_{The Wenatchee arriving in Seattle at twilight. Photo courtesy of Brandon Swan.}

CLASS: Jumbo Mark II

BUILT: 1998, Todd Pacific Shipyards, Seattle, WA

OFFICIAL NUMBER: 1061309 CALL SIGN: WCY3378

L/B/D: 460 x 90 x 17 GROSS/NET TONS: 3926/2066 PASSENGERS/AUTOS: 2500/202 cars

PROPULSION: 4 EMD 16-710-G7 diesels, 13200 HP SPEED: 18 knots 

NAME TRANSLATION: From the Yakima word wenatchi for “river flowing from canyon.” When Lewis and Clark traveled through the Columbia River valley in 1803-1805, they mentioned the word Wenatchee in their journal, hearing of the river and the tribe living along its banks. A city, lake, river, and national forest are also named after the tribe.

FINAL DISPOSITION: Undergoing conversion to hybrid-electric propulsion; expected return to service in the fall of 2024.

HISTORY

A year after the Tacoma went into service, her near sister Wenatchee followed suit. The two new boats pushed the Jumbos Walla Walla and Spokane up to Kingston, where the added capacity was greatly appreciated.

The main differences between the two sisters were in the execution of their passenger cabin. Slight variations in floor tile patterns upholstery color marked the subtle difference between the two. The

most notable difference was in the collection of Native American artwork on display on the ferry. Reflecting the artistry of the tribes East of the Cascades, the Wenatcheehas displays of fine examples of basketry and other arts, differing from the coastal tribes stylized woodworking and contemporary painting.  In addition, the cabin was fitted out with historic photos of the Wenatchee area and copies of historic labeling for Washington’s most famous crop: apples.

Unlike the Tacoma, the Wenatchee has had one notable mishap. During a particularly summer low tide, the ferry struck an uncharted rock in Eagle Harbor, damaging her hull and propeller.  It was determined that the low tide coupled with the phenomenon of “squatting” in which the ferry rides lower down in the water at full speed was the cause of the mishap. Under normal tides the vessel never would have encountered the rock.  As a result of the accident, the Mark II’s now slow down during the record minus tides that occur in June and July each year.

Aside from this one notable incident, the ferry has had a relatively uneventful life over her first decade.  Hollywood, however, had other plans. For an episode of Grey’s Anatomy the Wenatchee was chosen for a highly melodramatic and very unlikely situation involving an accident between a ferry and a freighter.  Aside from the ridiculous premise of putting the burning end of the ferry into the dock, the show had things on fire which couldn’t possibly burn and damage completely inconsistent with the type of accident they were describing. The images shown were inconsistent with the storyline, portions of Colman Dock appeared and disappeared as needs dictated, impractical modifications were made to the ferry, and the scenario itself was all but unthinkable.

Crew members were notably absent from the episode, the state still gun-shy about the depiction of WSF staff after the completely unfair treatment they received at the hands of the television show Emergency! decades earlier.

While it made for good television, locals and ferry fans howled with laughter at the inaccurate modifications and the reappearing/disappearing fence around Colman Dock so needed to knock a main character into the water that otherwise wouldn’t have been able to happen.  That is, however, why they call it “artistic license.”

At the start of her tenth year in service the Wenatchee went in for a much need paint job and various other minor upgrades. She is now undergoing rebuilding to be the first Mark II to be converted to electric-hybrid propulsion.