A reminder that the Chappy Ferry will rely on just one ferry boat beginning Sunday, Oct. 19. Since it is the shorter of the two ferryboats, figure on spending extra time in the line. Check the ferry webcams to avoid the busy times of day. You will notice that here are periods of the day when the ferries carry one car at a time. Evening is the quietest time at the ferry as well as at Stop & Shop.

If you are driving a small car and you are in line on the Chappy side behind a long vehicle, watch carefully to see if there is enough room for you onboard as the third vehicle and the ferry crew waves you around. We wave cars around on the Chappy side only, never on the Edgartown side. Daggett street is too narrow and you may end up getting your car scraped up just to save a few minutes.

During the time that the longer ferry is out of service for maintenance and Coast Guard inspection, use of the vehicle cut line will be curtailed only to the extent that concrete mixers will have to use the regular line.

If you remove your trailer hitch, rear end bike carrier or front bumper baskets, that will make your vehicle shorter, which will make more space on the ferry and make it much more likely that your neighbor behind you will get on as the third vehicle. I have heard people say that they don’t care if another car fits on the ferry behind them. All that matters to them is that they themselves are now on the ferry. Keep in mind that the folks ahead of you who made room for a third car on board have moved the entire line ahead and that you might be one or two boat trips ahead because of their goodwill.

Sunday, Oct. 19 is also the day that the ferry service switches to the winter schedule. On the winter schedule, weather permitting, the ferry runs constantly from 6:30 a.m. to 10:00 p.m. and then from 11:00 to 11:15 p.m.

The annual Chappy Community Center cleanup will be on Saturday, Oct. 25 from 10 a.m. to 1 p.m.

Potluck suppers at the center continue throughout the winter on the third Wednesday of the month. The only exception is the Chappy Ferry captain and crew appreciation dinner which is scheduled for Wednesday, Dec. 10.

This coming Saturday, Oct. 18 there is a household hazardous materials collection from 9 a.m. to noon at the transfer station near the airport.