This is a photo essay of how Martha’s Vineyard, a resort island off the coast of Cape Cod, Massachusetts is served by boat. Martha’s Vineyard is slightly over 6 miles away from the “Mainland” and there is neither a bridge nor a tunnel for access to the island. In fact, there are only two ways to get to the island, by water or by air. Everything that has to be transported to the island, whether it is a loaf of bread or a gallon of gasoline must come by ship.
This project is designed to show how this island is serviced by the fleet of vessels under the Steam Ship Authority. The Steam Ship Authority was constituted by the State of Massachusetts in the early 1960s to provide passenger and freight service to the islands of Martha’s Vineyard and Nantucket. Though the Steamship Authority has the legal right to tax the people it serves, it has not had to do that since 1963. The Authority charges its patrons enough to make it self-sufficient. There are three passenger ferries and 3 freight ferries that serve the island. All of them have the designation Motor Vessel which is abbreviated MV. It should be pointed out that the passenger ferries carry freight and the freight ferries carry passengers. There is a distinction here, but one where there is virtually no difference. The passenger ferries are MV Island Home, MV Martha’s Vineyard and MV Nantucket. The freight ferries are MV Katama, MV Governor and MV Sankaty.
