With the purchase of the Oxford-Bellevue Ferry, Captain Jim Andrews ensures the remarkable history
of the nation’s oldest, privately operated ferry service powers on
Photography by Jill Jasuta
Fate has a way of connecting people in just the right moments—even it if takes a little extra time. Captains Tom and Judy Bixler have navigated the waters of the Tred Avon River for the past 23 years as owner-operators of Talbot, the historic Oxford-Bellevue Ferry—the oldest privately owned ferry service in the United States. As those who work on the water can attest, its demanding and uncompromising job requirements take their toll—and the Bixlers had spent the two previous years searching for the ideal candidate to continue the ferry’s remarkable 342-year legacy.
A local newspaper article published about the couple last May made its way to Galveston, TX to Captain Jim Andrews—mailed by his former Coast Guard shipmate Terry Carpenter Jr. and his wife, Wendy, who live on Kent Island. Jim, a maritime enthusiast who has worked on the water his entire life, wrote a letter to the Bixlers expressing his interest in their business. When he didn’t receive any correspondence in return, admittedly disappointed but undeterred, he called Tom and Judy to introduce himself.
“On the call, I really got an impression of how amazing Tom and Judy are and how incredible this opportunity would be,” Jim recalls. “We just kept talking through the summer and fall, and finally closed the deal late this March, right before the new season started.”
In a twist of fate and “a reminder to stay humble,” Jim says, the letter he sent was returned by the post office as undeliverable because he mailed it to the Oxford Ferry Landing, which does not receive mail delivery.
“I still have that letter, unopened, as a memento of this acquisition,” he says.
For nearly two centuries, Oxford-Bellevue Ferry was nothing more than a scow or barge that could carry horse-drawn carts, cattle, cargo and passengers across the Tred Avon River, according to the Oxford Museum. It was rowed by enslaved or free men, sailed when the wind was right or pushed across the river by small steam-or-gas-powered boats. The ferry began operating with steam power in 1886. Since 1836, the Oxford-Bellevue Ferry has operated seven days a week in season from May-September, and in April and October, when it runs on the weekends only.
Today, the Talbot, in operation since 1980, can hold nine standard vehicles and a collection of motorcycles, bicycles and passengers for the three-quarter-mile trip that takes approximately 10 minutes. Last year, the ferry carried nearly 8,500 vehicles and nearly 32,000 people. Jim’s Galveston-based company, JettyLight, a marine operations-management consultancy, will run the Oxford-Bellevue Ferry. He and his wife, Liz, plan to split their time between Oxford and Galveston.
“I really appreciate the warm welcome we’ve received in Talbot County and on the Eastern Shore in general,” Jim says. “This is an incredible community, and I feel blessed to be a part of it.”
Tickets to the Oxford-Bellevue Ferry can be purchased online at OxfordFerry.com. Jim advises that the best deals are on those made more than 24 hours in advance. CS
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