MV Iyanough christened and commissioned at a festive celebration
BY MARY LANCASTER INDEPENDENT WRITER
Sleek and gleaming white, Nantucket's new $9.7 million fast ferry, the MV Iyanough, glided gracefully into her slip at the Steamship Authority terminal on Saturday, met by a huge crowd, bag pipers and cannons firing as the vessel arrived for her official christening and commissioning.

The new fast ferry Iyanough, top right, rounds Brant Point Saturday toward her official commissioning. H. Flint Ranney, top, Nantucket's Steamship Authority representative, holds a new SSA commuter book with tickets that never expire. Above, Peter Duclos, head of Gladding-Hearn, the company that built the Iyanough, shows an aluminum silhouette of the vessel given to the SSA as its general manager Wayne Lamson looks on..

Someone in the throng announced that she was five minutes late, but maybe his watch was off. Once the passengers disembarked, most of whom were not from here and rode free back and forth for the festive event (and complimentary food), the ceremony took on a very funny tone and the subsequent open house had a party atmosphere that everyone seemed to enjoy.

"This is a day that we've been looking forward to for a long, long time," said SSA General Manager Wayne Lamson. "We are looking forward to providing many years of service with this fabulous new vessel."

PHOTOS BY MICHAEL GALVIN/The Independent

As officials, official wannabes and residents from toddlers to elders looked on, the Rev. Georgia Snell gave a hilarious and at times slightly irreverent invocation, including describing alleged historic practices using virgins in various ways when boats were christened.

"If it is a motor boat, you will have bad luck with the new name until you run aground three times," she said in one of the more staid moments.

With cadets from the Massachusetts Maritime Academy as honor guard, Town Administrator Libby Gibson and Susan O'Brien, wife of Barnstable SSA representative Bob O'Brien, christened the boat with a bottle of champagne.

David Oliviera, current SSA board chairman and New Bedford representative to the five-member governors, brought waves of laughter poking fun at the ill-fated former fast ferry Flying Cloud when he said he was aware that Nantucketers had developed a nostalgia for the boat and even coined some nostalgic names for her.

Jokingly blaming Nantucket's representative, H. Flint Ranney, for not wanting to be rid of the Flying Cloud that broke down thousands of times in her six years until he was convinced islanders deserved better, Oliviera said in seriousness that the Iyanough was designed for safety yet includes every creature comfort available for vessels in 2007.

Reading the orders to commission the ferry, Oliviera honored the boat's captain Robert Buckley, who set the watch to bring the boat to life with a sounding of its horn. Ranney, objecting to the horn's sound, called it "Mr. Nasty," and, in good spirit, said he had wanted a whistle like the one he rescued from the demised steamship Nobska.

Ranney further instructed the crowd that the name of the Iyanough is not "I don't know," "I don't want to go," or "I won't go."

Others who spoke were Rep. Eric Turkington, who said, "This board has done more to address the Steamship Authority's transportation needs for the next 50 years than any board in its history."

The Iyanough was built by Gladding-Hearn, a family shipbuilding company based in Somerset, Mass. that built the Hy-Line vessels. Peter Duclos, who heads the 50-year-old shipyard, spoke of how this was the biggest project his company has ever undertaken, and how grateful they were to receive the bid award at a point when they were down to just two commissioned vessels. As a token of appreciation, Duclos gave the SSA a framed profile of the Iyanough made of the same aluminum used to construct the ferry.

The ceremony was punctuated by impressive and dramatic solos by tenor Sgt. Daniel M. Clark, a former Marine and retired state police officer who sang "America the Beautiful," "Eternal Father, Strong to Save," "Star Spangled Banner," and "God Bless America."

Once the ceremony ended the crowd was invited to tour the vessel and enjoy an array of refreshments. It was a joyful atmosphere inside the Iyanough, with the three piece Lee Childs and the Bourbon Street Paraders playing lively sets that had several nodding to the beat or doing a little dance.

"It's fantastic," said John McLaughlin, enjoying a seafood salad roll at the boat's deli station. "It's probably the best ship they've bought so far."

"It was smooth sailing," Ranney said of the ride over to the commissioning. "The engines started right up and we got up to 34 knots. There were a lot of people aboard from Hyannis for a free lunch - including Arthur Desrocher (former Nantucket selectman and past president of Massachusetts Maritime Academy)," who quipped. "I thought the ceremony went very well. It was fun and lighthearted but serious."

The Iyanough officially goes into service today starting with its first one-hour sail from Hyannis at 8 a.m. Schedules are available at the local terminal.

The vessel was designed by the Sydney, Australia firm of Incat-Crowther and is a 154-foot long, all aluminum catamaran that can carry 393 passengers with 350 indoor seats including six wheelchair spaces. She is powered by four 12 V, 4000 engines, and has a luggage area that can hold 30 luggage carts, or 20 carts and three bicycle carts each containing 10 bikes.

There is free wireless Internet access aboard, several flat screen televisions are positioned among the comfortable purple, patterned upholstered seats, and there is a snack bar. There is one outside deck on the stern. Ranney said if two engines fail the boat will

still cruise at about 30 knots to complete its trip. I