Because our ferry system was at capacity, the island is implementing a new system that is web-based and in real time.  You’ll be able to enter your own guests.  I’ve been working with Joan to develop a video that explains how to use the system for homeowners.  A sneak preview is available here.

This has absolutely nothing to do with ferry fees– this new system is about how to get your guests onto the ferry.  The timing may be unfortunate, but fees are not the issue here.

To get to the access system, go to gateaccess.net.  You’ll see a page with three places to enter information to log-in.

First, select our community by selecting DWS (for Dewees)  from the pulldown menu.

Now you will enter your username.  Each family has a unique account, and the username assigned to you will be your Lastname (starting with a capital letter) underscore lot number.

Your lot number will have 3 digits.  Your password is set up for you, and Joan will send that to you.  You can change your password by clicking login information on the black menu bar.

After login, you will land on the overview page. 

The black menu bar across the top of the page will let you move back and forth between screens.  Click the black contact info button to see your family’s contact information and owner’s list page.

These are the people who live in your household.  This is the sample family; John, Annette, Jack and Jill.  

While you can change your contact information, the owners and their family must be entered by the administrative staff.  Check to be sure that your family is all there.

You can edit your information here.

Now, we are going to set up your guest list.

Click the guest list tab to set up your guests.  Once you have entered the name, you can simply select them the next time.  Click the add a new guest button to enter a new name. You can fill in any of the open boxes, called fields. Enter a last name, then a first name, Then use the calendar drop down to choose a date.  For today, just click the today button. Select an end date for the visit.  You can always edit this later.

Under class, you select whether your guest is family, contractor, or other guest, and whether you are on the island.  If they are providing a service, you can click the vendor button.  To save your changes, click update.  At any time, you can click the help button.

You can see your guest activity for accounting purposes and to verify that your guests have arrived on the ferry.   On the black menu bar, click the entry logs button.  You’ll see the names, dates, and times of your guests check-in on the ferry.  And since the system updates in real time via the web, you can see whether your guests have boarded the ferry.

You can change your password by clicking login information.  To logout, click logout.

This new system will take only a few minutes to set up, and make it much easier to see who is already registered to visit you.  We expect it to be a more efficient way of keeping track of our ferry riders.