Guemes Island Ferry Out of Service

03.01.2021  4:51 PM UPDATE

Guemes Island Ferry will resume car ferry service at 5:30 p.m.

The Coast Guard has cleared the repairs to the car ferry, and the Guemes will resume regular service at 5:30 p.m. Your safety is our number one priority, and we appreciate your patience while we made the necessary repairs to our steering system.

03.01.2021 4:40 PM UPDATE

Guemes Island Ferry service update

Well, sometimes things just work out. Thanks to some new friends at a tug boat company in Portland, OR, who happened to have a spare hydraulic valve for us, the repairs to the ferry have been made. A big thank you to Bob Martin, our Mechanic, for driving to Portland last night and picking up the part this morning before heading to the shipyard to replace it. We will send out another notice if sea trials are successful and we get the Coast Guard’s approval to return to service.

02.28.2021 3:33 PM UPDATE

Guemes Island Ferry out of service through Monday, March 1

Good afternoon,

The Guemes Island Ferry will be out of service through at least Monday, March 1. Arrow Launch will provide passenger-only service on the Strait Arrow from the regular ferry docks. Due to COVID-19, capacity on the foot ferry is limited to 25. We will operate on the regular sailing schedule, and we may be able to make extra trips if we leave people behind. Masks are required, and please practice physical distancing to the extent possible. We understand this will be challenging; if you have any concerns, please let a crew member know.

This morning, a steering valve on the No. 2 outdrive unexpectedly malfunctioned. Normally, this is a spare part we would have on the shelf as our Mechanic is very good about making sure we have spares for everything. For this particular part, we placed an order in November, 2020. However, the part has been back-ordered for months from the Canada-based vendor who services our outdrives.

We are doing everything we possibly can to get this issue resolved; however, at this time, we do not have a return to service date/time for the car ferry. We will send another update on Monday afternoon as we should know more then.

02.28.2021 10:07 AM UPDATE

Passenger ferry to start at 1:00 p.m.

Passenger-only service will start at 1:00 p.m. with service between the regular ferry docks. The foot ferry will operate on the regular sailing schedule. It is still unknown when the car ferry can return to service.

02.28.2021 8:45 AM

The Guemes Island Ferry is out of service due to a steering issue. It is unknown how long the ferry will be down. For now, plan on the 8:30 a.m., 9:00 a.m. and 10:00 a.m. runs being cancelled. We need some time to diagnose the issue, and we cannot provide passenger-only service until we can move the ferry from the Anacortes slip.

Visit the Guemes Ferry page to learn more

SKAGIT COUNTY, WASHINGTON

County Commissioners: Lisa Janicki, Peter Browning, Ron Wesen
1800 Continental Place, Suite 100
Mount Vernon, WA 98273

(360) 416-1300 | commissioners@co.skagit.wa.us

Source: Email Skagit County 02.28.2021 8:45 AM