The Seattle–Bainbridge ferry is a ferry route across
Puget Sound
Puget Sound ( ) is a sound of the Pacific Northwest, an inlet of the Pacific Ocean, and part of the Salish Sea. It is located along the northwestern coast of the U.S. state of Washington. It is a complex estuarine system of interconnected ma ...
between
Seattle
Seattle ( ) is a seaport city on the West Coast of the United States. It is the seat of King County, Washington. With a 2020 population of 737,015, it is the largest city in both the state of Washington and the Pacific Northwest regio ...
and
Bainbridge Island, Washington. The route was called the Seattle–Winslow ferry before the city of
Winslow Winslow may refer to:
Places United Kingdom
* Winslow, Buckinghamshire, England, a market town and civil parish
* Winslow Rural District, Buckinghamshire, a rural district from 1894 to 1974
United States and Canada
* Rural Municipality of Winslo ...
annexed the rest of the island and changed its name. Since 1951 the only ferries employed on the route have belonged to the
Washington state ferry system, currently the largest ferry system in the United States.
Description
This ferry route is long, with terminals at
Colman Dock
Colman Dock, also called Pier 52, is the primary ferry terminal in Seattle, Washington, United States. The original pier is no longer in existence, but the terminal, now used by the Washington State Ferry system, is still called "Colman Dock". ...
in
Seattle
Seattle ( ) is a seaport city on the West Coast of the United States. It is the seat of King County, Washington. With a 2020 population of 737,015, it is the largest city in both the state of Washington and the Pacific Northwest regio ...
and on Bainbridge Island, at Winslow. Next to the Winslow terminal is
Eagle Harbor, the main shipyard for the Washington State Ferry system.
[Demoro, Harre, ''The Evergreen Fleet'', pp. 45–47]
History
Before ferries were dominant on Puget Sound, the route was served by passenger and freight-carrying steamboats. The wooden steamship ''Florence K'' served the route for the
Eagle Harbor Transportation Co., until 1915 when the company put the new steamer
''Bainbridge'' on the route, and shifted ''Florence K'' to the Seattle–Port Washington route.
[Newell, ed., ''H.W. McCurdy Marine History'', at 90, 254, 326, 351, 372, 425, and 593.]
In 1949, the ''Chippewa'' served on the route, except during summers, when the ''Chippewa'' was transferred to the
Anacortes-San Juan Islands-Sidney route.
[Kline and Bayless, ''Ferryboats – A Legend on Puget Sound'', p. 53.] From 1951 to 1968, the main ferry on the route was the
''Illahee'' which ran along with the
''Quinault'' (1951–1953),
''Evergreen State'' (1954–1959), and
''Tillikum'' (1959–1968), with the steam ferry
''San Mateo'' occasionally running as an extra boat.
[
In 1950, the Agate Pass Bridge opened, connecting the north end of Bainbridge Island to the ]Kitsap Peninsula
The Kitsap Peninsula () lies west of Seattle across Puget Sound, in Washington state in the Pacific Northwest. Hood Canal separates the peninsula from the Olympic Peninsula on its west side. The peninsula, a.k.a. "Kitsap", encompasses all of Kit ...
. The bridge and ferry proved to be a faster option to travel between many parts of the Olympic Peninsula
The Olympic Peninsula is a large arm of land in western Washington that lies across Puget Sound from Seattle, and contains Olympic National Park. It is bounded on the west by the Pacific Ocean, the north by the Strait of Juan de Fuca, and th ...
and Seattle, compared to the Seattle–Bremerton ferry
The Seattle–Bremerton ferry is a ferry route across Puget Sound between Seattle and Bremerton, Washington. Since 1951, the route has primarily been operated by the state-run Washington State Ferries system, currently the largest ferry system i ...
route.
By 1968, demand on the Bainbridge Island ferry was exceeding vehicle capacity, so the ''Tillikum'' and ''Illahee'' were reassigned to the Edmonds–Kingston ferry
The Edmonds–Kingston ferry is a ferry route across Puget Sound between Edmonds and Kingston, Washington. Since 1951 the only ferries employed on the route have belonged to the Washington state ferry system, currently the largest ferry system i ...
, and replaced by the ''Super''-class vessels ''Kaleetan'' and ''Elwha'', both of which had capacities of 2,500 passengers and 160 automobiles.[ About five years later, in 1972–1973, the ''Super''-class vessels were displaced by the larger ''Jumbo''-class ferries ''Spokane'' and ''Walla Walla'', which had a lower passenger capacity of 2,000 passengers, but room for 206 automobiles (later downrated to 188 vehicles). The ''Jumbo''-class ferries remained in Bainbridge Island service for more than two decades until they were displaced in turn by the even larger ''Jumbo Mark-II''-class vessels, the ''Tacoma'' and ''Wenatchee'' in 1997–1998, which returned a passenger capacity of 2,500 and a maximum of 202 vehicles.]
See also
* Ferries in Washington State
The U.S. state of Washington is home to a number of public and private ferry systems, most notably the state-run Washington State Ferries.
History
Due to Washington's geography which features large, deep bodies of water with many peninsulas and ...
Notes
References
* Demoro, Harre, ''The Evergreen Fleet – A Pictorial History of Washington State Ferries'', Golden West Books, San Marino CA (1971)
* Kline, Mary S., and Bayless, G.A., ''Ferryboats – A Legend on Puget Sound'', Bayless Books, Seattle (1983)
* Newell, Gordon R. ed., ''H.W. McCurdy Marine History of the Pacific Northwest'', Superior Publishing, Seattle WA (1966)
External links
*
{{DEFAULTSORT:Seattle-Winslow Ferry
Ferry routes in western Washington (state)
Transportation in King County, Washington
Water transport in Seattle
History of King County, Washington
Transportation in Kitsap County, Washington
History of Kitsap County, Washington
Bainbridge Island, Washington