Anacortes … Guemes, what’s a “guemes”!

August, 2020

Yes, that is a real word. And it’s even a real place. There is an island named Guemes just to the north of Fidalgo. Today I took the small ferry from Anacortes on Fidalgo over to Guemes and had a great time doing that. But let me tell you about the name/word “guemes” before we get into the actual trip.

I was raised around this area, though mostly down on Whidbey Island. Can’t tell you how many tourists pronounce the word Guemes as “gweeems”. Don’t do that! Most locals say either gway-miss or gwee-miss, or something in between gway and gwee. If any of you Readers can enlighten us even more about the correct local pronunciation, that would be terrific.

The name/word “Guemes” was given to the island by the Spanish explorer José María Narváez as Isla de Güemes, although he supposedly named the island after someone other than himself. A bit of information about the native Salish people on the island, and more info too can be found on this Wikipedia article about Guemes.

So, that’s a bit of history and other details. Let’s get going and see what this day brings and see what this ferry ride is all about.

First off, the photo above is of the ferry that runs between Fidalgo Island and Guemes Island. The ferry is small, but she and her Captain and crew have been plying these waters for many years in all sorts of weather. The ferry runs north-south, so winter winds from the west can be dastardly here, but this summer day was warm, wind-free, and calm so the ride across was smooth as silk.

In the photo above, the outer end of the ferry dock at Anacortes is on the lower right … the ferry dock on Guemes is on the left side of the photo, at the foot of the road over on Guemes. The ferry ride is a short trip … anywhere from 8 to 10 minutes depending on weather and the current running through the channel.

So this would be my ferry boat ride … from Anacortes over to Guemes … and then I’d ride the ferry back to Anacortes. I wasn’t taking the truck (though I could have). I wanted to walk on board the ferry along with probably a dozen or more locals who walk on because their “home car” is parked over on Guemes. And, by walking on, I figured I would find one or two people to chat with. And I’d get to watch the ferry boat crew do their work, and watch the local cars and trucks drive on and off, etc. I was sure looking forward to it. 🙂 Let’s go!

Whoa, the ferry just left Guemes Island! And it’s heading this way. Look at her fly. 🙂

The photo above is of the ferry dock to Guemes. I parked my truck off to the left (outside the photo above) in a free, public parking area. The ferry is about to arrive.

The ferry arrived quickly, cars and trucks were off-loaded, then we foot-passengers were allowed to board, and the cars and trucks heading over to Guemes started driving onboard too. [Note: you might not see the ferry out there at the end of the dock above, but I can assure you that it’s there!]

The white lines on the “pavement” in the photo above are actually on the car deck of the ferry. The dark vehicle in the lower right of the photo is about to drive down the ramp onto the car deck of the ferry. The driver of that dark colored vehicle will be directed by the ferry worker in the orange vest. I was following that grey-haired gentleman, walking onto the ferry on the left side.

The car deck started to fill up with cars and trucks … gray colored trucks seemed to be de riguer today. Notice the interior, sheltered seating area on the left for foot passengers. On a day like today, about half of the foot traffic (me too) stayed outside to enjoy the sunshine and the boat ride. The structure above the passenger shelter … the structure with the large windows … is the wheelhouse, where the Captain is. He/she operates the vessel from that location.

Of course I took pictures of stuff. The photo above shows a number of high volume pump valves, ordinarily used during maintenance procedures but also available in case of emergency. Left to right … Fuel Pump Discharge, Aft Ballast Fill, Aft Ballast Suction, FWD Ballast Suction, Void 4 Bilge, Void 3 Bilge, Void 2 Bilge, Bilge Crossover. These valves are also used to keep the vessel level when a particularly heavy vehicle might be on board, and/or when heading into particularly inclement weather and directly into oncoming waves. I know these things because I chatted with the redheaded crew man in the dark baseball cap who will be in the video coming up.

Photo above is of two electrical control panels that operate many things, including raising and lowering the vehicle ramp that leads down to the ferry deck. These panels are operated by the deck crew. Lots of switches and buttons and warning lights … I decided not to touch them.

There was a large cleat on each side of the ferry that was used to tie a line that came from the permanent dock, in order to hold the ferry into the dock. The line was not stretched particularly tightly between the permanent dock and the ferry since the ferry’s engine was also in forward gear when at the dock, holding the boat to the dock. But, just in case, these lines were always tied to the cleats when the ferry was at the dock loading or off-loading. Some of you Readers who are boaters will notice that this particular line was not tied precisely correctly on the cleat. But wait just a bit … when I get across to Guemes, and then return to Anacortes, you’ll see the ferry crew man tie THAT line exactly perfectly.

And here we go!

The crew man waves up to the Captain in the wheel house that everything on the deck is secure, that the boat is loose and ready to leave. And then the captain puts that engine into gear and off we go! The boat seems to go from an absolute standstill to full speed in just a few seconds.

We pulled away and said good-bye to Anacortes.

In the photo below, we caught a glimpse of the Atlantis at the Anacortes shipyard that I had visited earlier this week.

 

In just under eight minutes, we arrived at the Guemes Island dock. You can see the super-structure of the dock in the photo above.

I walked off the ferry behind the other foot passengers and then just hung out on shore around the ferry dock while the vehicles drove off the ferry.

In the photo above, the two cars on the right are driving off the ferry onto Guemes Island. The truck in the middle of the photo with the white cab and the green box behind the cab (and all of the vehicles lined up behind it) are parked, waiting to drive onto the ferry for the trip to Anacortes.

I just wandered around on the beach a bit, happy to be out in the sunshine, listening to the seagulls, watching the small waves lap the shore, smelling the fresh saltwater/beach air. This is a very quiet community.

 

To the left of the ferry dock on Guemes Island is a parking lot where local Guemes residents can park their vehicle and then walk on board the ferry. Some folks have another car on the Anacortes side … some folks catch the bus on the Anacortes side … some folks bring a bicycle across … and yes some folks actually drive their cars/trucks onto the ferry. It’s all good.

Eventually, after a few minutes, it was time to board the ferry again for the return trip to Anacortes. I walked on with a very few other folks. I again chatted with the same redheaded crew man … he liked that I had simply walked across the ferry for the ride just simply to enjoy the ride … he liked that.

The cars and trucks drove on and then … whoop! … we were on our way back to Anacortes! No hesitation by this Captain! We were in gear in on our way!

There was no wind to speak of today … the wind noise you hear in the video below is just from the speed of the ferry.

I was raised around ferry boats … they are familiar to me. But still, it always seems that they approach the dock at a high rate of speed. But these ferry Captains know their stuff. In the video above, you can hear when the engine is put in neutral and then, a moment or two later, you can hear when the Captain puts the engine in reverse to slow the boat down. When there’s a swift incoming or outgoing current running, then the docking procedure is a bit different, a bit more forceful, and there can be a bit of a BUMP when the ferry hits the dock … hence those hand-holds for the ferry crew. These are professional folks who run these boats. They are the best. Which reminds me … watch the crew man at the end of the video above tie a perfect cleat hitch with the line.

Once back over on the Anacortes side, I walked off the ferry and then walked over onto the beach beside the ferry dock to snap the photos below.

The ferry is still docked in the photo above. Maybe you can see the Captain’s wheelhouse just to the left of the super-structure in the photo above? The long white-walled section of the dock is the ramp that is raised or lowered to meet the deck of the ferry, depending on the height of the tide.

Below, a close-up of the Captain in the wheelhouse.

On the Anacortes side of this ferry run, there’s a large waiting room for walk-on passengers. Inside the waiting room there’s a large number of historical photos of this ferry service.

The very first car ferry to run between Anacortes/Fidalgo and Guemes … 1918.

That very same ferry was remodeled a bit, with her roof adapted in order to hold a lifeboat.

The exact same boat, but with the left side wall of the boat rebuilt so it would reduce windage and reduce the affect of those dastardly winter winds from the west.

Above, the same boat, photographed from a different angle … it was still just a six-car ferry.

Above, the Almar, in service on this run between 1959 and 1979, was a nine-car ferry.

Below is a photo of Captain Sandrup “Sandy” Bernsen who skippered the second and third versions of that original ferry, Guemes, and the Almar as well. What stories he could tell.

The present-day ferry is the Guemes, a 21-vehicle, 99-passenger ferry. It was built specifically for this run and was put into service in 1979. In 2015, today’s ferry was “hauled” (taken out of the water and put in temporary drydock, as she has been once every two years since she was brand new) for regular maintenance and upgrades. As usual, the work was monitored by the boat’s captain, Captain Rachel Rowe, and the vessel was nicely returned to service after that work was completed.

As of 2019, there has been a new project in place to design, finance, and build a new ferry that will replace this current ferry. For information about that project, see this webpage. Much of the process is being overseen by Captain Rowe, and many of the documents were written by her. The concept is that the new ferry will carry 28 cars and 150 passengers and will be more powerful in order to deal with the sometimes extremely forceful water currents in the Guemes Channel as well as those vicious winter winds.

Here’s a bit of information about Captain Rowe:

“Captain Rachel Rowe is the ferry operations division manager for Skagit County Public Works. In this role, she is responsible for planning, organizing, directing and controlling all activities for the Guemes Island ferry system. She also oversees operation and maintenance of the docks and terminal facilities, as well as annual shipyard and repair projects. She is currently leading Skagit County’s battery-electric ferry replacement project, which will be one of the first purpose built, all-electric vehicle and passenger ferries in the US.

“Captain Rowe was born and raised in the Pacific Northwest. She attended Seattle Maritime Academy and has been a USCG-licensed captain since 2003.

“Captain Rowe has spent more than 20 years in the commercial passenger vessel industry, working in both the public and private sector. Her career navigational experience in the private sector includes Southeast Alaska’s Inside Passage, Canada’s Gulf Islands, Mexico’s Sea of Cortes, the Columbia and Snake Rivers, San Francisco Bay, the Napa and Petaluma Rivers, Costa Rica and several offshore Pacific Ocean voyages.”

* * * * * * * * *

This was a superb day in every way for me. I loved the history and the current events. And I loved the boat ride. I’ll spend one last evening and night in my trailer in the campground at Washington Park campground in Anacortes, then I’ll hitch up in the morning and head home … to dream of sunshine, calm seas, and fair winds.