37 replies to this topic

[lanforod]

I went over the tolled bridge on SR520 (over lake Washington) last summer. Never did get a bill. Shrug.

[Mike K.]

Yeah me too, I've crossed a whole bunch of toll roads in Washington State but never receive a bill. I just heard recently that WSDOT has tried to gain access to BC plate data, but they can't. Free tolls for visitors make sense, it's a nice little gesture.

[Mr_E_Squirrel]

Wow... so many questions. Can't be good for the cars with the salt water, looks like a few got banged up..

 

Waves crash onto the front of the car deck of a San Juan Island ferry as winds hit 55-60 mph on March 13, 2016. Video courtesy Shari Ray. Komo News

 

Shorter version 

 

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dy9VHZTfNl0&feature=youtu.be

 

Long version

 

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fXNni1mcA1U

Edited by Mr_E_Squirrel, 15 March 2016 - 08:33 AM.

[jonny]

I would say they probably shouldn't have sailed and boy would I be PO'd if my car got drenched in that much salt water...

[phx]

Wouldn't have take that much more to capsize the boat.

[Victoria Watcher]

Return of the hydrofoil: Puget Sound passenger ferries in the works

 

https://www.seattlet...Registered User

[Victoria Watcher]

Sidney-Anacortes ferry will be out of service for at least 5 more years

New hybrid electric ferries will be assigned to the international ferry route, says Washington State Ferries

https://www.vicnews....e-years-7919376



What’s the point? Might as well just get rid of the thing.

Edited by Victoria Watcher, 08 April 2025 - 05:03 AM.

[Victoria Watcher]

The first sentence says it’s a “vital link” but it’ll be closed now for 10 straight years.

[Victoria Watcher]

Expand the park. Add a bit of housing. And convert the berth to a new fishing pier.

[max.bravo]

Expand the park. Add a bit of housing. And convert the berth to a new fishing pier.

It’s a great park, very well used. We bring the kids of all ages from toddler to teenager to Tulista park and they all have fun.

The boat launch is really popular. Expanded parking and another floating dock would be well used.

[vortoozo]

WSF just released their Service Contingency Plan.

A fantastic read - how they will handle vessels going out of service, crew shortages, etc. All on a route by route basis showing potential impacts to the rest of the system, what vessels are compatible with which docks, etc. BC Ferries would benefit from doing the same, no doubt.

 

Of particular interest to us is that the Sidney/Anacortes route is still noted as a route that they will operate when they have a full contingent of vessels.

[Victoria Watcher]

WSF just released their Service Contingency Plan.

A fantastic read - how they will handle vessels going out of service, crew shortages, etc. All on a route by route basis showing potential impacts to the rest of the system, what vessels are compatible with which docks, etc. BC Ferries would benefit from doing the same, no doubt.

 

Of particular interest to us is that the Sidney/Anacortes route is still noted as a route that they will operate when they have a full contingent of vessels.

 

 

Three ferry routes into Seattle from Kitsap are missing boats as January begins, with changes for riders from Bremerton, Bainbridge Island and Southworth due to maintenance issues that came up since the start of the year.

The Tacoma was pulled from the Bainbridge Island-Seattle route in the afternoon on Saturday, Jan. 3, due to mechanical issues, according to an announcement from Washington State Ferries. The Tacoma remained out of service on Sunday, with the Wenatchee on the route as the single boat. WSF said one-boat service is likely for Monday, Jan. 5 and possibly Tuesday as well.

On the Bremerton route, the Walla Walla was pulled on Thursday, Jan. 1 after a propeller broke, with an estimated timeline for repairs of a few weeks, WSF said. That route operated on a one-boat schedule over the weekend and WSF said that would continue Monday, and "likely longer."

 

https://www.kitsapsu...es/88023734007/

Edited by Victoria Watcher, 05 January 2026 - 01:36 AM.

[Victoria Watcher]

A Washington state group called “Restore Our Ferries” has filed a complaint in Washington State Superior Court calling for the government to order Washington State Ferries (WSF) to restart the Sidney-Anacortes route.

The route, which travels between Sidney, B.C. and several ports in the U.S., was suspended in January 2020 after operating for nearly a century.

In 2023, Washington State Ferries said the route would not return until at least 2030, citing a shortage of vessels and trained crew members.

Not much has changed since then, and Restore Our Ferries spokesperson Duncan Chalmers says he’s worried some stakeholders have become “resigned” to the route being gone forever, after it first launched in 1922.

“We filed [the complaint] because we’re not ready to let go. We’d like to get this ferry back in operation,” he told CHEK News on Friday.

“It’s an important link for economic reasons, for social reasons, for tourism reasons, for economic vitality reasons,” he said.

Chalmers says Washington State Ferries does not have the authority to end a route – and that only the State legislature can – and that an indefinite suspension essentially amounts to cancelling a route.

 

https://cheknews.ca/...-ferry-1310003/

[Mike K.]

Awkward timing. Do they know Canadians are boycotting travel to the US?

[Victoria Watcher]

Washington ferries are going hybrid-electric, but disposal of old ones poses environmental, legal risks

 

An abandoned ferry in the Puget Sound represents a shared struggle across the West Coast: to sell an old ship or destroy it

 

 

 

 

An abandoned former Washington state ferry, the Olympic, rests slanted on a shoreline off Ketron Island, in southern Puget Sound. Aboard, flakes of corroded steel and other debris scatter across the floors, graffiti lines the walls, and at high tide, water pours over the deck. Rust has crept over its forest green paint, the signature color of Washington State Ferries. Some 25 years ago, the Olympic sold for $71,000 at a state surplus auction. Years later, it sold again. This time, allegedly, on eBay. 

 

 

 

https://www.investig...al-legal-risks/

 

 

"StreetView" from the deck of the ferry:

 

https://www.google.c...KXMDSoASAFQAw==

 

 

Ketron Island is where that guy crashed the Horizon Air Q-400 after he stole it.

Edited by Victoria Watcher, 10 March 2026 - 04:26 AM.

[Victoria Watcher]

 

 

 

https://en.wikipedia...wiki/MV_Olympic

Edited by Victoria Watcher, 10 March 2026 - 04:28 AM.

[splashflash]

MV Rhodedendron at Fanny Bay with Denman Island as backdrop.

[Victoria Watcher]

^

 

The Motor Vessel Rhododendron was the sole Rhododendron-class ferry operated by Washington State Ferries. She was named for the state flower of Washington, the rhododendron. She was referred to affectionately as "The Rhody" by residents of Vashon Island.

 

The Rhododendron was one of two similar Chesapeake Bay ferries that were purchased to become part of the WSF fleet in the 1950s; the other being the now-retired MV Olympic. The Rhododendron's former name was the MV Governor Herbert R. O'Conor. She was originally purchased to be used in the interim while other new ferries were being built.

 

The ferry was retired in January 2012 and was sold in February 2013. It is currently anchored in Fanny Bay, British Columbia, where it serves as a storage and operations platform for nearby oyster farming.

 

 

https://en.wikipedia...MV_Rhododendron

Edited by Victoria Watcher, 10 March 2026 - 05:38 AM.