tours of the Pasquotank River on Saturday, May 25. The passenger cruises will leave Elizabeth City for Manteo at 9 a.m. and 3 p.m. and leave from Manteo for Elizabeth City at 11 a.m. and 5 p.m. The two river tours will be at 2 p.m. and 5 p.m.
Both The Penelope and The Moses Grandy are specially designed to meet the sometimes rough conditions found in the Albemarle Sound and the rivers that flow into it. The 45-foot-long, 16-foot-wide ferries are foil-assisted, catamaran-hulled craft that gain extra lift from a hydrofoil, raising the hull above submerged logs, choppy waves, and other obstacles.
The boats, which can seat about 25 passengers, can travel up to 38 mph under calm river conditions or 33 mph through waves up to 5½ feet. They both have a single restroom. The boats cost approximately $1 million each and were paid for with state appropriations secured by state Rep. Ed Goodwin, R-Chowan.
Harbor Towns said that as of Monday, it’s already had 160 ticket bookings for tours and cruises it scheduled during its first 2½ weeks of service that begin May 17. It also noted that its booking website, www.harbortownscruises.com, just became accessible.
The Albemarle Queen is also available for booking for wedding receptions, corporate outings, family reunions, church homecomings and other special occasions, Harbor Towns said. Those wishing to book the dinner-excursion may call 1-844.IBX.BOAT.
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