The Rainforest Islands Ferry will resume sailings April 15, the private ferry service announced by email Tuesday. Rainforest, a new service for Prince of Wales, got off to a halting start last summer due to mechanical problems; 2016 is expected to be its first full summer of operations.
Rainforest serves Prince of Wales Island through Coffman Cove with sailings between Wrangell and Petersburg.
The Inter-Island Ferry Authority already provides ferry service between Ketchikan and the Prince of Wales town of Hollis, but communities away from the Hollis-Ketchikan link had sought their own maritime route to the Alaska Marine Highway System, which does not serve Prince of Wales Island. They created the North End Ferry Authority, which purchased a 65-foot landing craft that now operates as the ferry Rainforest Islander.
For more information on the ferry service, visit http://rainforestislandsferry.com/
