PORT TOWNSEND — Two-boat service will be restored today to the ferry route between Port Townsend and Coupeville on Whidbey Island to accommodate an expected increase in travelers for the Labor Day weekend through the Wooden Boat Festival.
The MV Chetzemoka will sail to Port Townsend this afternoon from the Point Defiance/Tahlequah route and immediately be pressed into service, said Ian Sterling, spokesman for Washington State Ferries, on Wednesday.
Two-boat service will be in effect for the route at least through the Wooden Boat Festival, set Sept. 8-10 in Port Townsend.
The Chetzemoka is standing in temporarily for the MV Salish, which is in dry dock in Anacortes undergoing repair of damage caused by crab pot lines and to correct a rudder problem, Sterling said.
The Salish has been out of commission since Aug. 8, when it ran aground trying to dock at Keystone Harbor on Whidbey Island. A rudder problem was blamed for the grounding.
When state ferry system officials investigated, they found a larger issue.
Lines from crab pots had wrapped around the propeller bearings and worked into the seals that keep the salt water out of the electronic and mechanical systems that run the propellers.
Sterling said the damage was “extensive” and would likely take multiple days of repairs.
The MV Kennewick, which is currently running the Port Townsend-Coupeville route, was inspected for crab pot damage after the damage was found on the Salish. No damage was found at the time.
The Kennewick, Chetzemoka and Salish are the only three boats in the state’s ferry fleet that can run the Port Townsend-Coupeville route because of the difficult docking conditions on Whidbey Island.
The MV Sealth will move from the Fauntleroy/Vashon/Southworth route to cover for the Chetzemoka’s absence, causing a few morning delays on that route, according to WSDOT.
The MV Hyak, which runs in the San Juan Islands, is also out due to generator issues.
That has caused a chain reaction, Sterling said.
“Really, the route that will be most affected by all of this is actually in Seattle, on the Fauntleroy/Vashon route,” he said.
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Jefferson County Editor/
