Fishers Island ferry: a New York island's own boats, sailing from Connecticut

In 1947 the New York State Legislature passed the enabling act that created the Fishers Island Ferry District, and with it an unusual arrangement that still holds. Fishers Island belongs to the Town of Southold on Long Island, but it lies in Fishers Island Sound off the Connecticut shore, and its public boats run not to New York but to New London. The district that operates them is a public body with its own elected board of commissioners; one of the five seats comes up for a vote every August, decided by the island's voters.

The service is small and steady. Two district boats, the Race Point of 1985 and the older Munnatawket, shuttle cars, trucks, freight and walk-on passengers across Fishers Island Sound in about 45 minutes. In this fall's table there are five sailings a day most days, four on Wednesdays, and a late Friday boat; from October 15 the winter schedule trims that to about four a day. For the roughly 250 people who live on the island all year, it is the school run, the pharmacy delivery and the way to the doctor.

This fall comes with a caveat. The district is replacing the Corner ramp in Silver Eel Cove, the backup it uses when strong winds blow from the north or west, and it is out of service from September 8 to December 1, 2026. On windy days that means passenger-only trips with no cars and little freight.

Five boats a day in the fall, four in winter, and the holiday exceptions

Fishers Island Ferry District 2026 Fall Schedule (September 10–October 14) and 2026–2027 Winter Schedule (October 15, 2026–March 24, 2027), checked on September 25, 2026 against the district's booking calendar to January 9, 2027   Fishers Island Ferry District — Schedules · 2026-09-25

Round trips start in Connecticut, and the car pays without its driver

Tickets here are built around the New London end. Round trips can only start in New London, and the prices below are round-trip fares bought there. The vehicle fare pays for the car or truck alone, and the driver pays the passenger fare on top, like everyone else aboard. Island residents with a district ID pay much lower fares; the figures here are the full public rates.

Reserving a car space is strongly advised and costs $5 for non-residents. Tickets stay valid for a year from purchase, and if you are running late the district may move you to the next available sailing for an administrative fee. Groups, charters, commercial vehicles, trucks and any trailer have to be booked through the commercial desk on (860) 442-0165, extension 302.

Fares on the district's rate page and in its live ticketing on September 25, 2026; a 10% fuel surcharge is added to all passenger and vehicle tickets   Fishers Island Ferry District — Auto Ferry Rates · 2026-09-25

A waterfront terminal by the tracks, a cove with two ramps

The New London side is an urban terminal next to the train station; the island side is a small working harbor, and this fall one of its two ramps is out of use.

Out of the Thames and across Fishers Island Sound

The boats leave the New London waterfront at the mouth of the Thames River and run southeast across Fishers Island Sound to Silver Eel Cove at the island's western end, a trip of about 45 minutes.

Planning around wind, ramps and the car line

• Corner ramp works until December 1

  While it is rebuilt, the main ramp cannot load cars in winds of 30 knots from the west or north. On those trips passengers are loaded from the side and cars and most freight stay behind.

• Consider a car on each side

  The district's own advice for a windy forecast this fall: leave one car in New London or in the island ferry lot so you are not stranded if a trip goes passenger-only.

• 25 minutes, with a driver

  Vehicles must be in line, driver present, 25 minutes before departure or the reservation is forfeited.

• Over 18 feet or 6 ft 6 in is oversized

  Non-commercial vehicles above either limit pay the higher vehicle fare, and racks count toward the measurements.

• No fuel aboard

  Coast Guard rules keep gasoline, kerosene, propane and other flammables off the boat.

• Freight is held 24 hours

  Apart from prescriptions and perishables, plan on shipped freight taking a day to be released on the island, and collect it within five days to avoid storage fees.

Two district boats, one of them nearly fifty years old

The Munnatawket carries the island's own name for itself: islanders chose the Native American name for Fishers Island when the district commissioned the boat from Blount Marine in Warren, Rhode Island, and a crowd met her in Silver Eel Cove on April 22, 1978. The larger Race Point followed in June 1985, built by Eastern Marine in Panama City, Florida, for $1.25 million, and recently had all five of her engines replaced with help from an $800,000 grant from the Volkswagen Mitigation Trust.

Both boats are now old enough that the district is planning a successor. After a 2023 fleet study it hired the naval architects Glosten to design a replacement for the Munnatawket, a boat about the length of the Race Point and somewhat wider, and it has told the Town of Southold that a new ferry could cost $18 million to $21 million. That is a large bill for a district serving a few hundred year-round residents, which is why funding, fares and property taxes all featured in the discussion. For other island communities whose ferry is run for residents first, see the Beaver Island boats from Charlevoix, the Maine mailboat to Isle au Haut and, in Casco Bay, the public transit boats to Great Diamond Island.

The Race Point and the Munnatawket

What people ask before the New London car line