Page 27: of Maritime Reporter Magazine (January 2003)

Passenger Vessels

To the North, South

And A Little Island Sheltered

To those not familiar with the New York metropol- itan area — the eastern end of Long Island is demo- graphically multi-faceted. Traveling east on the

Long Island Expressway, (the Island' main thor- oughfare). the 118-mile long island, splits into two "forks," the North and the South. With the hamlets of Greenport and Orient Point situated on the east- ernmost points of the island on the north, the South

Fork boasts the tony Hampton villages and the his- torical village of Montauk Point — literally the end of the earth before reaching the whitecaps of the

Atlantic Ocean. While the two forks may differ in reputation and history — they have one similarity — a small island "sheltered" in between. Known as

Shelter Island, this piece of land, which is as his- torical as it is controversial — is serviced by two ferry companies — North Ferry and South Ferry.

By Regina P. Ciardiello, managing editor "Go east," was the mandate from my editor to find a story for the Passenger Vessel Annual, so I trav- eled as far east on Long Island as possible without getting my feet wet.

MR/EN stopped in to see Capt. Cliff Clark and

Bill Clark, the brothers who operate the 200-year old South Ferry. As the fifth-generation of the fam- ily, the brothers manage the four-vessel fleet from their headquarters on the Southern tip of the Island — linking passengers and vehicles to the village of

North Haven located in the South Fork of Long

Island — just outside a small town known as Sag

Harbor.

On the North Fork, the North Ferry terminal is located in the hamlet of Greenport, bringing vehi- cles and passengers to the northern end of the island, which can then link up to the south by driv- ing about 4.5 miles via Route 114. to the South

Ferry terminal.

While the company's traditions may be "old school," South Ferry's fleet exemplifies the new breed of ferry transportation. With myriad of refits and refurbs to its two older vessels — North Haven and South Ferry II — the company has added two new technologically advanced ferries — Southern

Cross and Sunrise — to its fleet. With the addition of Southern Cross in 1998 and Sunrise this past summer, the vessels, could very well be "updated" versions of the Southside and Sunrise — two 65-ft. (19.8-m), yellow pine wooden boats that were con- structed by Cliff and Bill's grandfather, C.Y. Clark, in 1925 and 1926, respectively, and the last wooden boats to built by the Clark family. According to his- torical reports obtained from South Ferry, these original vessels remained in service to Shelter

Island until 1941 when North Ferry built its first steel vessel. Islander.

History in the Making

While both the North and South Ferry companies have historical roots planted on Shelter Island for generations. (North Ferry for more than 100 years,

South Ferry since 1793), South Ferry designates itself as the oldest family-owned ferry company in 77773

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C.Y. Clark (pictured above), constructed the original

Southside (now Southern Cross), and Sunrise — the last wooden boats to be built by the Clark family — in 1925 and 1926, respectively.

South Ferry is now run by the fifth generation of its name- sake, with Bill Clark (at left), serving as vice president, and Capt. Cliff Clark as president.

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January, 2003 27