illahee propulsion problem

[old_wsf_fan]

Hey can anybody fill me in on what happened to the Illahee earlier today? It seems she had propulsion problems and delayed the other ferries in the San Juans. The WSF website had that info on their bulletin page but I think I came across it too late to find out.

[SS San Mateo]

Here's a rundown of what happened throughout the day (copied from the service bulletins... I subscribe to all the routes). The times are when the bulletin was sent out.

4:54 AM:

"Due to a propulsion control problem on the MV Illahee the 5:25am inter-island ferry is being delayed. Updates will occur as conditions change."

6:22 AM:

"Due to a propulsion control problem on the MV Illahee the 5:25am inter-island ferry from Friday Harbor to Orcas Island has been cancelled. The following sailings are cancelled, 6:15am Orcas to Shaw, 6:30am Shaw to Lopez, 6:55am Lopez to Shaw, 7:20am Shaw to Orcas and the 7:40am Orcas to Friday Harbor. The MV Yakima from Friday Harbor at 6:00am will make an unscheduled stop at Orcas Island to offload vehicle traffic en route to Lopez. Updates will occur as conditions change. We apologize for any inconvenience."

7:33 AM:

"Due to a propulsion control problem on the MV Illahee the inter-island ferry is temporarily out of service. The following sailings are cancelled, 7:20am Shaw to Orcas and the 7:40am Orcas to Friday Harbor. The MV Yakima sailing from Friday Harbor at 6:00am will make an unscheduled stop at Orcas Island to offload vehicle traffic. The Yakima is running about 40 minutes late.
The MV Hyak will depart from Orcas at 7:15am with vehicle traffic bound for Shaw and then make an unscheduled stop at Lopez with inter-island traffic en route to Anacortes. Updates will occur as conditions change. We apologize for any inconvenience."

8:24 AM:

"The Illahee has been repaired and will return to service beginning with the 8:45am sailing from Friday Harbor to Orcas Island."

11:45 AM:

"Due to the earlier propulsion problem on the MV Illahee the ferries are running about 30 minutes behind schedule."

12:24 PM:

"The 11:20am sailing left Sidney 55 minutes late due to the earlier problem in the San Juans. This will affect the westbound sailing at 2:00pm, 2:55pm from Orcas, 3:50 from Friday Harbor and the evening 6:00pm sailing."

Isn't it just amazing how one broken down ferry could screw up the schedule this badly?

-- LB

[Mike C]

Wholy crap!!!!!!! A propulsion system can screw up a whole region of ferries. interesting. Thanks "San Mateo."