WSF Weekly Report | 99.46% of Thanksgiving sailings completed

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

A message from Steve

I’m proud to share that we completed 99.46% of our scheduled sailings over Thanksgiving week. This reliability percentage – which is separate from on-time performance – is our best since 2019. Our crewing situation has improved, but service remains below pre-pandemic levels due to limited vessels. Still, we provided our largest boat possible on each route over the holiday weekend. Ridership was nearly 289,000 from Wednesday through Sunday – up from roughly 272,000 in 2023.

From Nov. 27 to Dec. 1, we carried more than 67,000 more riders than the Wednesday through Sunday of the previous week, Nov. 20-24.

These milestones reflect the dedication of our team – marine operations watch supervisors, dispatchers, customer service agents, terminal staff, vessel crews, engineers and Eagle Harbor Maintenance employees. While many spent the long weekend with family, they made sure our customers could travel safely to their holiday destinations. I know we’ll still have some rough weeks, but last week’s numbers show our work to improve reliability is paying off. I look forward to our continued voyage toward smoother seas.

Vashon terminal employees Kimm Shride and Dave Herman dressed in festive Thanksgiving costumes last week, spreading joy and bringing smiles to our customers.

Maritime Washington National Heritage Area spotlights Terminal Supervisor Jennie Buswell

Port Townsend Terminal Supervisor Jennie Buswell is our latest employee to be featured by Maritime Washington National Heritage Area. Their Women on the Waterfront series highlights stories about the people and history of Washington’s saltwater shores and waterways. Relief Captain Genevieve Fritschen, Terminal Supervisor Elena Zachry, Chief Engineer Beth Adams and Chief Mate Michele Allen are also featured. Women play an important role in our workforce and their contributions deserve to be celebrated.

Terminal Supervisor Jennie Buswell at our Port Townsend terminal. Photo courtesy Maritime Washington.

Reusable beer and wine cups debut in galleys on Seattle/Bainbridge route 

Our onboard food service vendor is now using reusable beer and wine cups on our Seattle/Bainbridge route. When done with their drink, customers should place the used cup in yellow bins located in the galley. They are then washed and reused. This program cuts down on single-use plastics and waste, supporting our sustainability goals. Sodexo Live! partnered with r.World for this trial, which runs through Jan. 20. If successful, this will be expanded to other routes.

Reusable cups placed in yellow bins in the galley are taken off the vessel. r.World then collects them to wash and reuse.

Sailing stats for weeks of Nov. 18-24, Nov. 25 to Dec. 1

For the week of Nov. 18-24, we completed 98.35% of our 2,787 scheduled sailings. Of the 46 cancellations, 18 were due to crewing, 22 because of weather, three for schedule resets (when a boat is so far behind schedule, we cancel a sailing to get it back on schedule, providing predictability for customers), two due to tidal currents and one due to other miscellaneous reasons.

And as mentioned above, we completed 99.46% of our 2,789 scheduled sailings during the week of Nov. 25 to Dec. 1. Of the 20 cancellations, 10 were because of tidal currents, eight for schedule resets (when a boat is so far behind schedule, we cancel a sailing to get it back on schedule, providing predictability for customers) and two due to crewing.

Customer kudos

“I do a pet sitting gig on Thanksgiving for some friends who live in Kingston. Last year was my first year, and I drove. I was on a very full ferry the night before Thanksgiving, and everyone was so efficient and kind. Same for my ride back on Thanksgiving night.

“This year I was a passenger, and I actually had to run to get on. I was running alongside the cars as they were loaded, and I wasn’t sure I was going to make it. But someone had seen me running and as I turned the last corner, they said, ‘There you are!’

“I made it and was so glad, it would have been a cold wait and then I chatted with a few really kind workers on the boat as well, and one woman I thanked said her day had been chaotic but that people were being so nice, ‘like you.’ This was the 9:10 pm ferry from Kingston to Edmonds. Big thanks to everyone, I’m so grateful for your work and kindness.”

-Edmonds/Kingston route customer