Ferry ‘Cross the …Fuca?

From time to time, I write about the Port of Los Angeles, which is near my house. It’s an endlessly fascinating place.

Recently I had an opportunity to see a much different port with a similar name: Port Angeles, Washington.

Just to clarify the nomenclature, early Spanish settlers named our California city El Pueblo de Nuestra Señora la Reina de los Ángeles de Porciúncula in 1781. That settlement was inland, site of today’s downtown Los Angeles. Ten years later, another Spaniard, Francisco de Eliza, showed more restraint in naming the harbor he encountered Puerto de Nuestra Señora de los Ángeles, leaving out the royal title, and a port from the outset. Both places refer to the same woman, but it’s relatively easy to keep them sorted out.

With a natural deep water harbor (superior in that regard to L.A.’s), and situated along the Strait of Juan de Fuca, Port Angeles is the first deep water port ships encounter as they move from the Pacific Ocean into the immense Puget Sound area. That includes numerous other harbors: Seattle, Bremerton, Port Townsend and Tacoma, Washington; and Victoria and Vancouver, British Columbia, to name only a few.

While immense container ships and, to a lesser degree, petroleum tankers constitute the largest amount of freight moving in and out of L.A., Port Angeles is the shipping point for timber and wood products, some petroleum and fishing, but also repair and outfitting services, as I described recently. I saw the 286 meter-long Alaskan Navigator out of Portland, Oregon moored there, for exactly that purpose.

The size of Port Angeles harbor is impressive, although the scale of the commercial operations is dwarfed by that of L.A. Still, there are plenty of commonalities. There’s a private boat marina, occasionally boasting a mega-yacht, tugboats, cruise ships and a large U.S. Coast Guard station at both places. Here’s the Washington installation.

Both points are also termini for travel to and from destinations that lie about 20 miles across the water. In California, the port of Avalon on Santa Catalina Island is a popular tourist spot, although the Catalina boats also serve the approximately 4,000 people who live on the island. There are no cars or trucks on Catalina, so those are strictly passenger craft.

About the same distance from Port Angeles is a much larger port town: Victoria, British Columbia, Canada. Victoria is on Vancouver Island, and must be reached by water or air; there are no bridges. As a result, a large ferry carries passengers and vehicles — including full sized semi-tractor trailers on a 90-minute trip between the cities several times a day.

That’s M.V. Coho (M.V. stands for “marine vessel”).

Ferries are a significantly important form of transportation everywhere in the world, on every continent, crossing rivers, lakes and an untold variety of bays, inlets and other bodies of water. For many people — probably tens or hundreds of thousands — they’re a part of everyday existence. They can be intimately small …

… or ships of daunting scale. The world’s largest ferry in terms of gross tonnage, Color Magic, is 224 meters long and can carry 2,700 passengers and 75,000 tons. It crosses the Baltic Sea from Oslo, Norway to Kiel, Germany.

M.V. Coho falls in between at 341 feet long, 72 feet wide, with capacity for 1,000 passengers and 110 vehicles.

If you’ve never driven your vehicle onto a ferry, the procedure looks something like this:

While many vehicle ferries are built to allow loading from both ends, meaning you drive straight on, then straight off, M.V. Coho loads and unloads only from the stern. That requires turning the ship to dock, as well as reversing vehicles to disembark. M.V. Coho‘s been in service since 1959.

Sailing on MV Coho

To plan your trip between Port Angeles and Victoria, consult the ferry’s website for sailing times, ticket prices, reservations and directions. It’s my understanding that one can typically show up without a reservation if you’re a foot passenger. If you’re driving, cost will vary by vehicle size and number of passengers. It’s usually advisable to have a reservation. If you have a ticket but no reservation and no unreserved spots are available, you’ll be on a standby list, and may have to wait for the next sailing, which could be four hours, or even the next day.

Vehicles should plan to arrive no later than 30 minutes ahead of sailing time in order to exercise their reservations, and one hour in advance is recommended. Once parked on board, you’re expected to leave your vehicle and occupy the passenger decks, which is better, in any case. There’s a view, food and beverages are available. There’s even a duty-free store that’ open for the quarter-hour or so the ship’s in international waters.

Note that whether on foot or driving, you’ll be crossing an international border, and should be prepared with the appropriate documentation and expect to pass through customs and immigration protocols.

Or Swim?

Looking across the Strait at Victoria, the city barely visible at the waterline, I had to wonder if anyone has swum between the two ports. Yes. A relatively small number of ultra-distance swimmers have managed it, taking between 10-12 hours, depending on conditions. In fact, as I write, a Canadian woman is preparing to swim from Victoria to Port Angeles … and then turn immediately around and swim back! It’s never been attempted. She intends to start on August 1. Here’s the story.

Have a favorite ferry crossing? I HOPE someone’s taken that ferry ‘cross the Mersey.

Licensable, high resolution versions of some photographs in this post, and select images from other Under Western Skies posts are available on Shutterstock.com. Click on the linked photos, or CLICK HERE to view the Underawesternsky photo portfolio.

© Brad Nixon 2018