WSF Weekly Report | Veterans Day; vessel tours for middle schoolers; sailing stats | a kudo

||| FROM WASHINGTON STATE FERRIES |||

A message from Steve

This week, as Veterans Day approaches, I’m reminded of the profound influence my father and grandfather had on me. My father served in the Falklands War, and my grandfather was a World War II veteran. Their pride in their service deeply shaped my perspective growing up. Without my father’s time in the navy, I probably wouldn’t have chosen a maritime career. It’s a source of pride for me that we have so many veterans working here at Washington State Ferries, from our executive team to our boats and at our terminals, warehouse, Eagle Harbor Maintenance Facility and headquarters. They bring unique skills, experiences and perspectives shaped by their military service. Regardless of personal views on war, I believe we can all respect and honor the commitment these men and women bring to protecting the values of the nations they serve.

We will proudly fly the flag of one of the six U.S. military branches or the Merchant Marine flag on all operating vessels on Monday, along with the POW/MIA flag.

In a salute to all former military personnel, all operating ferries will sound their whistle at 11:11 a.m. on Veterans Day, Nov. 11. This recognizes the signing of the armistice that ended World War I at the 11th hour of the 11th day of the 11th month in 1918. We will also fly the flag of one of the six military branches or the Merchant Marine flag and the POW/MIA flag on all vessels in operation on Monday. We hope this tribute serves as a small but heartfelt salute to veterans within our organization and throughout our community. Thank you for your service, and to all who support our veterans, thank you for standing by them.

Maritime Washington National Heritage Area spotlights Chief Mate Michele Allen

Chief Mate Michele Allen is our latest employee to be featured in Maritime Washington National Heritage Area’s Women on the Waterfront series. Maritime Washington supports a network that strengthens the maritime community and connects people with the stories, experiences, resources and cultures of our state’s saltwater shores and waterways. Relief Captain Genevieve Fritschen, Terminal Supervisor Elena Zachry and Chief Engineer Beth Adams are also featured in the series. I applaud the strong contributions made by women across WSF.

Chief Mate Michele Allen in the Salish wheelhouse. Photo courtesy Maritime Washington.

Vessel tour for diverse middle schoolers

To meet current and future staffing goals, our fleet must be diverse and reflect the people of Washington. All too often, people of color, women and/or members of the LGBTQ+ community ride our boats and may wonder about working with us. When they don’t see themselves reflected in our crews, they may assume they wouldn’t be welcome. To change this, we’re actively recruiting mariners from all backgrounds. As part of this effort, we hosted a group of middle schoolers aboard Salish on Saturday. Senior Director of External Relations John Vezina led a tour of the vessel’s engine room and wheelhouse. The students are part of Sea Potential, a program that helps attract diverse students to maritime jobs. We’re confident outreach like this will ensure a more inclusive future workforce.

Our Diversity Advisory Group Sponsor John Vezina (far right) and Chief Mate Noah Luff (third from right) with members of the Sea Potential program aboard Salish. Thanks to Capt. Brett Bartanen and Chief Engineer Scott Dinsmore, who were key to the tour but are not pictured.

SR 104 Hood Canal Bridge closures tonight [Thursday]

Plan for extra travel time tonight if your ferry plans include the State Route 104 Hood Canal Bridge. The bridge will close to vehicles for up to 30 minutes at a time from 10 p.m. to 12:01 a.m. tomorrow. WSDOT maintenance crews will be doing winter storm training during the closures.

The SR 104 Hood Canal Bridge will close to vehicles at times from 10 p.m. Thursday, Nov. 7, to 12:01 a.m. Friday, Nov. 8.

Sailing stats for week of Oct. 28 to Nov. 3

For the week of Oct. 28 to Nov. 3, we completed 98.6% of our 2,787 scheduled sailings. Of the 39 cancellations, 26 were due to a vessel being out of service, six for tidal currents, four because of miscellaneous reasons and 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).

Customer kudos

“I want to thank the ferry worker on the (Coupeville to Port Townsend) run on (Wednesday)! I fell and he was so kind to help me! It (wasn’t) in the ferry but took the time to bring me an ice pack and dressed my wounds and there was a nurse on the boat that helped to!”  -Port Townsend/Coupeville route customer