Ferry Dock construction.

If you have never lived on an Island you might not be able to imagine just how much your life is impacted by boats.  Consciously or not boats are critical to our lives here.  This week their has been drama over the method of loading the boats on the Fauntleroy side (I have only been reading about it online as I haven't car commuted all week).  It has made some of the buses later than usual.

The good news is that the all the work that has been done on the Vashon North End ferry dock is getting closer and closer to finished.  My guess is there are a few more months left but every couple of days you notice a significant difference that is closer to finishing!

I guess all that means is that whenever I find myself worried about the impending horrible earthquake I can be glad that if I am on the Seattle side...and I survive...and I am uninjured...and I manage to steal a boat to row across the sound THEN the dock will still be standing when I get there.

Saturday evening Vashon-Fauntleroy ferry Traffic

Saturday evening ferry traffic into Seattle can mean longer lines than usual.

I have learned this intuitively, and am keenly aware of it as we plan to go into the city on Saturday evenings, but it might not be intuitive to visitors or Islanders who typically stick around on Saturday nights.

Keep it in mind, line up a little bit early on Saturday evenings.

2014 Vashon Holiday Boat traffic

Every year around the holiday season people on Island start asking, "what are the ferry lines like on xxx holiday or holiday eve?" And for some reason I don't think any of us can remember.  It's like this big vortex of bad ferry experiences and good ferry experiences and if you are an Islander you have had lots of both.

I figure though, while it is still fresh I would document what I remember about Ferry Traffic 2014 on the holidays:

Christmas Eve Ferry Traffic leaving Vashon going to Fauntleroy:

2014 the boats were on a normal schedule.
No boats were cancelled.
 By 3:30 in the afternoon the boats were very full.

So if you have someplace to be at with a VERY specific time frame then you might want to line up early. Otherwise, just be patient!


New Years Eve Ferry Traffic leaving Vashon going to Fauntleroy:
Normal Workday schedule
No boats were cancelled.
We lined up for our boat maybe 15 minutes earlier than we might have.
I am glad we did the boats were MUCH more full than a normal weekday to Seattle.

New Years Day Traffic to and from Vashon 
Normal Schedule
No boats were cancelled
My partner had to work this day (in Seattle) and got too and from the Island with utter ease!!


Sunday after New Years- the Sunday before schools start up etc. leaving Vashon
We actually went into Seattle on the 8:55am boat and it was unusually crowded for a Sunday morning (without a Seahawks game).
Then when we returned around 2:30 there were pretty long lines to leave the Island.  Later in the afternoon this year some boats were cancelled or delayed but even before they were delayed the lines were long.
My guess is a lot of people who have vacation homes on Vashon were all headed back around the same time and the lines got long quickly.  Keep this in mind for future planning.


It seems to me the crucial point is that when the boats operate a normal schedule things run smoothly, but when things get backed up, reduced to 2 boats or whatever, the systems gets mangled pretty quickly!

Ferry Riding...what's your habit?

When you ride the Ferries a lot you develop habits.

Do you go upstairs?

Do you go upstairs and sit?

Do you go upstairs and do laps?

Do you go to the bathroom, get a coffee and head back to your car?

Do you sit in your car with the radio on?

Do your read a book?

Play on your phone?

Do work?

What's your ferry habit?

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).

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!

Where do you keep your ferry schedules?

Seating on the Klahowya 

We've got them in our purses.
Dangling from car visors.
Hanging out in glove compartments.

They are stuck to our fridge with magnets.
Lounging around the doorways of local businesses.
Folded and unfolded in the spare change basket.

All of us Washintonians who commute and travel by Washington State Ferries are bound by our Ferry Schedules.

We start to memorize departure times only for them to shift by 10 minutes with the season change.
We know what time we want our guests flights to land at SeaTac so we will have enough time to pick them up and still make the ferry home before midnight...

The funny thing is that Sean and I used to have the most tense mornings. We almost always got in the car and were frustrated or fiesty with one another.  "You are the reason we are running late!" we each though to ourselves.

But now that we cannot be late, not even by a minute we don't fight over departing.  The boats, and having someone else decide when we leave have relieved us of the need to blame each other.   That's one I didn't see coming!

Oh...looking for a copy of the ferry schedules. There ya go.