Tampa Bay’s Cross Bay Ferry a winner for HMS Ferries
The Ferry’s second season this year presents permanent possibilities.The Cross Bay Ferry from Tampa’s Florida Aquarium dock to the dock at the North Yacht Basin in St. Petersburg, Florida is off to a rollicking start, with 3,000 more passengers in it’s debut month of November 2018 than its strongest month during the 2016/2017 test period, and with continued support from Tampa Bay area leadership.“We are very encouraged by the numbers we are seeing so far,” St. Petersburg Mayor Rick Kriseman said.
‘Green’ Hybrid-powered Research Vessel Christened
The Maritime Aquarium at Norwalk christened a larger, “greener” new research vessel on Friday, September 26 in preparation for launching a new era in examining, monitoring and teaching about Long Island Sound. The $2.7 million environmentally friendly research vessel, Spirit of the Sound, was christened and officially named during a ceremony at the Aquarium dock. Breaking a bottle on her hull was godmother of the boat, Astrid Heidenreich of Greenwich. The boat will reportedly be the first research vessel in the U.S. running on hybrid-electric propulsion.
CG Auxiliary Rescue Research Vessel Passengers
A U.S. Coast Guard Auxiliary operations vessel rescued nine children and one adult from the 40’ R/V Oceanic, which had run hard aground in Norwalk Harbor this afternoon. The “Otter” a Coast Guard Auxiliary vessel responded to a distress call from the research vessel after it became aground near Light 11 in Norwalk Harbor. The children ages 8 – 11 donned lifejackets and boarded the Coast Guard Auxiliary vessel, while the research vessel crew remained on board. According to Coxswain Richard Aarons, the rescue went as well as could be expected in light of the unexpected grounding. Coxswain Aarons reported, “My crew performed flawlessly, I cannot say enough for their professionalism.
