Courtesy of Golden GateThe MV Napa — formerly WSF’s Snohomish — at

Published 7:00 am Friday, September 4, 2009

Courtesy of Golden GateThe MV Napa — formerly WSF’s Snohomish — at its naming ceremony.Washington State Ferries knew there were going to be service disruptions. They told riders there would be, once the legislatively-mandated sale of the boats was complete. With no backup boats, there would be disruptions if — and when — a boat went into the shop unexpectedly. Governor Gregoire knew this. And she knew that WSF had two passenger-only boats on the auction block. But she told WSF to sell them anyway.So, when one of the Bainbridge boats (The Wenatchee) went into the shop after a “hard landing” this week, it wasn’t a surprise that Bremerton lost an auto ferry. It wasn’t a surprise that WSF had to borrow two passenger-only ferries (149 heads) from Victoria Express, for a bill that will be in the $200,000 range, according to WSF.But, it is something of a surprise to hear what’s become of those two passenger-only ferries that WSF and the governor sold without a fight.The Snohomish, one of two boats sold to Golden Gate Bridge Highway and Transportation District in January has been sailing commuters between Larkspur and San Francisco every week day since May 28. And Mary Currie, a spokesperson for Golden Gate, says she expects the Snohomish — since re-named the MV Napa — to keep its current daily gig until March. The sale was a natural for Golden Gate, which doesn’t have the burden of moving cars the way WSF does.”We do not operate car ferries,” she says. “No need to, as our ferry system was created as an alternative to driving specifically.”After closing the deal, Golden Gate spent $450,000 on “minor refurbishments” for the Snohomish — sorry, Napa — and brought its capacity up to 400. (In its prime, WSF ran the Snohomish at 350, but it was running it at 149 at the end of its Puget Sound tenure), and put it to work while one of the organization’s boats has been out for repair.”One of the key strategies in purchasing these vessels is that we would have a high-speed ferry that could maintain our schedules,” Currie says. “We do have (another) backup vessel, but it cannot maintain the schedule.”And the customers? How do they like it?”I get to see all the customer complaints that come in,” Currie says, “and there has not been one.”David Morse, a 10-year veteran of the Bremerton ferry since moving across the water for affordable housing, said he saw the Napa recently on a trip to San Francisco. He speaks for more than a couple Bremerton regulars when he says he wishes WSF had held onto it for emergencies. “You drool when you see it.”The last week’s disruptions — and the last two years in particular — have all but convinced Morse that it’s time for him to move back to Seattle. “It’s so unpredictable. It’s so arbitrary,” he says. “Monday was kind of the last straw. I just kind of thought ‘I’m done taking the ferry.'”At $4.4 million for a pair of vessels, Currie acknowledges that Golden Gate got a heck of a deal. Throw in the fact that the system was awarded $8.6 million in federal stimulus funds and $9.9 million in Federal Transit Administration funds to refurbish them and it sounds more like a gift from above. Currie said before they purchased the boats, they compared the amount it would cost to acquire the pair from WSF or commission new boats. The cost comparison showed that it would cost $18.6 million to purchase one high-speed boat, or $23.5 million to acquire the ships from WSF and fully refurbish them, something that was not necessary to put the Snohomish (Napa) into daily service for 10 months. “Basically, it was pretty close to a twofer, if you will.”Golden Gate had planned to reserve the Chinook strictly as a backup. But with a massive construction project on the horizon, they’re considering bringing the Chinook into full time service to accommodate the increase in use Golden Gate is anticipating. It will also come in handy, Currie said, servicing their special event runs for things like Giants games.”We run right to the back gate entrance to the ballpark,” she said. “(The Chinook) just give us more flexibility to keep on schedule.”For this service, riders in the Bay Area pay substantially more than riders on the Puget Sound. While a monthly pass can be had for the Bremerton or Bainbridege run for $85, the frequent-rider rate is nearly $10 a day between Larkspur and San Francisco.”I would pay $20 to get home if I could go to a play, a concert, a movie,” Morse said when talking about the gap between the 10:30 p.m. and 12:50 a.m. runs to Bremerton. “But I’m not coming home at 2 in the morning if something ends at 10:45 p.m.”