Welcome to Skagit County
February 24th, 2005
RETURN TO THREE-PERSON CREW REQUIRES CHANGES IN LOADING PROCEDURE FOR GUEMES ISLAND FERRY, MARCH 14
SKAGIT COUNTY - The return to three-person crew requires small changes in loading procedures on the Guemes Island Ferry. These changes are due to what the Coast Guard will allow for crew positioning during loading of the ferry at the Anacortes terminal and the county cash handling procedures.
The Coast Guard Certificate of Inspection (COI) only requires three people in the crew, a master and two deckhands. There is a provision in the COI that limits where the purser may go when there are three persons in the crew and there are passengers and/or vehicles on the ferry. The purser may not sell beyond the southern end of the terminal building while passengers are on the ferry. “In other words the purser cannot pre-sell “up the hill,” said Ferry Manager Steve Cox.
“In order to effectively serve customers by providing times where we can pre-sell coupon books and tickets the following will take place,” said Cox:
1. On Monday through Thursday
and Friday the required morning crew break will be between the 9:00 am and 10:00
am run. There will be no “double” 9:00 am run.
2. On Tuesday the 9:00 am run will be dedicated Hazardous material run only.
This allows for needed ticket sales.
3. “Double” the 11:00 am run only. Allows for required Coast Guard
drills and lunch. Purser would then have time to do required book work and pre-sell
load “up the hill” with no passengers on the ferry. This would satisfy
Coast Guard and not be a violation of the requirements of the COI.
The fourth crew member would be brought on during heavy traffic conditions, such as large number of cars lined back up to K or J Avenues on 6th Street, large numbers of heavy trucks and other complex loads. The fourth crew member would be used around holidays. The fourth crew member would be called in for a minimum of three hours. The fourth crew member call in will need the approval of the ferry manager or senior master. During summer operations, the fourth person will be required more frequently than during the rest of the year. This high load season runs from approximately May 15th through approximately September 15th.”
LOADING PROCEDURES-COMMENCING 1 MARCH 2005
All sales should cease approximately three minutes prior to scheduled departure. The cutoff will be signaled by the Master of the vessel using radio communication.
Loading of the vessel will occur in 3 phases.
Phase I – Walk-On Passengers
Prior to loading vehicles, the purser shall sell tickets to, or verify commuter coupons of, any waiting walk-on passengers. Those passengers who are ticketed prior to loading vehicles shall board the ferry first and only after the purser opens the passenger boarding gate. Immediately following the loading of ticketed walk-on passengers, the purser shall close the boarding gate. (All ticketed walk-on passengers are to wait at the end of the ramp so that their tickets or coupons can be collected and/or validated by the deckhand. The tickets shall be collected or validated by the deckhand as they board the vessel. The deckhand shall be responsible for the passenger count.)
Phase II – Vehicle Boarding
Following Phase I, the purser will sell tickets to, or verify commuter coupons of, any waiting vehicular passengers. This will continue until, at the radioed instruction of the master, the loading of vehicles shall cease three minutes prior to the scheduled vessel departure. At that time, the deckhand shall close the vehicle traffic gate and the purser shall secure all funds then let walk-on passengers board the ferry as noted in Phase III – Walk-On Passengers. The tickets shall be collected or validated by the deckhand as the vehicles board the vessel or after all vehicles are loaded depending on number of vehicles. The deckhand shall be responsible for the passenger count.
Phase III – Walk-On Passengers
Any walk-on passengers who arrived during the vehicle loading process shall wait to purchase tickets from the purser or have commuter coupons verified by the purser as time allows. Only those walk-on passengers who have purchased tickets or who have had their commuter coupons verified shall board the vessel during this phase of loading. Walk-on passengers will board the ferry only after the purser opens the passenger boarding gate. Immediately following the loading of ticketed walk-on passengers, the purser shall close the boarding gate and proceed onto the ferry. The tickets shall be collected or validated by the deckhand as the walk-on passengers board the vessel. The deckhand shall be responsible for the passenger count.
To provide a smooth transition into these changes, the ferry crew will phase in these procedures starting on February 22, 2005, by cutting of sales approximately three minutes prior to departure and loading walk-on passengers as described above.
For further information, contact Steve Cox at 360-336-9400