WSF adds two-boat service on Port Townsend-Coupeville route May 10

More sailings are coming to the Port Townsend-Coupeville run just as summer travel starts to build, with Salish rejoining Kennewick on Sunday, May 10, to restore two-boat service every Friday through Monday. For Whidbey Island commuters, Coupeville workers, and visitors crossing Admiralty Inlet, the change means fewer long waits and a better chance of getting where they need to go on time.

Washington State Ferries said the two-boat schedule will then expand to daily service beginning Tuesday, June 16, and continue through Oct. 12. Reservations remain recommended even with added service, and they are available through Sept. 19. The spring 2026 sailing schedule for the route is split into three periods: March 22 through May 9, May 10 through June 13, and June 14 through Sept. 19.

The Port Townsend-Coupeville route has been especially sensitive to seasonal changes in the sailing plan, and local coverage described this spring as the first stable spring schedule on the route in more than 20 years. That matters on a crossing that serves as a key alternative link between Whidbey Island and the Olympic Peninsula, especially when the pressure rises from summer tourism, work travel and daily errands that depend on a reliable terminal-to-terminal schedule.

Even with more service, Washington State Ferries warned that the route remains vulnerable to extreme tidal conditions and fast currents in Admiralty Inlet, which can still force schedule changes or cancellations. The agency also said that operating more vessels this summer leaves no dedicated backup ferry on the route and fewer crew available for last-minute relief, even as it leans on recent hiring and training and its updated Service Contingency Plan to respond if a boat becomes unavailable.

Last year, the second vessel on the same route did not start until July 4 and ran only on weekends through Oct. 13. This year’s earlier return of two-boat service gives Port Townsend, Coupeville and the businesses that depend on that crossing a stronger start to the season, with more room for commuters, tourists and workers to move across the island channel before the summer rush peaks.