The Cable Guy

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Down deep in the Delta, the J-Mack creeps across a murky, olive-green sliver of the Sacramento River known as Steamboat Slough. At this point, you are 31 miles south of Sacramento, 11 miles away from Rio Vista between Ryer and Grand islands. Out here, where byways become dirt roads and farming fields spread out to form a country quilt, this small cable-drawn ferry never sleeps.

As the ferry approaches the shady tree-lined banks of Grand Island, its steel ramp, the "apron," lowers onto the concrete loading dock and passengers drive their cars onto the metal deck. Mike Deusenberry, 53, a rotund man with a white, bushy beard, waits in the control room to see if more passengers will come. The J-Mack ferry runs year-round, 24 hours every day. Deusenberry has been one of its main operators for the past 25 years, working one 12-hour graveyard shift at a time. It's 10 in the morning, and he's been here since midnight; quitting time is noon.

"Oh, got to go get that car that's waiting," he blurts out before making his way to the adjacent control room that faces toward Ryer Island. He pushes a button to lift the apron and shifts a lever on the console. With that, the ferry inches forward, the whoosh of the waves suddenly drowned by the gurgle of the diesel motor and the high whine of hydraulic pumps.

"It's so much better than working 'a real job' is the only way to put it," he says. "I can't even imagine working in an office. It's a mellow, relaxing life out here."

The Little Ferry That Could

Small ferries have existed in the Delta for more than 100 years. Most have been replaced by bridges or abandoned. Built in 1969 by Fulton Shipyard in Antioch, the J-Mack has held its own. Funded by the state and overseen by Caltrans -- it costs taxpayers $400,000 a year to keep it running -- it is one of only two Delta ferries that offer free rides to the public. (J-Mack's older  and bigger brother, the Real McCoy ferry, provides shuttle service a few miles downstream.) In an urban era of interstates and big bridges, the cable ferry -- still used in many places worldwide -- is a centuries-old sign of simpler times.

"The J-Mack brings unique nostalgia to the Delta," says Vicki Vann, 54, manager of Snug Harbor, a privately owned resort on Ryer Island. "The operators talk to you like they've known you for years."

On the J-Mack, there is space for about six cars -- or 24 motorcycles -- at one time. No RVs or big rigs allowed. The ferry, 92 feet long and 39 feet wide, takes about three minutes to get across the river, slinking along at 1.7 miles per hour. It is propelled by diesel motors and pumps that pull the 550-foot-long cable, which is connected to each shore.

But the J-Mack's red steel cable can be the cause of calamity. Wayward tree limbs and logs snag the wire and the vessel stalls. And boaters should be cautious of the ferry's flashing red lights. If you come zipping through, the metal cable may flip your boat, injuring or killing those on board.

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