LEWES, Del. - The 11:15 a.m. sailing of the Cape May-Lewes Ferry Friday morning carried a group of special VIPs.
Aboard was the 50,000,000th passenger and his family.
The Kaltenbach family, of Millsboro, Del., was taking the ferry to visit family in New Jersey when Delaware River and Bay Authority (DRBA) Police pulled them out of line, and kind of had them sweating.
"I thought I'd have to call a bail bondsman, I suppose. Yeah, um, I know, I'm still not really believing it," said Zach Kaltenbach, the 50,000,000th passenger.
But instead of citations or handcuffs, Zach, his wife, and two daughters got gifts from ferry commissioners and directors to celebrate the milestone.
"It's pretty amazing," said passenger Tammy Adkins of Bishopville, Md., who was heading to Atlantic City, N.J. "It's amazing that there's that many people that have crossed over on the ferry."
Comments from other passengers waiting to embark made it clear it was no surprise so many have crossed on the ferry in its 59 years.
"It's very calm, the water is actually very calm, and so we actually enjoy going over," said passenger Natasha Simms-Henry, also heading to Atlantic City, N.J. "We usually sit out on the decks just to enjoy the air."
The ferry's operations director, Heath Gehrke, said that celebrating the Kaltenbachs is not about past numbers, but looking toward the ferry's future.
"We're actually in the process of designing the new ferry fleet for the future," Gehrke said. "We're hoping that we'll have the first new ferry in 2027, so not that far away."
On the lucky Friday the 13th, the Kaltenbachs boarded with two swag bags filled with ferry merchandise. Their sailing was free, and they also got a voucher for another free sailing in the future.
