Taking our RV on the ferry, our RV Floats

I am very happy to announce that our RV floats. It’s not that our RV floats by itself, but rather, it floats just fine on a ferry. It is not that I had any doubts, but this is the first time floating our RV. Last year, when we were on the east coast, in Virginia, we had a chance to find out that our RV floats by taking our RV on the ferry — but we didn’t do it.

Last year, back east

The Jamestown/Scotland ferry crosses the James River between Jamestown and a farm village called Scotland. We were southbound and had just visited Mount Vernon. Taking our RV on the ferry would have been the more direct route. After crossing the York River, we would have driven through Williamsburg and Jamestown to get to the ferry. So last year we could have found out that our RV floats by taking the ferry across the James River.

Driving through Williamsburg and Jamestown in our RV was a little scary. We have a big RV, and these roads are unknown. Had we decided then to find out if our RV floats, then we would have had to drive through Williamsburg and Jamestown. Then, we would have crossed the Jamestown/Scotland ferry to our next campsite at Chippokes State Park. Chippokes State Park was part of the original Jamestown settlement in 1607 across the James River. Here is the link to our stay at Chippokes State Park and visit. Roanoke and Jamestown

As mentioned above, we bypassed the ferry across the James River but instead made a slightly longer trip from West Point (the town, not the military academy). Then, rather than driving our RV through Williamsburg, and Jamestown, we crossed the James River closer to Richmond on a bridge.

From Whidbey

There are two ways to get on and off Whidbey Island. The first is the bridge over Deception Pass. Here is a link to our fun at Deception Pass. Deception Pass

The second way to get on and off Whidbey Island is by taking our RV on the ferry. Our destination was Port Townsend on the Olympic Peninsula, and if you don’t use the ferry, you will have to drive for a long time. To get to the Olympic Peninsula from Whidbey Island without taking the ferry would mean driving through Seattle and Tacoma. The total distance would have been more than two hundred miles. Including the ferry ride, our total distance traveled that day was about 20 miles.

Our RV Floats

Of course, we arrived early enough to see the previous ferry depart. After sitting at the front of our row in the cue, we were one of the first loaded on the next ferry. By now, we were hoping to be the first onboard. We were longer and taller than anyone else in the cue. Would we get a front-row position during boarding?

Loading up

Three weeks before our ferry ride, we drove down to the launch (about ten miles) in our car to find out how things would all line up. Then, I got a reservation for the Monday of our crossing.

We also signed up for Washington ferry alerts and monitored the ferry status reports daily leading up to our boarding. What if we showed up and the boat wasn’t running? My plan was to stay there in the cue until the boat was running. We can camp anywhere for about two weeks.

Front row seat

We weren’t the first to board, just the biggest, and my front-row wishes came true. Nothing obstructed our view, and as the ferry pulled away, we had a view of nothing but water and the Olympic mountains.

Battleship

The chatter outside the window from the people who departed their cars to stand in front of our RV was about the battleship. We didn’t have to leave the RV and could easily see over their heads. We couldn’t see the “battleship” right away, because the ferry structure blocked the view. A Navy destroyer would cross in front of our path across the channel. Then the ferry made a slight turn, and we could see the destroyer. I was thinking that this was going to make a fine picture.

CBDR

Then the destroyer made a slight turn and I didn’t like what I saw. All my pilot and ship-driving friends already knew what I saw and why I didn’t like it. A collision at sea while taking our RV on the ferry was not in my plans. The destroyer was no longer passing in front of the ferry, instead, it was maintaining the same bearing, and gradually getting more significant. This is the meaning of CBDR. Constant Bearing, Decreasing Range. Without a change, either by our ferry or the destroyer, we would be impacted. Collision at sea, and we had a front-row seat, right on the bow.

Gotta do some of that black shoe stuff.

In the Navy, there is a constant rivalry between black shoes (ship drivers) and brown shoes (us aviators). This is an example of a black shoe dilemma. Having spent lots of time on Navy ships, including the bridge, I started hearing voices in my head. First, the starboard lookout would call CBDR, which refers to the location and closure of the ferry. Then, the Officer of the Deck (OOD) would ask the Junior Officer of the Deck (JOOD) for a solution to the problem. This was a training opportunity.

Sea and Anchor Detail

From looking at the picture of the ship at the top, you can see the anchor dangling from the chain rather than securely braced against the side. Thus, I knew that the Captain was on the bridge and the ship was at sea, as well as the anchor detail. The anchor is hanging by the chain just in case they need to drop it for an engine failure. By now, the Captian and OOD already had the answer, and they were challenging the JOOD decision-making.

To a brand-new JOOD, the answer isn’t so obvious. In ship driving school, one of the first rules they learn is that the vessel on the right has the right away. Thus, the destroyer had to fix the problem. Do they slow down, stop, turn,, or increase speed?

Slow down, stop, turn, or increase speed?

Slowing down may or may not work, ships don’t have brakes (unless they reverse thrust, which is never done at high speed) they just glide across the water. Besides, slowing down also restricts the energy they have to maneuver. (I have never met a black shoe that seemed to appreciate energy management. I have never met an aviator who didn’t think about it nearly all the time.) Ships can’t stop. Ships don’t have brakes. They can’t turn because the maneuvering room for the ship is restricted to the channel, and the only answer is to increase speed. I hope the JOOD had the correct answer. Anyway, the destroyer increased speed and crossed in front of us.

The ferry didn’t alter course or speed even a little bit which is precisely what he should have done.

Finding out that our RV floats wasn’t something that we were looking forward to doing, but it was way better than driving an extra two hundred miles. So that is it: We found out that our RV floats by taking it on the ferry between Whidbey Island and Port Townsend.

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Washinton State Ferry System

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