Anacortes-San Juan Islands

[Blue Bus Fan]

Mar 16, 2021 21:31:03 GMT -8 PeninsulaExplorer said:

Mar 16, 2021 21:17:35 GMT -8 Blue Bus Fan said:

With the MV Hyak and MV Elwha retired and all other 144 car vessels assigned to other routes. Will there be one 124 Issaquah class vessels, or will another Olympic Class or  MV Kaleetan will switch routes to Anacortes to San Juan Islands? The three vessels that I can think are;
1. Samish 
2. Chelan 
3. Tillikum (Inter Island ferry)

If we are talking about this summer (with no Sidney B.C. service occurring), the reservation page shows the Yakima, Kaleetan, Suquamish, and Tillikum serving the islands from May 9th through September 25th (as far as the reservation page goes). This is of course tentative, as there is always bound to have an unforeseen issue within the fleet during the summers. The impact will be even greater without the Hyak and Elwha to lend a hand. 

But when things get back new normal?

[Kahloke]

Mar 16, 2021 21:47:29 GMT -8 Blue Bus Fan said:

Mar 16, 2021 21:31:03 GMT -8 PeninsulaExplorer said:

If we are talking about this summer (with no Sidney B.C. service occurring), the reservation page shows the Yakima, Kaleetan, Suquamish, and Tillikum serving the islands from May 9th through September 25th (as far as the reservation page goes). This is of course tentative, as there is always bound to have an unforeseen issue within the fleet during the summers. The impact will be even greater without the Hyak and Elwha to lend a hand. 

But when things get back new normal?

I have found predicting future vessel assignments to be a futile exercise.  Even when the vessel layup schedule was available to the public, it was constantly evolving.  Just because it was printed, didn't necessarily make it so.  There are too many moving targets to forecast which ferries will be where several months to a year out, particularly on routes where there is a lot of interoperability among the vessels.  Obviously, the closer in you get, the more accurate you can be - kind of like the weather.

As for "new normal", I'm not sure anyone knows what that will look like yet.

[Luke]

A couple of questions that I've had about vessel fueling in the archipelago (and in general), for anyone who may be familiar with the matter:

I've heard the Interisland ferry refuels in Anacortes except during the Winter operating season. There's an opportunity for it to do so on Friday nights during the summer: The Summer 2019 schedule shows it deadheads to Anacortes after it's 20:20 arrival into Friday Harbor, presumably arriving just shy of 22:00, and then proceeds to leave Anacortes at 23:00. That allows about 70 minutes give or take for the boat to be refueled and then loaded for the late-night milk run.

The Fall 2019 schedule, however, tells a different story. Boat A4 has a scheduled run from Friday Harbor (as opposed to a deadhead) on Friday nights, departing the harbor at 20:50 and arriving Anacortes at 22:10. The boat then needs to be unloaded, refueled, and reloaded, all in the space of just 20 minutes. (The Friday Night milk run leaves at 22:30 on the fall schedule, as opposed to 23:00 in the summer.) 

So, the questions that have been nagging me regarding that:

1. Does the Interisland Boat refuel in Anacortes during the fall and spring, or via a fuel truck carried to Friday Harbor as I've heard is the procedure during the Winter?
2. How long does it take to refuel a vessel? If a boat were to be refueled in the day between sailings as opposed to overnight, how much extra dwell time would be needed?

[Barnacle]

May 13, 2021 18:19:15 GMT -8 Luke said:

A couple of questions that I've had about vessel fueling in the archipelago (and in general), for anyone who may be familiar with the matter:

I've heard the Interisland ferry refuels in Anacortes except during the Winter operating season. There's an opportunity for it to do so on Friday nights during the summer: The Summer 2019 schedule shows it deadheads to Anacortes after it's 20:20 arrival into Friday Harbor, presumably arriving just shy of 22:00, and then proceeds to leave Anacortes at 23:00. That allows about 70 minutes give or take for the boat to be refueled and then loaded for the late-night milk run.

The Fall 2019 schedule, however, tells a different story. Boat A4 has a scheduled run from Friday Harbor (as opposed to a deadhead) on Friday nights, departing the harbor at 20:50 and arriving Anacortes at 22:10. The boat then needs to be unloaded, refueled, and reloaded, all in the space of just 20 minutes. (The Friday Night milk run leaves at 22:30 on the fall schedule, as opposed to 23:00 in the summer.) 

So, the questions that have been nagging me regarding that:

1. Does the Interisland Boat refuel in Anacortes during the fall and spring, or via a fuel truck carried to Friday Harbor as I've heard is the procedure during the Winter?
2. How long does it take to refuel a vessel? If a boat were to be refueled in the day between sailings as opposed to overnight, how much extra dwell time would be needed?

Homeland Security wants to know why you want to know.

[R30A]

Sure, the Friday trip doesn't seem to work, but I think the Sunday trip does. 1555 Arrival at Anacortes, refuel, Deadhead to Friday Harbor for the 1745 Interisland.

[Kahloke]

May 23, 2021 21:46:11 GMT -8 R30A said:

Sure, the Friday trip doesn't seem to work, but I think the Sunday trip does. 1555 Arrival at Anacortes, refuel, Deadhead to Friday Harbor for the 1745 Interisland.

No time to refuel on Sundays.  Tillikum leaves Friday Harbor at 14:25, arriving at Anacortes at 15:55, making that a 90 minute trip.  If it unloads at Anacortes quickly and is able to depart at 16:00 for the deadhead return trip, that puts it arriving in FH around 17:30, possibly a little quicker without a vehicle load on board - not sure.  Mind you, that's if everything is on time.  Tillikum's next inter-island departure is scheduled to leave FH at 17:30, so yes, 17:45 on Sundays because of the Anacortes trip. 

[R30A]

How long does fueling take? (and how much of that is setup vs actual fueling?) Perhaps the fueling occurs in two parts while loading/unloading on Friday and Sunday?

[Olympic Ferries]

May 24, 2021 11:35:06 GMT -8 Kahloke said:

May 23, 2021 21:46:11 GMT -8 R30A said:

Sure, the Friday trip doesn't seem to work, but I think the Sunday trip does. 1555 Arrival at Anacortes, refuel, Deadhead to Friday Harbor for the 1745 Interisland.

No time to refuel on Sundays.  Tillikum leaves Friday Harbor at 14:25, arriving at Anacortes at 15:55, making that a 90 minute trip.  If it unloads at Anacortes quickly and is able to depart at 16:00 for the deadhead return trip, that puts it arriving in FH around 17:30, possibly a little quicker without a vehicle load on board - not sure.  Mind you, that's if everything is on time.  Tillikum's next inter-island departure is scheduled to leave FH at 17:30, so yes, 17:45 on Sundays because of the Anacortes trip. 

The Tillikum never fuels on Sundays in Anacortes, knowing this having been aboard their deadhead twice they unload (usually at Slip 2) and leave nearly immediately after that. Their fueling almost always occurs on Fridays in the evening between when they dock just shy of 9:45pm and when loading typically begins, just after 10:45pm.

[Blue Bus Fan]

The fourth vessel on route will be doing a direct sailing from Friday Harbour to Anacortes on Friday this fall schedule instead of deadheading to Anacortes for the 10:30 departs from Anacortes to San Juan Islands. I wonder if this permanent change to the schedule.

www.wsdot.com/Ferries/Schedule/scheduledetailbyroute.aspx?route=ana-sj

[Kahloke]

Aug 10, 2021 13:10:28 GMT -8 Blue Bus Fan said:

The fourth vessel on route will be doing a direct sailing from Friday Harbour to Anacortes on Friday this fall schedule instead of deadheading to Anacortes for the 10:30 departs from Anacortes to San Juan Islands. I wonder if this permanent change to the schedule.

www.wsdot.com/Ferries/Schedule/scheduledetailbyroute.aspx?route=ana-sj

As I recall, that's normal for the fall and spring schedules.

[Kahloke]

Got some pics of a snowy Anacortes on Friday, the last day of 2021.

MV Yakima in the tie-up slip with a glorious Mt. Baker watching over beyond


cars boarding the late 12:20pm MV Chelan sailing to Lopez and Friday Harbor with an unscheduled stop at Orcas


Anacortes terminal and Mt. Baker


snowy foot path to the upper parking lot - made for a nice walk


Yakima and Samish at Anacortes

[Olympic Ferries]

Aug 10, 2021 14:03:24 GMT -8 Kahloke said:

Aug 10, 2021 13:10:28 GMT -8 Blue Bus Fan said:

The fourth vessel on route will be doing a direct sailing from Friday Harbour to Anacortes on Friday this fall schedule instead of deadheading to Anacortes for the 10:30 departs from Anacortes to San Juan Islands. I wonder if this permanent change to the schedule.

www.wsdot.com/Ferries/Schedule/scheduledetailbyroute.aspx?route=ana-sj

As I recall, that's normal for the fall and spring schedules.

Correct. 2050 to 2205 is the usual block time for that. Never seen any more than a handful of cars board anyways, but yes its every fall and spring.

[Olympic Ferries]

Just a bit of curiosity here - but is there any reason in the domestic-only Ana/SJI schedule, A1 from Anacortes to FH at 1155a stop at Lopez, when there is a Lopez only sailing just 40 minutes later - and it obviously does not load interisland cars for Friday Harbor cause Tillikum takes them at 105p. I imagine its just a time killer so the A1 ship doesn't have to sit around in Anacortes longer than needed; but it just seems unnecessary.

[Kahloke]

Mar 25, 2023 15:00:56 GMT -8 Olympic Ferries said:

Just a bit of curiosity here - but is there any reason in the domestic-only Ana/SJI schedule, A1 from Anacortes to FH at 1155a stop at Lopez, when there is a Lopez only sailing just 40 minutes later - and it obviously does not load interisland cars for Friday Harbor cause Tillikum takes them at 105p. I imagine its just a time killer so the A1 ship doesn't have to sit around in Anacortes longer than needed; but it just seems unnecessary.

I would really like to see WSF re-write the spring and fall schedules, especially since Sidney is not going to be part of it for +/-7 years.  That's a long time, long enough that we need a new permanent schedule.  The current one is based on having the #1 vessel going to Sidney, and so the sailings that are in place of that are still scheduled around that Sidney time block.  I would love to see the #3 boat do a mid morning Lopez only sailing which would allow the #2 boat to skip Lopez on the Anacortes-Shaw-Orcas runs, just like on the summer schedule.  Likely there are other tweaks that would also improve the schedule, but that's a specific one that I think would help with traffic.  Just my 2 cents, for whatever that is worth. 

[Olympic Ferries]

Was great to see 4 ships in Anacortes today again for the first time in a while! From W-E, Chelan, Suquamish, Kaleetan and Kitsap. Don't believe we've seen Kitsap at Anacortes since 2020, but she's due to remain thru most of the summer.

[Kahloke]

Jun 6, 2023 16:51:08 GMT -8 Olympic Ferries said:

Was great to see 4 ships in Anacortes today again for the first time in a while! From W-E, Chelan, Suquamish, Kaleetan and Kitsap. Don't believe we've seen Kitsap at Anacortes since 2020, but she's due to remain thru most of the summer.

Yeah, I was just looking at the reservations page for various dates throughout the summer, and it looks like Chelan will be the #4 inter-island ferry through the summer.  At least, that's what is scheduled right now.

Early July looks like this:
#1 Samish
#2 Yakima
#3 Kitsap
#4 Chelan

Later in July, Kaleetan replaces Yakima in the #2 position.  The other vessels remain

August looks like this:
#1 Kaleetan
#2 Yakima
#3 Samish
#4 Chelan

As per usual, I don't take too much stock in these assignments staying as forecasted.  I expect there will be changes because that's what usually happens.  Chelan, for example, is overkill for inter-island, but may be the only vessel available if Tillikum is out.  Seems like Sealth would be a better option, but then again, Sealth might be out for the summer, too, for all I know.

[lavalamp]

Sealth will be out 4-5 weeks this summer for maintenance and annual inspection at Eagle Harbor.

I would be surprised if WSF actually ends up operating two Supers in the islands. Yakima remains OOS, and even if it gets back crewing two Supers in the islands is hard because they require an extra mate and a wiper compared to an Olympic or Issaquah.

[SS San Mateo]

The Tillikum is scheduled for drydocking from 07/19 - 10/27 (originally scheduled from 06/19 - 09/25).

[paulvanb]

Lopez Island terminal

[Olympic Ferries]

Side profile compilation from "brightest to darkest" arriving Friday Harbor during a gorgeous summer afternoon/evening. Chelan lost her attractive side profile with her upper wings and lost windows at the end of the deck. Yakima's is most pleasing to look at.

M/V Yakima - Side Profile by Jay Cassady, on Flickr

M/V Chelan - Side Profile by Jay Cassady, on Flickr

M/V Samish - Side Profile by Jay Cassady, on Flickr

M/V Tillikum - Side Profile by Jay Cassady, on Flickr

[Barnacle]

Jun 5, 2024 17:49:20 GMT -8 Olympic Ferries said:

Side profile compilation from "brightest to darkest" arriving Friday Harbor during a gorgeous summer afternoon/evening. Chelan lost her attractive side profile with her upper wings and lost windows at the end of the deck. Yakima's is most pleasing to look at.

M/V Chelan - Side Profile by Jay Cassady, on Flickr

I've often felt that one or two further side ports on the uppers of the Chelan would've enhanced her looks as well.

[Kahloke]

WSDOT recently released a blog about the difficulties of staffing the inter-island ferry:

Thursday, September 5, 2024
Navigating staffing challenges: The realities behind WSF’s San Juans’ interisland service
by John Vezina

We know how much our ferry service means to island communities. But the geography of the San Juans can make it hard to staff our interisland boat reliably. This overview explains our commitment and the challenges we face.

Crewing the San Juans’ interisland ferry
Each sailing season starts with fully crewed boats with vacation reliefs filled when requested. But if someone calls in sick, has childcare issues or gets a flat tire, we can’t sail until we fill their spot. This year, the Legislature gave us money to add an extra ordinary sailor (deck) and oiler (engine room) to each sailing. Unfortunately, we don’t have backups for other crew positions, so if we don’t meet Coast Guard requirements, we can’t sail until we find someone. This is especially tough on our Anacortes/San Juan Islands and interisland routes because most of our employees live far away. Our interisland ferry is based in Friday Harbor, which most crew members can’t reach by road. This makes it very hard to find relief employees. For staff who don’t live near Anacortes, commuting to Friday Harbor adds at least five hours to their day. This makes it less attractive for them to fill relief requests on the interisland vessel. Instead, they prefer working overtime on routes closer to home.

New initiatives to support crew
Since our interisland route is a priority and one of the first to be restored, we’ve looked for ways to address these challenges. We’ve hired a charter boat to help crew members travel between Anacortes and Friday Harbor. We’ve also added wage incentives for those who work on the interisland ferry. However, work agreements don’t allow us to schedule overtime. Our on-call pool, which some see as a hiring barrier, is needed to cover staffing for all routes.

We’ve also thought about moving the interisland boat to Anacortes, to make it easier for employees to report for shifts. But this would mean the boat would have to stop in Anacortes at least four times a day for crew changes, reducing interisland service. It would also affect jobs for crew members who live in the San Juan Islands, who are our most reliable staff for this route. The high cost of living and limited housing on the islands make it hard for new crew members to move there. We will work with San Juan County officials to explore housing options for our employees.

USCG regulations limit how many hours a crew member can work in one day. If the interisland vessel falls too far behind schedule, we may have to cancel evening sailings to keep crew from working too many hours. If they work too long, they can’t work the next day. Delays can be caused by weather, medical emergencies or even small issues like someone locking their keys in their car.

Starting in winter 2025, we’re changing our sailing schedules to make service more reliable. These updates will help with crew changes and make crossing and docking times more realistic.

Sharing information with customers
We’re also improving how we communicate with our customers. If you sign up for our rider alerts, we’ll let you know if there’s a crew shortage on the interisland ferry. We send alerts three times a day if there are open relief requests so you can plan ahead. This is especially important for county workers and students commuting to school in Friday Harbor, so they can get home if the last trip of the day is canceled.

We’ve also made alternate schedules for when the interisland vessel is out of service. The three boats that serve Anacortes make extra stops to help interisland customers reach their destinations.

Our interisland route staffing challenges are clear in recent service data. From Aug. 1 to Sept. 2, we canceled 33 out of 1,814 sailings (1.8%) for the three ferries connecting the islands with Anacortes. During the same period, we canceled 120 out of 822 interisland sailings (14.6%).

We expect things to get better as we hire new employees and train existing crew members into higher positions. With a larger workforce and the changes above, more reliable service will come to our interisland route. We know how important it is to avoid interisland cancellations, and we are working hard to make service more reliable.

wsdotblog.blogspot.com/2024/09/navigating-staffing-challenges.html

[Kahloke]

From the Weekly Update released yesterday, it looks like some emergency funding has come through to keep the inter-island vessel operational on weekends in the winter:

Sept. 19, 2024
A message from Steve

I had the privilege of joining Gov. Jay Inslee in Friday Harbor on Tuesday to announce a significant addition to our San Juan Islands service. Thanks to emergency funding, the interisland ferry will run seven days a week this winter, instead of tying up over the weekend during this slower travel season. This change makes all vessel deck crew shifts permanent, helping with staffing and service in the long run by making it easier for workers to live in the San Juan Islands year-round. The expanded service is funded for just this winter, so we will need to work with legislators to secure additional money for future winter seasons.

With the interisland boat running on winter weekends, the three vessels operating out of Anacortes will no longer be responsible for moving interisland traffic, helping them to stay on schedule more reliably.

While I’m excited about this progress, what stands out to me most is how we got here. This solution wasn’t crafted in a conference room – it came from our crew out in the fleet. In our changing work culture, it’s so important for our employees to share ideas, and their feedback made a big difference. I thank them for speaking up.

We’re also working with a community task force to update our Anacortes/San Juan Islands route schedules. Our current timetables have not been revised in 10-15 years. We’re updating them to improve on-time performance and reliability, and to align with the vehicle reservations program that started in 2015.

wsdot.wa.gov/travel/washington-state-ferries/about-us/weekly-update

[Blue Bus Fan]

Sept 20, 2024 20:01:39 GMT -8 Kahloke said:

From the Weekly Update released yesterday, it looks like some emergency funding has come through to keep the inter-island vessel operational on weekends in the winter:

Sept. 19, 2024
A message from Steve

I had the privilege of joining Gov. Jay Inslee in Friday Harbor on Tuesday to announce a significant addition to our San Juan Islands service. Thanks to emergency funding, the interisland ferry will run seven days a week this winter, instead of tying up over the weekend during this slower travel season. This change makes all vessel deck crew shifts permanent, helping with staffing and service in the long run by making it easier for workers to live in the San Juan Islands year-round. The expanded service is funded for just this winter, so we will need to work with legislators to secure additional money for future winter seasons.

With the interisland boat running on winter weekends, the three vessels operating out of Anacortes will no longer be responsible for moving interisland traffic, helping them to stay on schedule more reliably.

While I’m excited about this progress, what stands out to me most is how we got here. This solution wasn’t crafted in a conference room – it came from our crew out in the fleet. In our changing work culture, it’s so important for our employees to share ideas, and their feedback made a big difference. I thank them for speaking up.

We’re also working with a community task force to update our Anacortes/San Juan Islands route schedules. Our current timetables have not been revised in 10-15 years. We’re updating them to improve on-time performance and reliability, and to align with the vehicle reservations program that started in 2015.

wsdot.wa.gov/travel/washington-state-ferries/about-us/weekly-update

Hopefully this change can remain permanent because it make sense.

[Luke]

Sept 20, 2024 21:27:34 GMT -8 Blue Bus Fan said:

Sept 20, 2024 20:01:39 GMT -8 Kahloke said:

From the Weekly Update released yesterday, it looks like some emergency funding has come through to keep the inter-island vessel operational on weekends in the winter:
wsdot.wa.gov/travel/washington-state-ferries/about-us/weekly-update

Hopefully this change can remain permanent because it make sense.

As it stands now, this change is for this winter only. Vezina stated at the last San Juans schedule task force meeting that he and everyone in the agency are hopeful that they can get some additional funding to make this a permanent change, but that will be up to the state legislature.