By the Dart INTERVIEWS KERRY SOUTHERN WHO WORKED ON THE HIGHER FERRY FOR THIRTY YEARS AND HAS NOW WRITTEN A BOOK ABOUT IT.
KERRY ON THE FERRY
For 30 years Kerry Southern made sure commuters, school children and tourists safely crossed the River Dart. Throughout his time managing the Higher Ferry he experienced queue jumpers, blue light emergencies and the ferry wires becoming disconnected from their fastenings, causing the ferry to drift a couple of hundred yards down river! He’s now written a book called From Old to New. Steph Woolvin went to meet him…
years, powered at first by horses then steam, and guided at first by chains, then wire ropes. The ferry we see today was introduced in 2009 and it is this one that Kerry South- ern has decided to write a book about. Known around town as ‘Kerry from the Ferry’, he worked for the company for three decades starting as the ferry’s holiday relief in 1987. Earlier on in life he completed a 12-year stint in the Royal Navy and at the interview for the ferry job he was asked if he had any qualifications, Kerry replied “City and
T
here’s been a Higher Ferry, or Floating Bridge, trav- elling back and forth on the Dart since the 1800s. However, it’s changed quite a bit over the past 200
Guilds in Nautical Craft Studies and Gunnery Instruction.” His potential employers smiled and said that would be quite useful on the car ferry! He said the job had its drawbacks: “There were fewer working rules and regulations back then. We did seven early shifts, then had about 24 hours off and started seven 10-hour lates! My lovely wife Nicky used to bring me down a hot dinner each night, which got me through! But it soon changed and hours were reduced to comply with EU standards, we made less money but were probably healthier for it!” He worked his way through the ranks and led the team for 20 years before he retired in 2017. It was shortly after his retirement that Kerry put pen to
paper. He realised there was lots of information about the older ferries, but no one had written anything about the one we see today. “I was there from the very beginning
The old ferry.
Kerry raising a glass aboard the ferry.
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