The Yakima was out of service from early morning, Jan. 26, when it experienced rudder problems and was stuck at the Orcas dock.
The Elwha sailed in place of the Yakima beginning with the 11:20 a.m. sailing from Anacortes. The morning sailings to Lopez, Shaw and San Juan Islands operated as scheduled. Current reservation holders were prioritized on a first-come, first-service basis, and reservation holders who were unable to travel due to service disruptions were not penalized.
The Yakima returned to service beginning with the 3:05 p.m. sailing from Anacortes to Lopez, Shaw and Orcas.
Due to the service disruptions, new reservations were unavailable until 2 p.m., with a 3-hour advanced notice required for new reservations,
Are these “tests” a good thing while we have less ridership to be impacted? WSF, the terminal staff, and we the riders are learning how to handle these busy days and disruptions.
Do address questions, problems to mshaworcas@yahoo.com, if you wish. I’m an Orcas rep to the Reservations Partnership committee, and may be able to help.
Reservations are now open for all sailings during the new schedule period March 22-June 13. I’m pasting their notice below, sent as a ferry alert (good idea to sign up for them along with your account.)
“Starting today, Jan. 22, reservations are available online for the spring sailing schedule on the Anacortes/Sidney, BC international route and Port Townsend/Coupeville. Online reservations are available 24/7 at the Save a Spot website.
WSF staff are currently available to assist our customers by phone from 4:00 a.m. to 8:30 p.m. daily by calling 206-464-6400 or 1-888-808-7977.
For online reservations please visit: https://www.wsdot.wa.gov/ferries/reservations
This alert was sent on 1/22/2015 at 7:32AM to subscribers of the Anacortes / San Juan Islands route.
Our Web Site is at https://www.wsdot.wa.gov/ferries“