WSF Weekly Report | 4th Annual Career Day; Walla Walla crew makes rescue

||| FROM STEVE NEVEY for WASHINGTON STATE FERRIES |||

For several years now, it’s been a priority to grow and stabilize our workforce. One way we are doing that is by partnering with local schools to get young adults interested in maritime. Today, we hosted nearly 200 students at our Eagle Harbor Maintenance Facility for our fourth annual Career Day. They learned about the many jobs we offer on our ferries, at our terminals and in our trades shops. The high schoolers took part in hands-on activities, including using firefighting and life-saving equipment. These experiences gave them a closer look at what it’s like to work in maritime. Our goal is to showcase opportunities they can pursue with us after graduation and help them see a future in this field.

Second Mate Roni Kittelson explains the onboard radar to Enumclaw High School students in the Suquamish pilothouse.

Chief Engineer Sam Shelton talks to North Kitsap High School Students in the Suquamish engine room.

Shipwright Journey Erik Lawrence goes over the various trades shops at our Eagle Harbor Maintenance Facility to North Kitsap High School students.

Chief Sealth International High School students with Apprentice Gregory Scammell at our Eagle Harbor electrical shop.

Bainbridge High School students listen to Boilermaker Jennifer Patrick at our Eagle Harbor weld shop.

Events like this help local students learn about the exciting careers we offer that are close to home. We are committed to making these jobs more accessible to everyone, including those coming straight out of high school. We want to offer clear paths to long, rewarding careers as we build our future workforce. We look forward to helping more young adults chart their courses toward a future in the maritime industry.

Chief Mate Adam Krzeszowski talks about our rescue boat operations before conducting a hands-on firefighting demonstration with Enumclaw High School students.

A Chief Sealth International High School student throws a life ring into the water following instruction from terminal employees Sam Wetter and Amy Bond.

Chief Sealth International High School students participate in a ship evacuation drill using a Liferaft Systems Australia slide.

Walla Walla crew rescues boaters near Kingston terminal

On Monday, our employees working aboard Walla Walla helped boaters in trouble off Kingston. They spotted a small sailboat with a couple of people hanging onto the vessel’s handrail. The crew immediately launched a rescue boat to check on them and quickly saw they needed help. They safely towed the sailboat and its passengers to a nearby marina, and thankfully no one was hurt. Incidents like this are why our fleet staff takes part in regular safety drills and rigorous emergency training. Each one of these rescues makes me proud to be a part of a team not only dedicated to keeping our customers and employees safe, but everyone out on the Salish Sea.

Bosun Paul Boghokian and Able-Bodied Seafarer Benjamin Saint tow the sailors and their sailboat with our rescue boat off Kingston Monday. Photo courtesy Able-Bodied Seafarer Deborah Crews.

Spring sailing season begins Sunday, March 22

Sunday, March 22, is the start of our spring sailing season. Two routes will have schedule changes. At Fauntleroy/Vashon/Southworth, three-boat service returns on weekends through fall. Seattle/Bremerton switches back to its normal daily schedule, replacing the temporary one used in winter for Bremerton terminal construction work. However, the season will begin with a modified schedule for a couple of weeks while Salish fills in for Chimacum. This will also be the first spring in more than 20 years that our Anacortes/San Juan Islands timetables stay the same as fall and winter. That route now uses a new two-season schedule: one for the busy summer months and another that runs for nine months from fall through spring. Vehicle reservations are available for our Anacortes/San Juan Islands and Port Townsend/Coupeville routes through June 13, the end of our spring sailing season.

We will add an additional late evening round trip on our Port Townsend/Coupeville run beginning May 10. The sailings are scheduled for 10 p.m. and 10:40 p.m. Friday through Monday. Photo courtesy Greg Bell.

Help shape the future of our Southworth terminal

We’re planning to replace our aging Southworth terminal building, which was not built to withstand major earthquakes. We’ve developed four options. These include remodeling the current building or replacing it with a new one either in the same location or near the parking lot. Each option is being reviewed for how it would affect passengers, terminal operations and the environment. We invite the public to join our online open house through April 5 to learn more and share their ideas.

We are currently doing a pre-design study to determine the best location for a new terminal building at our Southworth dock.

National Transit Employee Appreciation Day

Yesterday was National Transit Employee Appreciation Day. It’s a day to thank people who keep our transit systems moving. To celebrate, Will Grant, owner of Sourdough Willy’s Pizzeria, delivered free pizzas to our Edmonds/Kingston route vessel crews and Kingston terminal staff. His team already drops off pizzas at our Kingston terminal at the end of each shift. It’s their way of saying thank you for helping keep the Kingston community connected. Over time, Sourdough Willy’s has become a bit of a local legend among our Edmonds/Kingston route commuters. Many riders say they often see the pizza boxes aboard our ferries. Thank you to Will and his team for the thoughtful support. And I thank our entire workforce for the important work they do every day to serve our customers.

Sourdough Willy’s Pizzeria Owner Will Grant with our Kingston terminal staff, as well as some of our terminal engineering employees and construction crews who were on site for our ongoing seismic retrofit project.

Will made the trek down under the waterline to hand deliver pizzas to our Spokane engine room crew.

Will with a few members of our Walla Walla deck crew.

Sailing stats for week of March 9-15

For the week of March 9-15, our systemwide on-time performance (sailings that left within 10 minutes of their scheduled departure) was 94.7%. By comparison, it was 92% during a similar week last year (March 10-16, 2025). To view our on-time performance by month going back to 2017, visit our on-time performance reports page.

Customer kudos

“Hello. We locked our keys in our car today and Justin (Hartwig, able-bodied seafarer) and (Deborah Crews, able-bodied seafarer) on the 8:45 a.m. ferry route from Bremerton to Seattle did a heroic effort of opening our car just in time for the Seattle to Bremerton vehicles to drive onto the ferry. We apologize for the inconvenience. …”

-Seattle/Bremerton roue customer