6:20 PM: Just in from Metro:

One engine on the Spirit of Kingston is having difficulty and due to high winds, the remaining trips between downtown Seattle and West Seattle have been canceled. During this time, Water Taxi shuttle routes 773 and 775 will continue to operate as usual in West Seattle.

Transportation options are listed in the full alert.

11 PM UPDATE: Normal service will resume tomorrow morning, Metro says – while also confirming that the midday service suspension for dock work at Seacrest will happen again on Thursday as planned.

11:14 AM: Just announced by Metro:

Scheduled repairs to the Seacrest Dock in West Seattle will close the dock during the midday sailing hours between 9:00 am and 3:00 pm from Monday, May 16 through Thursday, May 19. Should work complete early, notification regarding service resumption will follow.

We’re following up to see what the repairs entail.

ADDED 2:14 PM: Water Taxi spokesperson Al Sanders tells us it’s actually maintenance: “The time is needed to complete the final phase of dock maintenance at Seacrest Park which had been scheduled for mid-April but was delayed due to supply chain issues. The contractor is planning on three days of work with one day as a buffer, so it is possible to resume service earlier based on their success in executing the work.”

Two reminders for West Seattle Water Taxi riders: No service between the morning and evening commute hours (9:10 am to 3:25 pm) tomorrow through Wednesday (April 18-19-20) because of crew training/drills. Then on Thursday, the summer schedule begins. Since the Water Taxi already has been running year-round, the main change is the return of later evening service on Fridays and Saturdays, until mid-October.

3:55 PM: From Metro: “The West Seattle Water Taxi is delayed this evening while crews swap vessels due to a mechanical issue aboard the MV Sally Fox. We hope to resume normal service shortly. Apologies for the inconvenience.”

4:28 PM: Metro’s Al Sanders says the crews are still working this out and he has no update yet on which vessel is taking over which route.

5:18 PM: The Spirit of Kingston is taking over the West Seattle run for the rest of the day and will resume service at 5:25 from Pier 50 downtown.

12:26 PM: Just in from King County Water Taxi: “The West Seattle Water Taxi’s 12:30 pm departure from Downtown Seattle has been canceled. At this time, we do not know when service will resume. Apologies for the delay.” The alert doesn’t explain the cancellation/interruption – but Colman Dock is currently closed for investigation of a threat reportedly involving the Bainbridge state ferry. Updates to come.

12:32 PM: The threat investigation also has Bainbridge/Bremerton state-ferry service on hold.

(Added: Webcam image from WSF Bainbridge terminal area)

What’s described as an “active bomb threat” was apparently centered on the Bainbridge terminal; on the Seattle side, officers with K9s are checking a vessel from that route, M/V Tacoma, so that’s why Colman Dock is currently closed.

12:48 PM: Colman Dock has just reopened. Tracker shows the Water Taxi vessel Doc Maynard is still at Seacrest, so whenever it gets the all-clear, it’ll still have to cross the bay to get to the passengers waiting there.

1:11 PM: The Water Taxi has resumed service. (added) WSF has been cleared to resume regular service in Seattle and Bainbridge, too.

The King County Water Taxi‘s 1:00 pm run to downtown from Seacrest Park is running up to 20 minutes late, according to Metro: “Vessel Captain and crew had to switch vessels due to unexpected issue with a generator.” We’ll update if that leads to any additional problems later in the day.

1:44 PM: Metro says West Seattle and Vashon Water Taxi service should both return to regular schedules later today. You’ll recall that both M/V Sally Fox and M/V Doc Maynard were out of service for propeller problems, so M/V Spirit of Kingston was going to handle both routes – then windy weather canceled Vashon runs this morning. We asked about the plan for this afternoon/evening, and Metro spokesperson Al Sanders replied, “Water Taxi crew is on its way to pick up the Sally Fox for Vashon service tonight. We should be back to regular service on both routes.”

3:01 PM: That said, Metro has just announced one change in the transition: “3:00 PM Water Taxi departure from West Seattle canceled due to lack of crew. The Water Taxi will resume regular service beginning with the 3:25 departure from downtown Seattle.”

Just announced by King County Metro – “On Monday, both the MV Sally Fox and MV Doc Maynard damaged propellers during service. We are coordinating with shipyards to get these vessels repaired and returned to service ASAP. The backup vessel MV Spirit of Kingston will be operating on both routes.” That means service reductions for both the West Seattle and Vashon runs – the modified schedule is here.

Tomorrow was originally set as the end of spring/summer all-day, 7-day service for the West Seattle Water Taxi. Then, by community request, SDOT and King County Metro worked out a plan to keep it going through this winter since the West Seattle Bridge is still closed. There are a few changes to note, though, Water Taxi spokesperson Al Sanders tells WSB:

The extended Water Taxi service, with seven day a week service (M-F: 6:00 a.m. to 7:00 p.m.—Sat-Sun 8:00 a.m. to 7:00 p.m.), starts Saturday, October 16, with funding from the Seattle Department of Transportation. A reminder to bike riders – the vessels are now equipped with racks that can handle up to 26 “fat tire” and electric bikes.

(King County Metro photo)

Starting on Saturday, shuttle service to the Seacrest Dock (773/775) will be available only during peak-commuter hours Mon-Fri. (6:00 a.m.-9:00 a.m./3:00 p.m.-7:00 p.m.)

Metro plans to keep the regular full-size vessel M/V Doc Maynard on the route through fall and winter.

(WSB photo from August, Water Taxi dock @ Seacrest)

No West Seattle Water Taxi service this weekend, because of dock work. Here’s what Al Sanders at Metro tells WSB:

The Water Taxi dock at Seacrest Park is in need of maintenance and will be closed this weekend, October 9th and 10th. Operations from West Seattle will cease after the 11 pm sailing on Friday October 8th and will resume again on Monday October 11th with the 6:15 am sailing. The weekend work will be separating two of the floats, replacing the rubber cushions and the connecting wires between the floats.

4:03 PM: One day after the Spirit of Kingston took over the West Seattle Water Taxi run because the Doc Maynard needs repairs, it’s experiencing trouble. According to an alert from Metro, the Spirit of Kingston “has had some debris get lodged into one of its four jet engines. The vessel is still in service; however, we are expecting delays this evening.”

4:49 PM: We asked Water Taxi spokesperson Al Sanders for details on the “debris”; he says they suspect “it was a mooring line.”

(MV Doc Maynard – WSB file photo)

The Spirit of Kingston is replacing Doc Maynard on the West Seattle Water Taxi run until further notice. After Metro sent that announcement this afternoon, we asked spokesperson Al Sanders why. He explains, “The Doc Maynard is going to the shipyard for repairs to the vessel’s propeller. The issue was discovered during the morning run and it was taken out of service.” The swap is notable since the Spirit of Kingston’s 149-passenger capacity is only about half that of Doc Maynard, but Metro says ridership has been averaging “well below” 149. Sanders says there’s no estimate yet how long Doc Maynard will be out of service.

According to an alert tonight from Metro, the West Seattle Water Taxi will start early both days this weekend because of the Orca Half half-marathon. The first runs of the morning on Saturday and Sunday this weekend will be 7:30 am from Pier 50 downtown and 8 am from Seacrest. Shuttles from Seacrest will start early too. This is in addition to the regular schedule, which you can see here. The Orca Half will be run both days between 7:30 am and 1 pm, on sidewalks and trails from Lincoln Park to Don Armeni Boat Ramp, as previewed here. (Water Taxi side note: New bike racks!)

12:42 PM: Speaking of the West Seattle Water Taxi, just announced at the West Seattle Bridge Community Task Force meeting – it will stay on a 7-day-a-week schedule throughout the upcoming bridgeless winter after all. Until now, plans had been in place to switch the service back to a 5-day-a-week schedule in mid-October. The topic came up at last month’s CTF meeting; city reps said at the time that it would be costly. How costly? We asked Metro afterward; they said it would cost at least a million dollars. We’re still pursuing more specifics but apparently the city found the cash to pay the county to keep the 7-day-a-week service going through the winter.

1:32 PM: SDOT has since sent a news release that has this added information:

Thanks to SDOT funding, Water Taxi service this fall and winter will remain similar to the summer daytime schedule:

*Seven day a week service between Seacrest Park in West Seattle and Pier 50 downtown from approximately 6:00 a.m. to 7:00 p.m.
*Ships will leave the dock every 35 minutes during weekday peak commute hours and every hour mid-day, evenings, and weekends. 
*The expanded service will not include late night Friday and Saturday sailings after 7:00 p.m.

According to information we had previously obtained from Metro, the estimated cost of keeping the late-night sailings would have been about a third higher:

From the King County Water Taxi:

Maintenance is being completed on the Seacrest passenger boarding ramp, causing us to cancel the 1:00 pm departure from West Seattle. We hope to resume regularly scheduled service beginning with the 1:30 pm departure from downtown. We apologize for the inconvenience.

(August 11th photo by Carolyn Newman)

Twelve days after the crew of the West Seattle Water Taxi, M/V Doc Maynard, rescued two people after their sailboat capsized off Seacrest, they were recognized today for their heroism.

(King County photo)

King County Council Vice Chair Joe McDermott and County Executive Dow Constantine presented a certificate of recognition today to Water Taxi crew members including, center L-R above, Deckhand GW Rogers, Captain Brad Johnson, and Deckhand Jay White. You can see the certificate here.

(Spirit of Kingston – WSB file photo)

Just in from King County Water Taxi management:

The M/V Spirit of Kingston (social-distancing passenger capacity of 57) will be on the West Seattle Water Taxi route all evening replacing the Doc Maynard (153-passenger capacity) while it operates on the Vashon route. The Sally Fox [regular Vashon vewsel] will be out of service tonight while scheduled maintenance on an engine is completed. Last Friday, multiple departures were near the 57-passenger limit; however, ridership today has been far lower. Please plan your commute accordingly in the event that West Seattle customer demand exceeds available capacity on any individual sailing. The M/V Doc Maynard will return to service on the West Seattle route tomorrow morning.

The Water Taxi Watch live map shows Spirit of Kingston is already on the run, so make this an afternoon/evening alert.