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“The phrase ‘may you live in interesting times’ is the lowest in a trilogy of Chinese curses that continue ‘may you come to the attention of those in authority’ and finish with ‘may the gods give you everything you ask for.’ I have no idea about its authenticity.”–Terry Pratchett. I’m with the late Sir Terry on the authenticity of said curses, but given the past few years, there is a certain ringing veracity to each Read more

Well, this kinda sucks… Not too surprising, the Sidney run is not going to sail this Spring and likely not this summer, either. Lack of available crew is to blame, and quite understandably, WSF is directing resources to getting domestic service up to normal levels. Perhaps this fall service will be restored for a late celebration of the historic runs 100th anniversary, which was started with that unlikely looking “ferry” above. The idea of taking Read more

Well, here we are in 2022, which is looking suspiciously like 2021. Just when we seemed to be getting a handle on the latest covid variant, along comes omicron. It’s that maybe we’re on the downside of that now, but…you never know when the next mutation will come along. On the plus side of things, after spending much time sidelined after the engine room fire, the Wenatchee returned to service on the Seattle-Bainbridge route. Now, Read more

Well, here it is, the end of another very trying year. Just when it seemed like we might be turning the corner on the pandemic, hello omicron. In ferry-related news, we got this from the Washington State Transportation Commission on their selection of the new name: “It represents a geographic area in the state that doesn’t have a ferry named for it right now,” said Commissioner Debbie Young, of San Juan County. The state’s M/V Read more

Well, it is that time of year. The idiotic time change happens, we are plunged into sunsets at 4 PM, and rain, rain, rain galore. Truthfully, I don’t mind the rain, and after such a dry summer, we sure need it. We’ve started off the month very wet and windy however, with (as of this writing on the 6th) no end in sight. I guess all this is to say, “Hello, La Nina.” Meanwhile, an Read more

The oldest ferry in the fleet, currently working the San Juans Interisland route, is down with generator problems. The problem is serious enough to knock the ferry out of service for a week, and has put the islands on “Weekend Winter Schedule.” *update–kudos to the engineers, who got the old girl back up and running a week early. She went back into service 10/5/2021. Kalakala II was the only “serious” name submitted to the state Read more

Hard to believe 2021 is half way done and dusted. While covid is still a huge concern, and as of this writing is on the rise again, the little bit of “normal” we’ve been able to reclaim has been a needed boost to the mental health of thousands. At WSF, the struggles continue. The agency is short on boats and short on staff, the latter so much so that a second boat at Port Townsend Read more

About “chickens coming home to roost.” Yeah, we’ve reached that point, as WSF is rightly pointing out. While transportation systems are very similar, boats are NOT buses, and our ferries spend nearly twenty four hours a day running, every day of every year, making multiple landings each day, an action which is essentially as one captain put it many years back, a “controlled crash.” It takes 19 ferries to maintain the summer schedule in normal Read more