||| FROM PATTY RUBSTELLO for WASHINGTON STATE FERRIES |||
Transportation officials tour Colman Dock, Tacoma
We hosted 78 members from the American Association of State Highway and Transportation Officials (AASHTO) on a tour of our Seattle terminal and aboard Tacoma yesterday. The group is in town for the 2022 AASHTO Committee on Construction Meeting. They began their tour with a look at construction progress on our Colman Dock project before boarding Tacoma for a ride to Bainbridge Island and back, with some of them getting a look at the engine room and pilothouse. It’s always great to share what we do with transportation professionals from across the country!
AASHTO members pose for a photo on the outdoor deck of Tacoma after a vessel tour.
Terminal Engineering Director Dave Sowers speaks about Colman Dock construction progress.
Want to work on our vessels? You’ll need a MMC
To make it easier for people to begin a career with us, we held an information session with the U.S. Coast Guard on how to get a Merchant Mariner Credential (MMC) last week at Seattle Maritime Academy. No maritime experience is necessary to get a MMC, but one is required to apply for any of our vessel crew positions. Since many may not know how to get one, we held this class to walk those interested through the process. The event was open to the public, but most of the 50 or so attendees were previous applicants of our ongoing deckhand recruitment that were unable to interview because they did not have a MMC. We plan to host more of these events soon in other areas across our region.
U.S. Coast Guard Seattle Regional Examiner Center Chief Ken Heaton administers the Merchant Mariner Oath to about 15 attendees.
Hundreds of guests join couple for wedding aboard Salish
You know you’re on a special ferry ride if there’s a wedding on board. A sailing aboard Salish Saturday was extra special for bride Victoria and groom Chuck Shafer. That’s because they were surrounded by 115 family members and friends when they each said “I do.”
Knowing that this large number of wedding guests is unusual for an onboard ceremony, the couple reached out to give us a heads up two months ago. And we’re glad they did! We worked to make sure the terminal staff and vessel crews were prepared to accommodate the group on their roundtrip ride between Coupeville and Port Townsend.
“It was perfect in every way and the ferry staff went above and beyond helping make it truly the most magical and happiest day,” the bride said. “We really don’t know how to thank you for your help in making our ferry wedding dreams come true.” Congratulations Victoria and Chuck!
Customer kudos
“When we paid our fee for the 9.30 sailing of the [Port] Townsend to Whidbey [ferry] on Aug. 1, a guy named Bill [Fletcher, ticket seller] was amazing. We have had good customer service with others but this guy was way better than anything we have seen. Funny, friendly, helpful, he just lit up our day. Sounds like he has been with you a long time and hope you will take the time to thank him on behalf of all of us who had a better day because of interacting with your organization and Bill.”
-Port Townsend/Coupeville customer
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Is anyone else puzzled/confused/disappointed/angry that the only communication we get from the head of WSF has nothing to do with the reality of ferry service we experience every day? Ferries so late the schedule is meaningless. Inter-island service that has become paralyzingly unpredictable due to “crew shortages” or, increasingly, mechanical issues. Workers stranded or unable to get to their jobs. Doctor’s appointments, hard to get, cancelled at the last minute. And the ferries’ boss tells us about the joy of showing off WSF to transportation officials from around the country (after decamping to Spain at the height of WSF’s problems for a week-long conference of international ferry bosses). I have been a resident of the county nearly 20 years, served four years on the ferry advisory committee when fares shot through the roof following the legislature’s repeal of the motor-vehicle excise tax and when WSF was run by a rancher of Pendleton, Oregon. Things were awful then, I thought. But they were nothing like today. Please, spare us any more happy talk.
It would be great to get some historical and current facts on ferry operations. What about weekly number of cancellations, number of late departures, number of late arrivals, number of mechanical breakdowns, number of crew shortages? Maybe start back pre-covid and update every week. A few graphs could show us if were are making progress of falling further behind. These would be understandable progress reports.
My guess is that no one is interested.