Harbor Towns Cruises hosted three ribbon-cutting events for its long-awaited fast-ferry cruises this week, and will hold two more next week, including one in Edenton.
The first ribbon-cutting was held on Plymouth’s docks Tuesday. That was followed by a ribbon-cutting at Waterfront Park in Elizabeth City Thursday and one at Hertford’s municipal docks on Friday.
The last two ribbon-cuttings will be held at the town of Columbia’s municipal docks on Wednesday at noon and at the Edenton Marina on Friday at 4:30 p.m.
According to a Harbor Towns Cruises press release, each ribbon-cutting ceremony is open to the public and will feature local leaders and Harbor Town representatives discussing “their vision for the future of tourism” as well as the impact Harbor Town Cruises is expected to have on the region.
The town of Hertford held a lottery to decide who would get 10 of the 25 seats available on its first ferry boat ride prior to Friday’s ribbon-cutting. Details about who was selected weren’t available at press time Tuesday for this story.
Both of the vessels Harbor Towns plans to use for its cruises — The Penelope and The Moses Grandy — were built by Smoky Mountain Jet Boats in Bryson City and 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 of the Albemarle class series 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 can travel up to 38 mph under calm river conditions or 33 mph through waves up to 5½ feet. The boats cost approximately $1 million each and were paid for with state appropriations to Harbor Towns.
In a related development, Harbor Towns Cruises said on its Facebook page Monday that its third vessel, a 99-foot paddle-wheel dinner-excursion boat, has reached Savannah, Georgia and is still on pace to arrive in Edenton by the end of April.
Harbor Towns purchased the paddle-wheeler Anna Maria Princess from its former owner after deciding it was cost-prohibitive to continue making repairs to the vessel it planned use as a dinner-excursion boat, the Eagle I.
In an interview late last year, Harbor Towns spokesman Peter Thomson said the Eagle I is seaworthy but needed work to meet strict Coast Guard standards before it could be put in service carrying passengers.
“A professional assessment by the USCG (the U.S. Coast Guard) and our expert determined that the cost to meet new USCG standards was too high,” Thomson said.
Harbor Towns said the Anna Maria Princess, which has already been renamed The Albemarle Queen, was built in 2003 and features “signature paddle wheels” and advanced maneuvering capabilities, including stern and bow thrusters. Most recently it’s plied the waters of the Tennessee River and been based at the Bradenton Beach Marina in Florida.
According to Thomson, The Albemarle Queen features an open top deck, is capable of carrying 120 people, and can seat 80 for dinner. Harbor Towns said the vessel will be the “first paddle wheeler to grace the waters of the Albemarle in over a century” and is “ideal for scenic tours, private events and unforgettable dining experiences.”
Captained by a local crew, The Albemarle Queen left Bradenton Beach, Florida, the last week of March and is making its way north along the Intracoastal Waterway at a top speed of 6 mph, Thomson said.
Once the paddle wheeler completes its 1,000-mile voyage to Edenton, Harbor Towns plans to repaint it, clean it up and “fix some minor amenities” before putting it into service in May, Thomson said.
The boat, which will be based in Edenton, is captained by Dustin Daniels of Wanchese and its crew include Shannon Lassiter and Da’Shawn White. Both will stay on when the vessel begins its dinner and event cruises starting May 17.
Former Daily Advance Staff Writer Paul Nielsen and Chowan Herald Staff Writer Vernon Fueston contributed reporting to this report.
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