Riding the Yakima

By A.S. Lewis

When I was a teenager in the ‘70s, my parents sent me to a sailing camp on Orcas Island in Washington’s San Juan Islands. Coming from the Bay Area, it’s an all-day trip starting at the crack of dawn at SFO. After a two and a half-hour yellow school bus ride from Seattle to the Anacortes ferry landing, we would catch a Washington State Ferry to Orcas Island. Seeing that great, big green and white boat pull into Anacortes meant we were almost to our destination - six weeks in paradise. Riding the ferry was by far the best part of the trip.

The ferry routes wind through an archipelago of some of the most beautiful islands in the world. Not white sandy beaches, lava and palm trees, but rugged, rocky shores and eroded gray cliffs topped with Madrone and evergreen trees. Because there are so many islands and few bridges, the Washington State Ferry system serves as a vital link for vehicles and pedestrians in Puget Sound. It is the largest ferry fleet in the United States. Their system has ten routes and twenty terminals, served by 29 vessels ranging from smaller passenger-only ferries up to the “Jumbo Mark II” vessels added to the fleet in the late ‘90s. They carry over 26 million passengers to 20 different ports of call.

My siblings and I have such fond memories of that camp and the San Juans that our children now spend their summers there. A few years back when I took my youngest daughter, Emily, up to visit her sister at camp, we stood on the open bow of the vehicle deck on the Klickitat. (Isn’t that a great name? “Small world” note - A number of the steel diesel-electric ferries, including the Klickitat, originated on San Francisco Bay.) The wash crashing against the metal landing ramp set up the best percussion section I’ve ever heard. Emily and I beat out the rhythm with our hands and feet, pretending we were the most talented hip-hop dancers on BET. (Passengers watching from the upper deck were more than amused. To the embarrassment of my daughters, I have never been afraid to make a fool of myself in public places…)

This summer both of my daughters and three of their cousins were up on Orcas Island. Consumed with jealousy and wanting to relive our childhood, if only for a day, my brother, Bob, and I scheduled our vacation to visit them. Bob suggested that as Working Waterfront editor for Bay Crossings, I might like to interview a Washington State Ferry captain on the way. (Of course, he allowed as how this was entirely in the interest of advancing my editorial career and had nothing whatsoever to do with his desire to ride in the wheelhouse of the Washington State ferry…)

We reached Anacortes earlier than expected. I handed my business card to the dockhand who radioed the Yakima’s captain in the wheelhouse. Chief Mate Eric Addison met us on the passenger deck and escorted us up a steel ladder to meet the Yakima’s captain - Bob Lockhart. (Heading up the ladder to the wheelhouse, my brother was grinning ear-to-ear…)

San Diego’s National Steel & Shipbuilding Co. built the Yakima in 1967. Along with three other Super Class ferries, she was added to the fleet because the old “Steel Electrics” weren’t big enough to handle Puget Sound’s increased traffic. They were giants at the time, with 2,500 passenger and 160 vehicle capacities. In the tribal Yakima language, “Yakima” has several meanings, including “black bears”, “people of the narrow river”, “to become peopled” and/or “runaway”. (Don’t ask me why. To me, it seems “to become peopled” and “runaway” are pretty opposite definitions, but I digress…)

On our voyage, our captain was the amicable Bob Lockhart - a Washington State Ferry captain for over eight years. (Another one for the “Small World and Local Interest Department” - Lockhart was stationed at Treasure Island when he was in the Navy.) The captain supervises the ship’s operation from the wheelhouse, or “pilothouse” – the communications and navigation center of the ship. His Chief Mate assists with operations including loading and unloading the traffic. Except for docking, the Quartermaster, following direction from the bridge officer, handles the steering. Deckhands are “Able-bodied Seamen” and “Ordinary Seamen”. Their duties include directing vehicles, securing lines at docking, being lookouts and performing safety patrols. Below decks, the Chief Engineer and his assistant handle mechanical repairs and maintenance, monitor control systems, and in some cases and following direction from the captain, control the vessel’s speed and direction. Captain Lockhart, Chief Mate Eric Addison and Quartermaster Anthony Dabila work as a team. As Lockhart says, “Things are going on around you. All sorts of things can take your attention away, so it’s imperative to have someone you trust.”

Lockhart is understandably proud of his training. “To obtain a Chief Mate’s license, you have to take a battery of exams - general navigation, general deck, chart navigation, rules of the road, and so forth. On some of them, you have to score a 90 or above to be considered as passed. That’s half the battle. To get a First Class Pilot’s license, you have to have an understanding and knowledge of the water, the safe areas you can go to, hazards you may come across. The Coast Guard gives you an outline of the coast. You have to plot all the buoys, underwater cables, ten fathom curves showing the depth of the water, elevations over 250 feet… and you’re doing it all from memory. They take your “chartlet” and they lay it down on the chart. If they don’t match up, they start deducting points. You have to do that for every route that the Washington State Ferries have before you can be placed on the list to become Chief Mate. After that, you have to have a year of working as Chief Mate, or if you hold a Chief Mate’s license, two years as a Quartermaster. You take another five exams. Once you do that, you go on a seniority list and wait until your number comes up.”

The Chief Mate is the primary first aid caregiver on board. All Chief Mates go through advance first aid training, including the use of “Automatic Electronic Defibrillators” (AEDs). Washington State Ferry personnel not only provide first aid on their own vessels but also assist with rescues along their routes. While we were on board, Lockhart received a report of a 24-foot vessel on fire off nearby Shaw Island and was asked to keep an eye out when we reached the area. The ferries have fire-fighting ability, including Scott air packs and automatic CO2 systems that can flood engine room spaces.

Lockhart’s crew once assisted with the rescue of a downed aircraft off Allen Island. They were able to rescue one of the crash survivors. Unfortunately, another victim passed away as a result of injuries sustained in the crash.

One of the dangers in Puget Sound, says Lockhart, is the bone-chilling water. (It’s true. As a teenager, I tried to keep my head above water to avoid getting an ice cream headache.) “These waters run about 48 degrees, so it’s imperative we get to the victim immediately to determine their status when they fell overboard. We’ve had people try to commit suicide using our vessels. Usually when they hit the cold water, they change their mind.”

A nearby sailboat cut across the Yakima’s path, prompting my brother to ask if they ever have trouble with the pleasure boats. Lockhart replied, “It doesn’t require any training to operate a vessel out here on the water. All they have to be able to do is put down the money and they’ll sell ‘em a boat, or charter a boat. So they are definitely something we watch out here. Probably the scariest it gets is when it’s foggy. We have radar but they don’t - and they don’t slow down. They’re still doing 30 mph and they’ll come right across the front of you and give you that “Forrest Gump” wave. So we’ve had to do emergency back downs, hard turns to miss things. We’ll drop our speed depending on our situation. If I have a vessel on the radar ahead of me, I’ll come to a complete stop long before it becomes too much of a problem.

Captain Lockhart assured me that Washington State Ferries have one of the best safety records in the maritime industry. When asked about increased security resulting from 9/11, he said, “Like all Americans, we’ve become more aware of what is going on around us…that’s probably the biggest thing. There are other steps we’ve taken, but I shouldn’t really talk about it…” (That was just fine with me. I am into “escapism”, and knowing the crew was doing their best to keep me safe, in these beautiful islands I love so much, was good enough for me.)

Ferry travel in the San Juans seems to have picked up this summer. “It doesn’t usually get busy until after the 4th of July, but we’ve been busy since the 16th of June. We’ve had to put on additional boats. Usually this is a lull here, but we haven’t had it. Maybe we’re seeing more local traffic because of September 11th, people staying close to home, doing trips out in the San Juans. It’s a matter of not flying. I feel our traffic is definitely up from what it was last year.” In the summertime, the ferry line can range from two to four hours. Be prepared to sit and relax, because you “ain’t going nowhere” until that boat docks.