Hy-Line Cruises (colloquially referred to as Hy-Line, and legally Hyannis Harbor Tours Inc.) is a family owned and operated

Massachusetts Massachusetts (Massachusett: ''Muhsachuweesut Massachusett_writing_systems.html" ;"title="nowiki/> məhswatʃəwiːsət.html" ;"title="Massachusett writing systems">məhswatʃəwiːsət">Massachusett writing systems">məhswatʃəwiːsət'' En ...

ferry A ferry is a ship, watercraft or amphibious vehicle used to carry passengers, and sometimes vehicles and cargo, across a body of water. A passenger ferry with many stops, such as in Venice, Italy, is sometimes called a water bus or water ta ...

and

cruise A cruise is any travel on a cruise ship. Cruise or Cruises may also refer to: Tourism * Booze cruise * Music cruise * River cruise Aeronautics and aircraft * Cruise (aeronautics), a distinct stage of an aircraft's flight * Aviasouz Cruise, a R ...

company. The company currently operates the second largest passenger ferry service between mainland

Cape Cod Cape Cod is a peninsula extending into the Atlantic Ocean from the southeastern corner of mainland Massachusetts, in the northeastern United States. Its historic, maritime character and ample beaches attract heavy tourism during the summer mont ...

and the islands of

Martha's Vineyard Martha's Vineyard, often simply called the Vineyard, is an island in the Northeastern United States, located south of Cape Cod in Dukes County, Massachusetts, known for being a popular, affluent summer colony. Martha's Vineyard includes the ...

and

Nantucket Nantucket () is an island about south from Cape Cod. Together with the small islands of Tuckernuck and Muskeget, it constitutes the Town and County of Nantucket, a combined county/town government that is part of the U.S. state of Massachuse ...

(after the

Steamship Authority The Woods Hole, Martha's Vineyard and Nantucket Steamship Authority, doing business as The Steamship Authority (''SSA''), is the statutory regulatory body for all ferry operations between mainland Massachusetts and the islands of Martha's Viney ...

). The company also operates sightseeing cruises and fishing charters. The company's main office is located at 22 Channel Point Road in Hyannis.

History

Hy-Line Cruises began operations in 1962 as Hyannis Harbor Tours run by Richard Scudder and his brother Robert. Originally, the company focused on sightseeing harbor tours, which it still does today. The company added deep-sea fishing charters in 1966 and started running seasonal passenger-ferry services in 1970, first to Martha's Vineyard and then to Nantucket in 1972 when Hyannis Harbor Tours bought out The Nantucket Boat Company, which at that time was doing business as Hi-line. Hyannis Harbor Tours took this trade name and changed it to Hy-Line. In 1995, Hy-Line Cruises started the first high-speed catamaran service to Nantucket; its original vessel was shortly replaced by a larger one in 1997, which in turn was replaced in 2003 by the ''Grey Lady''. Hy-Line introduced high-speed service to

in 2005, using its 1997-built ferry '' Lady Martha''. Another high-speed catamaran, ''Grey Lady IV'', was delivered in 2016 to replace Hy-Line's monohull vessel, the ''Great Point'' on the Nantucket route.

Current operations

Island ferry service

Hy-Line Cruises operates high-speed

catamaran A Formula 16 beachable catamaran Powered catamaran passenger ferry at Salem, Massachusetts, United States A catamaran () (informally, a "cat") is a multi-hulled watercraft featuring two parallel hulls of equal size. It is a geometry-sta ...

ferry service between Hyannis and Nantucket (year-round) and Hyannis and

Oak Bluffs Oak Bluffs is a town located on the island of Martha's Vineyard in Dukes County, Massachusetts, United States. The population was 5,341 at the 2020 United States Census. It is one of the island's principal points of arrival for summer tourists ...

, Martha's Vineyard (seasonally). The journey time is approximately one hour. The company also operates inter-island trips between Martha's Vineyard and Nantucket. All of Hy-Line Cruises ferry services are passenger only (although bicycles are carried for a small fee) due to the legal monopoly held on vehicle ferry service that is held by the

. Any new Hy-Line services must be approved by the authority, which serves as a regulatory body for service to and from the Islands.

Sightseeing cruises

Hy-Line Cruises also operates seasonal sightseeing cruises in and around Hyannis Harbor, and the Cape Cod Canal, (the latter sailing from the Wareham village of

Onset Onset may refer to: *Onset (audio), the beginning of a musical note or sound *Onset, Massachusetts Onset is a census-designated place (CDP) in the town of Wareham, Massachusetts, United States. The population was 1,573 at the 2010 census. Geog ...

Fishing

Out of Hyannis, Hy-Line operates seasonal half-day

deep sea The deep sea is broadly defined as the ocean depth where light begins to fade, at an approximate depth of 200 metres (656 feet) or the point of transition from continental shelves to continental slopes. Conditions within the deep sea are a combin ...

fishing trips in Nantucket Sound. The fishing boats, ''Sea Queen II'' and ''Sea Swan,'' go out daily in the Spring and Summer to fish in Nantucket Sound. They offer bottom fishing trips for scup and

black sea bass The black sea bass (''Centropristis striata'') is a species of marine ray-finned fish, a sea bass from the subfamily Serraninae which is part of the family Serranidae, which also includes the groupers and anthias. It is found in the weste ...

, along with Captain's Choice trips for whatever the captain thinks will be the best fishing.

Fleet

Former fleet

Hy-Line also acquired two vessels upon purchasing the Nantucket Boat Company in 1972.

References

External links

* {{coord, 41, 38, 53.2, N, 70, 16, 45.2, W, region:US, display=title 1962 establishments in Massachusetts Barnstable, Massachusetts Companies based in Barnstable County, Massachusetts Ferry companies of Massachusetts Martha's Vineyard Transport companies established in 1962 Transportation in Barnstable County, Massachusetts Transportation in Dukes County, Massachusetts Transportation in Nantucket, Massachusetts