M/V Sally Fox- Vashon Water Taxi

So we have a new Water Taxi (as of April 2015).

The M/V Sally Fox is a lovely vessel.
In the past the 5:30 has often been full during midweek rides.  Thus, being turned away after the last minute and having to wait an hour for another boat.  However, with the larger capacity (over 200!) of The Sally Fox  no one will beturned away from a full boat.  Ridership is up (so maybe over time we will fill it??) and I get why.
No more super stinky bathrooms.
No more damp (and moldy?) carpeting.
No more anxious fear that you aren't going to get on.
No more leaving work a bit early to make sure you get in the front of the line...


Thanks King County Tax Payers.
I really appreciate your support!

Want to know more:

King County Water Taxi
Wikipedia link on the water taxi

Water Taxi got canceled...again.

The water taxi had a heart attack or something.  So it is out of commission for the evening.  At 5:05 I got a text and discovered that the 5:30 and the 6:30pm runs from downtown would not run.  It already pretty much as a terminal illness- these boats of ours are thinking about hospice and having conversations with palliative care.  Thankfully we haven't pulled the plug yet. I still gotta get to work!

Well when I found out that the boat wasn't going to run I met up with my spouse and we decided to take a cab from downtown to Fauntleroy.  We ended up grabbing a taxi-van with 3 other Vashon folks.  It worked well but really here's the hilarious thing....we kind of chatted...about things like airplane crashes, and teenage boys hitching rides to Hawaii in wheel wells and that kind of thing but, in classic Pacific Northwest fashion we didn't actually introduce ourselves or swap names or share anything personal.  Ha.

So be it. We ban together us islanders...even if we do so anonymously.

Washington State Ferry- photos

I am kind of obsessed with taking pictures (choose your preposition) of, around, from the ferry.
It is either because this is a time when I usually have my phone and some free time.

Or, perhaps, it is because their are endless interesting, visually engaging and beautiful things to take pictures of from, on, or around ferry life.

Here are some of my favorites....

I know I might be partial but I do think this is the cutest kid ever (or cutest picture of a cute kid).

Rough day to commute

At 6:50 this morning I got a text message from the King County Water taxi.  -Cancelled from the rough wind. All water taxi rides this morning were cancelled.

I took the bus to the ferry, hopped the ferry, got on another bus, and then another bus, and arrive at work quite late.  It threw a wrench in many Islander commutes!

This afternoon, sitting at my desk I get another text message, "the Vashon route of the Water Taxi has been canceled tonight due to weather conditions."  Thank God I am working late anyway!

It has been a rough fall for WT cancellations.  The wind has been bad, the fog has been worse and in general I feel like I am telling my work too often that the boat was late or whatever...I hate that feeling.


This is the life of Island people. Flexibility around the water, reminders that nature is bigger than you are.  It is annoying, no doubt, but I don't have ANY desire to end up in a life jacket floating around Puget Sound waiting for the Coast Guard to rescue me.

My only wish really, is that the Water Taxi would tell us something about how the decision is made.  I found this information, the marine forecast, on the national weather service website: (http://forecast.weather.gov/shmrn.php?mz=pzz135&syn=pzz100)

 PZZ135-040615-
 PUGET SOUND AND HOOD CANAL-
 300 PM PST TUE DEC 3 2013
 
 SMALL CRAFT ADVISORY IN EFFECT UNTIL 10 PM PST THIS EVENING
 

 TONIGHT
 NE WIND 15 TO 25 KT EASING TO 5 TO 15 KT AFTER MIDNIGHT.
 WIND WAVES 2 TO 4 FT SUBSIDING TO 2 FT OR LESS.

 WED
 NE WIND 5 TO 15 KT. WIND WAVES 2 FT OR LESS.

 WED NIGHT
 NE WIND TO 10 KT BECOMING SE AFTER MIDNIGHT. WIND WAVES
 1 FT OR LESS.

 THU
 SE WIND TO 10 KT. WIND WAVES 1 FT OR LESS.

 THU NIGHT
 SE WIND 10 TO 20 KT. WIND WAVES 1 TO 3 FT.

 FRI
 NE WIND 15 TO 25 KT. WIND WAVES 2 TO 4 FT.

 FRI NIGHT
 NE WIND 10 TO 20 KT BECOMING N 10 TO 15 KT AFTER
 MIDNIGHT. WIND WAVES 1 TO 3 FT.

 SAT
 SE WIND 5 TO 15 KT. WIND WAVES 2 FT OR LESS.

 SUN
 S WIND TO 10 KT. WIND WAVES 1 FT OR LESS.
 
 $$

My guess is that this forecast is what makes the decision for if the boat goes or not,  with a little bit of hunting on wind conditions in the PNW I also found this

http://www.sailflow.com/en-us/Search/ViewResults.aspx#47.498,-122.559,10,1

Which makes me think it must be VERY windy on Alki Point in West Seattle.
So there it is. The reason the boat doesn't run...(or is it?)

Vashon/Seattle Commute- The dynamics of commuting with exactly the same people every day

I was at a meeting in September and a professor of cultural studies (or something like that) was telling a story and she said, "...in the Pacific Northwest People show respect by giving you privacy..."

I have often thought of this since then.  It is so true.   The life of someone who commutes on Vashon is that you commute with the same 200 people every day.  I suppose there might be tad more people than that, but generally it's  true. There are many many many faces of Vashon Island people that I recognize because I see them on the bus, boat, ferry, etc. but for the most part I don't talk to them.

When you commute on/off of Vashon to Seattle you have some choices.  Where you sit on the boat, what you do, if you talk etc are all part of the choices you make daily.  There are people on the boat who play cribbage, who talk politics, who discuss their bikes, etc.  There are others who will chat only with a selective friend or so.  And then, there is the large majority of people who are quiet.  Reading, sleeping, playing games on your phone are all acceptable.

Sean and I are the quiet commuters.  We talk to each other and once in a great while we will talk to a friend (but seriously not much).  It is our alone time or our couple time.  I always have a book or magazine in my bag and move on.

Now that we know the faces of those we commute with there is an unspoken recognition that you are a reader or a quite rider.  There are some random people we talk with for a minute...Joke about the weather, or comment about an overheard something or other...that is life with people you see every day. But in general I like the privacy as a way of respect thing.  It works for me.  It works for my commute.

Vashon-West Seattle/Fauntleroy and Vashon-Downtown Seattle

So I feel like non- Islanders just don't quite get how transit on and off the Island works here. SO here's how it goes.

Washington State Ferry

The primary way that people get on and off Vashon Island is through the Washington State Ferries. These ferries, operated by the State are for: walk on passengers, automobiles, trucks, motorcycles and leashed pets (though they are only allowed on the car deck.  They run very frequently and wait is not usually very long (the pattern during the day seems to be 20min.20min.40min).  There are Washington State Ferry docks at the North End of Vashon Island and at the South End of Vashon Island (Talequah-Pt. Defiance/Tacoma). For this post I will only discuss the north end transit options as those are the ones in and out of Seattle.

Every once in awhile there are quirks with the ferries.  Sometimes a boat is broken or enough crew members are sick that the boats don't run as frequently. Then they revert to a two boat schedule.  This has only happened a handful of times this year.  One was Christmas Eve, we waited for hours and hours! It also happened Sept. 7- I only remember the date because we had a housewarming party at the time.  I know there were a couple of others but it wasn't that relevant to us.

The Washington State Ferry from the North End of Vashon goes to a road in Seattle called Fauntleroy which is in the West Seattle Neighborhood- in fact I think that the neighborhood is actually called Fauntleroy as well.  This is key to know!  Fauntleroy is West Seattle!  West Seattle, depending on the time of day is at least 20 minutes from downtown and at rush hour can be over an hour in your own car.

You can also take the bus- the red line- too and from downtown Seattle the the ferry dock. That take awhile but it very convenient, as it drops off in the heart of the city.  There are a couple of other buses that run from downtown to Vashon, I have only ever taken the 116 from downtown and it drops off right at the dock as well.

You do NOT have to pay to leave the Island on the Washington State Ferry.  Because it is pretty much the only way on and off the Island they just double charge when you go TO the island.  The fees can be hefty to get to the Island. As Islanders we buy a 10 ride pass and it is a bit cheaper. It is definitely part of the cost of living though.  To just walk on to Vashon Island it is about 5 bucks for an adult. Oh, little kids ride free too. That's handy!

Water Taxi

There is another option to get to Downtown, which is what I take almost daily. This is called the King County Water Taxi.  The water taxi is a passenger only (and bikes too) boat. It is sometimes called the P.O. This hold about 150 people and departs Vashon/Seattle 3 times in the morning and 3 times in the evening.  It takes passengers from Vashon to right downtown. Many people who ride it work downtown or others like me hop a quick bus to nearby locations. The 5:30pm boat sometimes fills and they have to send people away. I'm sure it happens other times as well but my instinct is that is the most frequent boat to fill.

In evening you line up along the dock and then board accordingly.  Almost everyone has an Orca card to board the boat- but both docks in Seattle and on Vashon allow you to purchase a pass or you can pay cash as you board.  Many people take bikes on this boat. They are the last to unload at the arriving dock.  Buses on Vashon drop people off in the AM about 10 minutes before the PO leaves and pick up the evening as well.  Frankly it is hella convenient.  The ride on the PO boat is just over 20 minutes to downtown- assuming the weather is normal and such!

The problem with the PO at this point is that it breaks down with some frequency. They are building a new one that is bigger- but at this point it runs like a used car.  Kinda reliable, mostly reliable, but a bit wonky at times.

Parking on Vashon
So on another note is parking on Vashon. There is a short term and a long term (two weeks) parking lot that are a short walk (up/down hill) from the ferry. It is max a 10 minute walk.  Because we now take the bus we don't utilize this anymore, but last year we were driving every morning and there was always parking.  We have also parked our car in the long term for a week or so while on a trip.  Pretty handy I must say!

All in all, it works out smoothly more than not!
Are there other things I should address? Seems like you, reader, probably know the questions you have!