Worries that the Walla Walla might stay out of commission after a complete mechanical failure caused it to run aground on Bainbridge Island with 600 people onboard Saturday were put to rest today after Washington State Ferries announced that it had recruited the University of Washington crew team to get it going again.
“No engine, no problem – we’ve got eight strapping, young rowers living in the shadow of The Boys in the Boat,” said Washington Ferry Captain Eve Heaux. “While they’re never gonna be one of the legendary UW crewmen who got to personally piss Hitler off at the 1936 Olympics, they will have the honor of being the first crew team to row a jumbo-size ferry—raucous 2002 Toyota Corollas and all—from Bremerton to Seattle.”
Because the Walla Walla is far from the only ferry in the system nearing the end of its useful life, Washington State Ferries said that they’ve also recruited several second and third-string UW crew team members to be at the ready on every other state ferry as well.
“No one should be worried boarding our ferries now because, in addition to having enough lifeboats aboard– I think? – we’ve got enough eager-to-please undergraduate row team members to keep us going should a ferry engine ever completely give out on us again,” said Washington Ferries spokesperson Mike Stewart. “Ferry captains and their staff have already been trained to beat drums in the ferry hull to keep them on pace.”
In the meantime, state lawmakers are considering bills that would fund new ferries that actually work all on their own just to make sure the ferry system is never desperate enough to recruit the WSU Cougar Crew Team.
