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11/21/2005: " $10 To Bellingham? Yes: New Passenger Ferry"

A new passenger ferry to Bellingham will begin regularly scheduled service to Friday Harbor beginning November 28th. The 100' vessel "Victoria Star" can carry up to 150 foot passengers between Bellingham and Friday Harbor.

The service will run Monday through Friday with 2 round trips per day. The ship will sail from Bellingham at 7am and 3pm and from Friday Harbor at 9am and 5pm. The cost is $10 dollars each way. A commuter book of 10 tickets will be available for $75.

The idea of a passenger ferry between Bellingham and Friday Harbor is not new. It has been tried several times before. Doug Smith, Bellingham Port Comissioner, remembers when the passenger ferry "Osage" sailed between Bellingham and Friday Harbor. The service ended in the late 1940's. He said that during that era there was frequent commerce and social interaction between Whatcom and San Juan families. It has been his dream for about the last 12 years to try and return to those days when the our Counties were connected by boats. He has played an important role in putting the deal together.

According to Drew Schmidt of Victoria San Juan Cruises, the ship will sail from the Fairhaven terminal and arrive at the Port dock here. Rental cars will be available from Avis at the Fairhaven Terminal area for $20 per day. He said there is also long term parking at the Alaska terminal for a fee. Drew is excited about the long term possibilities of this service.

A Federal Transit Administration grant has made this dream possible. A $196 thousand-dollar grant to the Council of Governments was passed to the Port of Bellingham via an Inter-local agreement with the Port. The Port then contracted with Victoria San Juan Cruises for the ferry service.

The grant will help subsidize the fares that will be charged to passengers and will provide funds for a promotional campaign. The service will be evaluated as to its' viability during the first four months of operation. There appears to be high hopes for its' success. There will be a promotion and advertising campaign that will begin soon for the new service.