The Ferry (Sound Walk Project)

I ride the Staten Island Ferry almost every day. I live on Staten Island but I go to school, work, and other work related meetings and events in Manhattan. Because of this, I've developed a close relationship with the ferry. I know its sights, sounds, and smells as well as I know the ones in my own home. In a way, I do a "sound walk" on the ferry pretty frequently. Sometimes I read or listen to music but usually I just sit there. I think, daydream, fantasize, and do every other thing people find themselves doing in solitude. However, I figured that it would provide a different experience now that it was for a class project. This time, I would have to listen for something I could write about.

My sound walk occurred at 9:30 PM, going from Manhattan to Staten Island. They say that where you sit on the ferry says a lot about you. For this ride, I decided to sit on the outside deck on the upper level of the boat. There were one or two other people sitting in this area, but they were seated too far away from me to earn an accurate description in this blog post. Let's just pretend that one of them was Eddie Murphy and the other one was three little people stacked up in a big coat trying to pass as one person. But of course, this project is not about what I saw.

While the boat was still docked, I heard small waves crashing into the side of the boat. I could also hear the hum of the boat's engine. This hum grew louder as the boat started moving. About a minute into the ride, an announcement was played on the intercom. Its the same announcement I've been hearing twice a day for what seems like my entire life.

"May I have your attention please? Welcome aboard the Staten Island Ferry. Please listen closely to the following safety announcements. During docking, please blah blah blah blah nobody's actually listening to this and I'm probably scaring the shit out of the tourists."

I paraphrased a bit but you get the idea. Once the calm robot voice stopped talking, I was able to pay attention to the subtle noises around me. Sitting outside of the ferry provides a much more sensational experience then sitting on the inside. The sounds of the boat are louder on the outside, and you can hear the distinct sound of the ocean being pushed aside by the mammoth boat. It's a very relaxing mixture of sounds, and it can put you in a pleasant hypnotic state. That is of course, until the second announcement comes on.

"May I have your attention please? The ferry will be docking shortly. For your safety, please stay off all blah blah blah blah blah there's literally a coast guard boat behind us with a machine gun on it haha wtf."

So that's what you get when you ride the Staten Island Ferry at night; the calm symphony of the Atlantic Ocean, and the handsome voice of a faceless speaker box.