Ferry Near Narrows Bridge was Chartered

The in basket: Those of us on the Tacoma Narrows shoreline last Monday waiting for the first bridge deck section to be lifted were surprised to have the state ferry Evergreen State sail past with cars and passengers aboard. There is no ferry run that far south.
One of our published photos showed the boat at the bridge and raised some inevitable suspicions.
“A special VIP sightseeing run on the taxpayers’ tab?” speculated Robert Ricklefs

The in basket: Those of us on the Tacoma Narrows shoreline last Monday waiting for the first bridge deck section to be lifted were surprised to have the state ferry Evergreen State sail past with cars and passengers aboard. There is no ferry run that far south.
One of our published photos showed the boat at the bridge and raised some inevitable suspicions.
“A special VIP sightseeing run on the taxpayers’ tab?” speculated Robert Ricklefs
“Could this be a joy ride for the ferry crew or is it a boondoggle for some state officials to see the construction?” asked Ed Danks.
And Bob and Teresa Kennedy of Belfair called to relate how Teresa had in 1997 gotten the Legislature to require Washington State Ferries to charge what it cost them to charter ferries, in her case, for petroleum shipments in the San Juans.
My South Kitsap graduating class chartered a ferry for graduation night in 1961, but I think the ferry system discontinued that practice some time later.
The out basket: Susan Harris-Heuther and Tara Decrow of WSF tell me the Evergreen State was chartered that night by an Early Ford V-8 club holding a national event in Tacoma. The club paid $8,390 for the ride, and brought 64 of their cars aboard. That figure paid for crew time, including those that directed the loading and unloading of the cars, fuel and rental of the ferry.
Neither the club members nor the ferry captain knew when they cast off from the Point Defiance Dock that afternoon that the bridge deck lift was going on, said Tara, who was aboard. There was a lot of excitement and clicking of cameras when they stumbled on the activity, she said.
Tara said this is only the second social charter she has arranged since taking the job of promotions director a year and a half ago. But Susan said the system has chartered ferries for the movies a lot, including “The Ring,” in which trained horses jumped off a ferry, “Enough,” “Free Willy,” and the infamous scene in “Disclosure” in which Michael Douglas leaped for a departing ferry and made it. K2 Skis on Vashon Island paid $2,000 to film commercials featuring livestock and winter sports athletes at a tied-up ferry at Point Defiance in June.
The shut-down on charters that I recall was before her time, Susan said, but she hears it was because they “ran out of boats” and possibly some bad experiences with alcohol at some of the events.
They go after the movie companies, but haven’t actively marketed charters for social events, Susan said. But given WSF’s directive to maximize non-fare box revenue, that is likely to change.
It’ll cost you about what it cost the car club to charter one, depending on the size of the boat, she said. And it comes with a scary caveat – if routed ferries go down on the scheduled day and they need your boat, they’ll cancel the charter.