PORT TOWNSEND — Residents interested in passenger ferry service from Port Townsend to Seattle can get a peek at the future Thursday when the 72-foot ferry Spirit is hoisted out of the water at Port Townsend Boat Haven marina.
The Port of Kingston is in the process of buying the 149-seat, passenger-only catamaran built and launched five years ago by All American Marine in Bellingham.
It was most recently used in Juneau, Alaska, as an eco-tour vessel.
Arrives Thursday
Port of Port Townsend yard staffers are scheduled to lift the ferry out of the water for inspection at 2 p.m. Thursday.
Securing a Jefferson Transit connection with the ferry appears to be in the talking stages.
And whether the ferry could be used in Port Townsend for weekend runs to Seattle is not known, although that has been discussed in the past.
Port of Port Townsend commissioners are in early discussions about the prospect of the port getting into the passenger ferry business with the private operator.
Port of Kingston commissioners were expected to approve purchase of the vessel today, in part with a $3.5 million Federal Transportation Administration grant the agency received about two years ago to establish regular runs from that port’s passenger dock to the waterfront in downtown Seattle.
The Port of Kingston has about $4 million saved for the venture.
The ferry cruises at 35 knots and should make the run one way in 35 minutes, given good weather and sea conditions.
‘Not an experiment’
The Port of Kingston commissioners are prepared to operate the passenger ferry service to Seattle, offering two early-morning commuter runs out of Kingston and two return runs from Seattle in the late afternoon
“This is not an experiment,” said Peter DeBoer, port of Kingston commissioner for the past six years.
“We feel we have enough in kitty to operate for four to five years.
“If it’s done right should we break even or make a little bit.”
The port of Kingston has received $150,000 in support from the state Legislature, DeBoer said, adding that the vessel price would be made public during the Kingston port commissioners’ meeting Wednesday.
The commissioners recently hired a passenger ferry program manager, Eric Osnes, who will be at Port Townsend Boat Haven for Thursday’s inspection.
DeBoer said the aluminum-hull vessel has two new diesel 74-horsepower engines and water jet propulsion.
For passengers, it has a small galley and coffee bar in the upper salon.
Bus to Kingston
DeBoer said the port has discussed with Jefferson Transit a proposal to run a bus directly to Kingston, or possibly meet a Kitsap Transit connection in Poulsbo.
That prospect was wholeheartedly embraced by Tim Caldwell, Jefferson County Ferry Advisory Committee chairman and longtime advocate for passenger ferry service between Port Townsend and Seattle.
“It’s like the planets are aligning,” Caldwell said of the Port of Kingston service that is expected to begin some time in the fall.
Caldwell said he would support a “seamless” Jefferson Transit bus connection from Port Townsend to Kingston.
Jefferson County Commissioner John Austin, one of three county commissioners on the Jefferson Transit board, said he would support the straight connection to Kingston, but wondered if it was economically feasible.
“Ideally, we might be able to work out some sort of way in which we could have a connection at the Poulsbo terminal” with Kitsap Transit to Kingston, the commissioner from Port Ludlow said.
“It would certainly be worthwhile to look at.”
DeBoer said the Port of Kingston commissioners learned a lot from the failed 2005 attempt by private operator Aqua Express to provide Kingston-Seattle service.
The company operated on the route from Jan. 18, 2005, until Oct. 1, 2005, but the 270-passenger vessel was too expensive to operate and shut down operations after fuel prices soared and ridership failed to meet expectations.
Aqua Express’ round-trip fare was $10.50, and the port of Kingston has yet to set its fares.
Grant sought
Port of Port Townsend Executive Director Larry Crockett said his agency sent off a grant application to U.S. Sen. Patty Murray’s office last week in an attempt to secure a $1 million congressional appropriation, or earmark, to finance the purchase of a small passenger ferry that the port could run between Port Townsend and Seattle.
Crockett said the port would need at least $1 million to subsidize a public/private ferry service venture for a two-year trial.
The funding could be used for up-front expenses and for subsidizing service.
Crockett told the port commissioners recently that he proposes that the port buy a used passenger ferry — he was talking to an Alaskan tribe that wants to sell one — that would then be leased to a private operator selected through a bidding process.
Both passenger ferry operators on the North Olympic Peninsula, Victoria Express President Jack Harmon, and Pete Hanke, whose family operates Puget Sound Express whale watching tours, expressed interest in such a venture.
Crockett said success would largely rest with commuters, tourists and marketing the service to the Seattle side of Puget Sound.
Round-trip fares could be as high as $20 for commuter round trips and $30 for tourists to make passenger ferry service pay for itself, Crockett said.
Port Townsend-Seattle passenger ferry service has been tried for short stints since the late 1980s.
In January 2009, The Port Townsend Chamber of Commerce board, unable to locate a charter boat operation, indefinitely tabled a proposed Port Townsend-Seattle passenger ferry-only service for extended weekends during peak summer tourist season.
That ended the proposal that former chamber manager Caldwell had long promoted.
Puget Sound Energy had extended the chamber a $15,000 grant, but PSE officials said it could be used for other tourism-related promotions.
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Port Townsend-Jefferson County Editor Jeff Chew can be reached at 360-385-2335 or at jeff.chew@peninsuladailynews.com.
