The man's side of it!

I saw this article in the Philly Burbs, an on-line news source.
I think this is a great idea, I would love to be able to travel to our Nation's Capital by Hovercraft. I enjoy visiting all the monuments and the Capital, the White House, but I really enjoy the Smithsonian Institute. The reason I don't visit more often is the long drive. Cassie is quite familiar with the public transportation systems there so the only problem is getting there. $77.00 seems like a fair price to pay for a 4 hour boat ride.

Mount Holly man floats hovercraft ferry idea (phillyBurbs.com)

Mount Holly man floats hovercraft ferry idea
By CHRISTOPHER BISHOP
Burlington County Times

MOUNT HOLLY
A township businessman says he wants to offer round trips by water between the Philadelphia area and the nation's capital.
John Anderson, a partner in an export business, is proposing a ferry service that uses hovercraft that can travel up to 60 mph.
Anderson, of Mount Holly, said it would cost between $15 million and $20 million to start the venture, which would be called Camden Ferry & Packet. Private investors would fund the company, he said.
"This is 2004, and we're not using the inland waters to move people," Anderson said during a telephone interview yesterday. "It's a whole new world."
Anderson said the proposal requires federal approvals.
The company would operate six to eight hovercraft, each costing $1.2 million, Anderson said.
A hovercraft is a boat that moves about four feet above water on a cushion of air created by jet engines.
Anderson discussed his plans last Thursday at a meeting of the Mariners' Advisory Committee for the Bay and River Delaware in Philadelphia.

The committee is composed of river pilots and mariners, and it focuses on navigation safety.

Anderson yesterday said he wanted to launch the venture next year.

The ferry would be based at terminals in Camden and Philadelphia through lease arrangements with either public or private authorities, Anderson said.

The hovercraft would travel down the Delaware River and across the Ches-apeake and Delaware Canal into Chesapeake Bay, then up the Potomac River to Washington, D.C., or Alexandria, Va.

A round trip to Washington or Alexandria would take four hours and cost $75 per person, he said.

The hovercraft would carry 77 passengers and 10,000 pounds of freight at the same time, Anderson said.

Anderson’s company, CWE Inc., was founded in 1987. It is an export and trade management firm specializing in agricultural products.

Anderson said he has the private capital to make the proposal work and would not rely on government sources.

"Sounds very interesting," said Michael Linton, president of the Pilots Association Bay & River Delaware. "There’s all kinds of these proposals out there. We’re for anything that makes Philadelphia more attractive."

He said some commuters might find it an appealing alternative.

"If you’re a commuter and you had to get to Washington, it sure beats flying," Linton said. "Hovercraft are very smooth, very comfortable."

Anderson said he would have to find an American watercraft manufacturer. Under the federal Jones Act, boats used on American waterways must be made in the United States, he said.