The Steamship Authority (SSA) announced Monday afternoon that there will be upcoming service changes due to events in Falmouth and Oak Bluffs starting Sunday.
Falmouth Road Race
The first of these events is the Falmouth Road Race, scheduled to be held on Sunday, Aug. 16 that “severely affects operations on the Vineyard route,” according to a press release from the ferry line.
No trips are canceled, but access to the Woods Hole Terminal via Woods Hole Road will be limited until 8 am to those with reservations. This route will also be “closed completely from 7 am until approximately 9 am, or until the last runner has left the village.”
Falmouth Police will screen vehicles at Woods Hole Road and Harbor Hill Road, and the ferry line recommends customers print out their reservation to show officers since “vehicles without a Steamship Authority vehicle reservation will be denied access to the ferry terminal.”
Customers departing Woods Hole to the Island on the 7 am, 7:40 am, 8:15 am, and 8:45 am ferries “must arrive at the terminal no later than 7 am.” The last bus from the Thomas B. Landers Road lot will leave at 6:25 am while the last bus from the Palmer Avenue bus will leave at 6:40 am.
Customers departing the Vineyard on the 6:35 am, 7 am, 7:40 am, and 8:15 am trips “will not be able to leave the Woods Hole Terminal property until the roads reopen.”
More information about the race and potential Oak Bluffs diversions can be found here.
Oak Bluffs fireworks
The following week on Friday, Aug. 21, the Oak Bluffs fireworks will be on display at Ocean Park, and the last two round trips onto and out of the town will be diverted to Vineyard Haven.
The impacted trips include the 6:35 pm departure from Woods Hole and the 7:35 pm departure from the Vineyard on the ferry Nantucket as well as the 7:30 pm departure from Woods Hole and the 8:30 pm departure from the Vineyard aboard the ferry Martha’s Vineyard.
