Friday afternoon October 14, 2011, 1:00 PM. People waiting for the ferry on the Anacortes side see the ferry on the Guemes side. This in itself is not that unusual. Could it be a med call? No. Could it be a mechanical problem? Negative. Many leave their cars to check the outside posted ferry schedule for yet another change. (Last change was September 10, 2011). Logic aside, some found this frustrating, others absurdly amusing.

Fridays will never be the same for those who depend on the 1:00 pm ferry. There won’t be one! No 1:30 or 2:00 either. These runs have been replaced by 12:45, 1:15,1:45. Where there was 1/2 hour between these scheduled runs, the 2:30 is now 45 minutes after the 1:45 instead of 1/2 hour after the 2:00. Confusing? Not my intent but evidently the County revels in our confusion.

The understatement is it will take some getting used to. But Friday's, and only Friday’s, schedule has these never before seen changes. It is also not clear why these modifications are necessary. If we need to juggle our schedules, yet again, it should be explained better than:

“This adjustment was a necessary operational decision made by Skagit County in order to give our employees necessary breaks. In an effort not to eliminate runs during the main commuting hours of 4:00 p.m. to 7:00 pm, and to avoid cutting the 7:00 p.m. run altogether.”

The second 11:15 AM ferry run is becoming rare as well. Fueling, maintenance, and now “necessary breaks” are all reasons why. Fueling and maintenance seem obvious, breaks do not. Has the crew been without a break all this time? Friday’s schedule has always had the most runs, with the same number of crew working the shift. What is different now? How is Friday different from, say, Tuesday or Saturday?

LineTime received and immediately posted the press release concerning the change in schedule on Thursday, October 13, with the change taking place on the following day, Friday, October 14. Why the rush? The only announcement to the public at the docks came in the form of a hand-written pink sticky note, attached to a schedule inside the terminal. This cannot even be seen from the cars in the ferry line or even noticed by passengers in the terminal.

Rachel Beck has always appeared straightforward in communicating with the riders regarding ferry service. Riders have not always agreed with the decisions, but they agreed with the ways she communicated them. Her answers to questions regarding schedule, services, and fares have always been clear. She has definitely dropped the ball on this one.

Is this the future of communication between Islanders and Skagit County that so resembles the not-too-distant past?

- Commentary by MJ Andrak

"Those who cannot remember the past, are condemned to repeat it."
-George Santayana

Will our sign at the Guemes Island dock come to resemble the one from 1979?