The captains and crew of the Jamestown-Scotland (Virginia) Ferry rely on data from the Jamestown CBIBS buoy to help them safely operate the ferry 24 hours a day, 7 days a week.
The nine full-time and handful of part-time captains operate this vehicle and passenger ferry on behalf of the Commonwealth of Virginia. The ferry provides a vital link between Surry County and Jamestown. They transport roughly 1 million cars, trucks, and buses each year—mostly commuters, but also lots of tourists in the warmer months.
To keep a keen eye on wind speed and direction, as well as wave height and water temperature, captains and crews access CBIBS data from the Jamestown buoy mostly on mobile devices, and the ferry’s office personnel track data via the web site.
The team knows that information from the buoys supports safer boating—not just for their operations, but for other commercial and recreational users: “Benefits are real time-information, which can help users make good decisions, as well as nice-to-know information such as water temperature and salinity.”
Ferry captains and crews use CBIBS when they’re away from work as well. Several of them use the buoys when fishing or boating, mostly in the Hampton Roads area, and a few of their crew members are avid kayakers and kayak the waters around Jamestown often.
We’ll see you on the water between Jamestown and Scotland!