Two boat ferry service returns

Published 2:09 pm Friday, May 11, 2012

For the first time in nearly five years, the Port Townsend-to-Coupeville ferry route will enjoy two-vessel service for the entire tourist season.

Two ferries, the Salish and the Kennewick, will start sailing to and from Keystone Harbor on Mother’s Day, Sunday, May 13, and continue until early October. The additional ferry means another five round trips daily.

The route across Admiralty Inlet endured limited service since the Steel Electric ferries were pulled from service in November 2007.

There was a brief respite when the route had two-boat service for part of the summer in 2011, when construction of the Salish, the second of three Kwa-di Tabil class ferries, was complete.

The addition of a second ferry comes in time for Mother’s Day and the Penn Cove Water Festival, which takes place May 19.