No one likes to miss the last ferry sailing of the day, especially on a crossing like the Port Townsend–Coupeville run, for which there are no other easy options.

Due to a printing error in the late-spring schedule (May 6-June 11), Washington State Ferries (WSF) is taking steps to make sure people do not show up for a sailing from the Coupeville side that does not exist.

The one million printed copies of the late-spring schedule contain an error indicating that a 10:40 p.m. ferry departs the Coupeville terminal on Whidbey Island for Port Townsend every day of the week. In fact, the 10:40 p.m. sailing from Coupeville on the late-spring schedule is only in effect Friday and Saturday; the last boat from the Coupeville side departs at 9:10 p.m. on the other days of the week.

"There was a human error when the print schedule was being assembled," said Ian Sterling, WSF spokesperson. "The footnotes on the sailing schedule got moved down a line during printing, and that bumped the last sailing time on the Coupeville end. The error was not caught until the schedules were printed."

The schedule is correct on the WSF website and online reservation system.

Reprinting the paper schedules, which have already been distributed to terminals, visitor centers and other locations, is not an option, Sterling said.

Instead, WSF is planning to keep terminal staff on duty longer at the Coupeville terminal; staff is already on duty longer at the Anacortes, Clinton and Mukilteo terminals to spread the word to travelers while the late-spring schedule is in effect. The estimated cost of the extra staffing is about $3,000, compared to an estimated cost of $70,000 to publish entirely new paper schedules, Sterling noted.

TWO-BOAT SERVICE

Two-boat service is slated to resume on the PT-Coupeville route on Friday, May 6, which expands travel options for the late-spring and summer ferry travel seasons.

The early-spring schedule (March 20-May 5), with one-boat service, provides 10 round trips daily. The late-spring schedule (May 6-June 11), with two-boat service, has a varying schedule, with 15 sailings Monday through Thursday and as many as 18 round trips on Fridays.

Presently, the last departure from Coupeville is 9:10 p.m. When the late-spring schedule starts May 6, the last sailing from Coupeville is 9:10 p.m., except for Friday and Saturday, when the last boat departs at 10:40 p.m.

"We will hold over terminal agents to redirect people," Sterling said of the contingency plan, and "have implemented an extra layer of review to prevent this from happening again."

BUSY RESERVATIONS

Sterling noted that the online reservation system, which debuted on the PT route, is increasingly popular.

"Obviously, Port Townsend–Coupeville is a reservation route. We find that a little better than 60 percent of our customers use the reservation system, which is unaffected by the schedule error."

The reservation system is proving popular this month: During the first two weekends in April, travelers ended up booking all available reservation slots before the end of each day's sailing.

For the first time in memory, reservations to depart PT on Sunday, April 10 were full as of 7 a.m. that morning, meaning only a few drive-up vehicles were able to make each ferry out of PT for the remainder of the day.