Superstorm Sandy wiped out most commuter travel into New York City 10 years ago. News 12 New Jersey’s Lauren Due spoke to a captain of tourist ferries who shifted gears to help fellow New Jersey residents get to work.

Ten years ago, the Holland and Lincoln tunnels were damaged. PATH trains and New Jersey Transit were down.

Captain Matt Gill decided to take his boats up the Hudson River past Poughkeepsie. When he came back, the boats weren't used to visit Ellis Island or the Statue of Liberty anymore.

Gill's friendly welcome to a tourist attraction became -- Welcome to NYC, have a great day at work.

“It was crazy, it was wild time, but we got through it and it's a memory now,” says Gill. “It's hard to believe it's 10 years ago. But here we are.”

Hours before Sandy hit, he led nine boats 95 miles up the Hudson River to keep them safe, and on the ships were two captains and four crew members each all riding out the storm on a boat for 42 hours

“The captain I was with lost his house,” says Gill. “He had found out his house washed away. He had a house in Breezy Point. And that was the duality of our concerns. Yeah, what's going on at home. But if we don't protect our livelihood, we won't have a job either.”

They came back to a flooded and destroyed harbor.

“The ocean came to us,” says Gill. “This entire dock that you are looking at here was gone, ruined. There were many boats in Jersey City in the Science Center parking lot. The Statue of Liberty and Ellis Island were in bad shape.”

They worked from a makeshift office; it also was on a boat. They later realized by doing this they helped others keep their jobs as well.

“We took people from Jersey City into Manhattan so they could carry on with their workday,” says Gill. “I think we are a little bit equipped for that now. The pandemic taught us how to work from home. That wasn't an option in 2012.”

Back then, Gill had two twin boys that he left at home that night. The boys celebrated Halloween a few days later as Super Mario brothers. Connor and Colin are now 11 and think their dad is a superhero.