OAK BLUFFS, Mass. (AP) – After 57 years, the MV Islander will ferry passengers for the last time between Martha’s Vineyard and Woods Hole today.

The modest workhorse is being replaced by a younger, faster vessel. A noon farewell ceremony is scheduled in Vineyard Haven for the water taxi that has been a model of reliability each summer for islanders.

The ship – built in 1950 and now on its third set of engines – will then make its final 45-minute journey across Vineyard Sound, before setting sail for the Thames Shipyard in New London, Conn.

“Once the Islander gets to New London, she’ll be considered surplus, and if there’s no buyers, it’s anyone’s guess after that,” Curt Duane, pilot of the ferry, told The Boston Sunday Globe.

Ralph Friedman, who has been aboard the Islander nearly every weekday during his 32 years commuting to a job in the Taunton area, said he’ll miss her.

“We all retire someday, we all just wear out,” he said. “Time and hard work do that.”

The Islander was in the headlines in September 1972, when a passenger tried to throw then Secretary of Defense Robert McNamara overboard. McNamara held on to a railing as other passengers fought off the would-be assassin, who was never arrested.

On Saturday, Vineyard residents turned out to tour their new boat, the $32 million Island Home, as part of a commissioning ceremony.

The Cape Cod Times reported that a large crowd took photos as if they themselves were tourists.

“Absolutely phenomenal,” was how Vineyard resident Peter Cabana described the new boat, which is bigger, faster and more modern than the retiring Islander.

It has seating for 1,025 compared with the Islander’s 400 seats, the Times reported.

The Steamship Authority’s two vessels carry both passengers and their cars to the mainland for $52 round trip offseason.

Carly Simon sang at the ceremony Saturday.

“I was supposed to christen the ship with a bottle of champagne,” Simon told the Times. “But unfortunately, I drank the champagne and left the bottle in the car.”

AP-ES-03-04-07 1712EST