"Ferry's in"

A large part of my attraction to Marysville is the island experience. The ferry trip back and forth,  despite the constrained views from the car, is a connection to the sea state on the crossing and the duration provides a sort of mental separation from the City.  Even staying in the car, it satisfies my  love of just being on the water.

In the village, there are views from Main Street out to Barrett's Bay, but more than that, there is a rhythm of activity tied to the hourly ferry schedule.  Cars queue up along Main Street to ensure a place on the next boat and when it arrives theres a sort of tidal flow of 50 or so vehicles disembarking.  Ten minutes before arrival of the ferry there is a rush to pay up and turnover of tables at the local restaurants and over and lots of waving and salutations as people acknowledge friends along the street and at the terminal as the ferry unloads and takes on a new load.

Wolfe Islander III

There is no bridge to Wolfe Island, instead there is a ferry which runs back and forth and for some arcane reason is free.  In the summer there can be quite a line up with vehicles, but there is always room to just walk on. On a nice day its fun just to go back and forth without even getting off.

This is the third Wolfe Islander, constructed by the Port Aurthur shipyard in Thunder Bay.  Number four is under construction in Romania and will have electric propulsion.  The shipbuilders, Damen, were good enough to give me a little more information about its operation.

"Please be advised that the propulsion system is in fact a hybrid diesel electric system. However there is enough battery power onboard to perform the ferry crossing on electrical power. These batteries will be charged with a fast shore charging system, resulting in the majority of all sailings being full electric."

The plan is to operate both No. 3 and 4 durring busy periods, which will more than double the capacity and offer 1/2 hour service from both sides.  But I imagine I'll time my trips to use the new ferry just because of the clean and renewable power.