by Robert Waldvogel

Created on: August 25, 2010

Gray and charcoal strata, blanketing the morning sky and the dense, dark green conifer cover of southeastern Connecticut, released deluges of rain and thunderous claps. Patches of ground-hugging condensation, like the smoke tendrils created by a multitude of campfires, spiraled upward.

New London, located on the Thames River and proudly displaying its heritage with several preserved, historic buildings, had been founded in 1646 by John Winthrop, Jr., developing into an important harbor. Boasting a fleet of 30 ships and some 900 employees by 1834, it had become the third-largest whaling port after New Bedford and Nantucket, and today is a small transportation hub: buses deposit passengers in front of the railroad station, its gently curving track, river-paralleling track carrying both Amtrak and Metro North trains, while the harbor serves as the Cross Sound Ferry Company's water gateway to Block Island and Long Island, the huge, steel ramps of its boats releasing cars and trucks by the dozens every hour. Although the 2:00 p.m. run to Orient Point had just inched away from the dock on that sweltering August day, vehicles booked for the 3:00 departure had already taken their positions in the numerous boarding lanes.

Privately owned and operated by brother-and-sister team Adam and Jessica Wronowski and headquartered in New London itself, the Cross Sound Ferry Company was established to circumvent the geographical challenges posed by Long Island and Connecticut. Separated by the East River and Long Island Sound, Long Island extends more than 110 miles from New York, its northern coast roughly paralleling the southern shore of Connecticut, yet the two landmasses are only connected by means of the Whitestone and Throgs Neck bridges. Depending upon a person's proximity, he could theoretically have to drive between 100 and 200 miles on the two easterly-westerly arteries-the Long Island Expressway and Interstate 95-to reach his destination.

Remedying these deficiencies, the Cross Sound Ferry Company inaugurated scheduled, passenger and vehicle service between Long Island's East End at Orient Point and New London, Connecticut, in 1975, forging the vitally needed link for the first time.

Numerous factors, including Long Island's population surge, the East End's increase in vineyard-related tourism, the establishment of Connecticut's Foxwoods and Mohegan Sun casino complexes, and the often traffic-choked roads, resulted in dramatic growth, with up to 23 daily departures

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