WSF Weekly Report | Online community meetings; Wenatchee back; Fall sailing schedules;

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

A message from Steve

Passengers aboard Tokitae can now see and feel what it’s like to steer a ferry thanks to some creativity by our engine room employees. The special helm was built for our customers on our Mukilteo/Clinton route. It’s located at the No. 1 end of the boat, facing Clinton. The helm has a wheel, compass, buttons and an electronic display. It’s already a big hit with riders, especially kids who like testing it out and taking photos. This project is an example of how our empowered employees are taking service excellence into their own hands. It’s one of many ways I see them being innovative to make our customer experience better. And with this one, they added a little magic to the ferry as well.

The helm is an original piece from the ferry Elwha, built in 1967. In 1991, Elwha got a new steering stand during a major mid-life overhaul. The old helm was then moved to the passenger cabin for display. When Elwha retired in 2020, the historic piece was saved and is now part of Tokitae.

Oiler Sam Lombard spotted the helm a few years ago on our decommissioned vessel Elwha. It sparked an idea that quickly gained momentum with his fellow engine room colleagues. Over the past year, Tokitae Staff Chief Engineer Brady Ferguson and his crew (Assistant Engineer Doug Granstrom and Oilers Ben French, Thomas Ingalls and Jason Zwink) volunteered their time to work on the helm. They took the whole thing apart, then cleaned, sanded and painted it. Then they rebuilt the helm piece by piece. Some of them even used their own money and donated parts, like an engine control lever and brass binnacle. They proudly installed the helm on Sunday. Their teamwork preserved a piece of our history and created something that can inspire people to join the maritime industry.

Ask us your questions at online community meetings

We’re hosting two online community meetings on Thursday, Oct. 2, for the public to share feedback and ask us questions. Each meeting will begin with a brief presentation about this summer’s increased service, our new vessel build program and recent changes here at WSF. Most of the time will be dedicated to answering questions. Prior registration is required to attend via Zoom at 12:30 p.m. and 6 p.m. If you’d like to submit a question or comment ahead of time, feel free to email us. Can’t make it? Recordings will be posted on our community participation page on Friday, Oct. 3, the day after the meetings.

Both online community meetings will cover the same information.

Fall sailing schedules start Sunday, Sept. 21

On Sunday, Sept. 21, our fall sailing season will begin. The biggest change will be on our Anacortes/San Juan Islands route. For the first time in more than two decades, the same schedule used in the fall will remain in effect there through winter and spring. This change comes from community feedback and gives island residents more service during these nine months. It also gives our vessel crews a steadier work calendar so more of them can live close to where they report. The “off-peak” season timetables will be in place through Saturday, June 13, 2026. But the first batch of vehicle reservations will still be released in the same three-month intervals. This makes sure everyone has a fair chance to book their trips.

The new off-peak schedule increases winter service. There are more weekend interisland trips, as well as weekday afternoon and evening departures from Anacortes. There will now be 144 sailings a week during this slower season, up from 130 last winter and 116 in previous years.

Sunday’s sailing season change will also bring small adjustments to our Edmonds/Kingston, Mukilteo/Clinton and Fauntleroy/Vashon/Southworth routes. On our Port Townsend/Coupeville run, the late-night 10 and 10:40 p.m. round trips will end after Sunday, Oct. 12, and return next spring. That’s also the last day we will operate a second boat on that route until spring. Our fall sailing season runs through Saturday, Dec. 27.

Wenatchee back in service, commissioning still underway

Wenatchee returned to service yesterday on our Seattle/Bainbridge route. As we shared in our recent blog post, the ferry is still in the commissioning phase. This means our crews are still making small adjustments and fine-tuning things following major propulsion upgrades and a hybrid-electric conversion. Recent testing and sea trials went well, and we are confident it’s safe to carry passengers. Kaleetan will be on standby if needed, so we can maintain two-boat service on the route. Later this month, Wenatchee will go out of service again for about two weeks. During that time, technicians from Germany and Norway will be on board. They will finish tuning the drive-propulsion system. The goal is to complete final adjustments and move closer to finishing the commissioning process.

Wenatchee resumed passenger service with the 2:05 p.m. Bainbridge to Seattle sailing and ran into the evening. It returned to full-time service today as the route’s #2 boat.

Classroom on the Water

Our second annual Classroom on the Water program wraps up tomorrow. Over the past two weeks, Maritime High School students have been getting hands-on experience and a close look at the careers we offer. The program was developed with our partners at Seattle Maritime Academy and Northwest Maritime. Participants took part in a “mini apprenticeship” where they learned real skills they can use in maritime jobs and on our ferries. On Tuesday and Wednesday last week, 10 seniors spent time shadowing our engine room crews aboard Chimacum. On Friday, they toured our Eagle Harbor Maintenance Facility and Cathlamet, which is docked there. On Tuesday and Wednesday of this week, the students got to see the Chimacum wheelhouse and shadow our deck crews. Tomorrow they will meet with our recruiter who will walk them through the next steps to get jobs with us after high school. I know these students will leave with a deeper appreciation for the people and jobs that keep our ferries running. They’re also gaining skills that will serve them well into the future.

Chief Mate Drew Botti instructs Maritime High School students how to put on firefighting gear prior to a drill they participated in aboard Chimacum.

Thank you to all the employees who welcomed the students with kindness. Sharing your knowledge and stories makes a lasting difference for them and for the future of the maritime workforce. Programs like Classroom on the Water show us why investing in the next generation matters. It’s inspiring to see young people dreaming about careers on the water. Let’s keep helping them chart their course – one ferry ride at a time.

Eagle Harbor Maintenance Facility General Manager Tim Clancy leads Classroom on the Water participants on a tour of the shipyard’s various shops.

SR 104 weekday roadwork delays in Kingston

Plan for possible weekday travel delays on State Route 104 near our Kingston terminal this fall. Work begins next week on a Kitsap County ferry traffic lane project. Crews are installing a stoplight system at Lindvog Road Northeast that detects when there is space for vehicles in the ferry line to proceed forward. They will also add kiosks that dispense boarding passes to help manage ferry traffic. From 8 a.m. to 6 p.m. Tuesdays through Fridays, expect alternating one-way traffic in this area. There will also be occasional full traffic stops in both directions approaching the work zone. Crews are scheduled to wrap up by winter. Work is also underway on a seismic retrofit project at our Kingston terminal.

This rendering shows the new boarding pass dispenser being installed along SR 104. Daytime delays are expected Tuesdays through Fridays this fall as crews work to improve the route leading to the terminal.

SR 104 Hood Canal Bridge closed overnight next week

Heads up if your late-night ferry plans include travel between Kitsap and Jefferson counties next week. The State Route 104 Hood Canal Bridge will close to all traffic for five nights, starting Sunday, Sept. 21. The bridge will shut down each night from 8 p.m. to 5:30 a.m. through the morning of Friday, Sept. 26. Contractor crews will be repairing the steel tracks that help guide the wheels on the bridge’s westbound drawspan. Over time, strong winds, storms and tides have dented the tracks. These dents can throw off the bridge’s alignment and affect safe operations.

Sailing stats for week of Sept. 8-14

For the week of Sept. 8-14, we completed 98.4% of our 3,124 scheduled sailings. This figure is separate from on-time performance. Of the 53 cancellations, 24 were for vessel-related issues, 11 because of crewing, eight due to weather, seven 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 because of other miscellaneous reasons and one due to an emergency.

For comparison, during a similar week last year (Sept. 9-15, 2024), we completed 98.2% of our 2,829 scheduled sailings. Of the 54 cancellations that week, 32 were for crewing, 14 because of schedule resets, six due to other miscellaneous reasons and two for an emergency.

Customer kudos

“I would like to commend James (Groom, info agent) at the Info Booth at the (Colman) Dock. I left my wallet and ferry pass at home today and he stepped in personally to get me a ticket back home. I mentioned what a good guy he was to the agent at the bike commuter booth and she said, ‘Yeah, he is a good guy!’  Thank you for all you do to get us across the water, even when we are boneheads.”

-Seattle/Bainbridge route customer