In the early 1950s, renowned Captain GD Gitkov commanded Alaska’s ferry system, serving as both skipper and operator. As traffic and demand increased, Gitkov offered professional advice from his 34 years of sea service on expanding the ferry system. Gitkov focused on providing safe, convenient, affordable ferry service to rural communities while providing good jobs for locals.
His plan was to keep the travel routes between towns as short as possible to take advantage of a round-trip system to increase and maximize service overall. His plan would be a 12-hour, 7 a.m. to 7 p.m. mid-day system with a sandwich bar and coffee/tea (no dining room or staterooms).
The plan would involve four ferries based on the north-south route and one ferry on the east-west (Sitka) route. This system would maximize ferry service throughout Southeast Alaska and evenly distribute 20 good crew jobs to each town. Smaller vessels didn’t require a big staff of shore employees. Other advantages included maintaining a tighter on-time schedule and maintenance of ferries within the state. This day-ferry system was very efficient, well planned, affordable and provided excellent morning trip service.
Gitkov’s proposal was ignored; instead a vision of luxury ocean liners was adopted without regard for Maritime Laws, unions, bonds, crews, maintenance of ramps and vessels, tides, scheduling, etc. This grandiose and costly picture has faded steadily over 61 years, as the ferry continues to burden the taxpayer financially and is fraught with operational difficulties. Embracing Gitkov’s incredibly simple and efficient day ferry system may still be the answer for Southeast Alaska communities — and in a big way.
It’s time to face reality and adopt a day ferry system that could do in 12 hours, at a fraction of the cost, what the past system couldn’t do in 23 hours. It’s time to put our four mid-size ferries online by basing the Aurora in Haines to serve Skagway and Juneau; basing the Hubbard in Juneau to serve Petersburg and Sitka, basing the LeConte in Wrangell to serve Petersburg, Coffman Cove, Ketchikan and the Cassiar Highway, and basing the Tazlina in Ketchikan to serve Wrangell, Petersburg and the Cassiar Highway.
The four ferries would work a 12-hour (7 a.m. to 7 p.m.) shift, six days a week with Sundays off. While the Sitka run is more challenging, it can be achieved by building a dock at Rodman Bay, where a Juneau ferry can make a round trip in under 12 hours, and building a short seven-mile road across low terrain to Schulze Cove in Fish Bay, bypassing Peril Straits and Duffield Peninsula. From Schulze Cove it’s only 20 miles to Sitka through placid waters, ideal for a small 10-car power ramp barge to make the 1.5 hour shuttle back to Sitka.
This day ferry plan allows each town to get early morning service and eliminate the 24-hour night departures and arrivals. Sitka will finally have 12-hour ferry service two days a week, and Southeast Alaska will get daily ferry service six days a week to the mainland; freight deliveries to and from Southeast to the mainland will be reduced to eight to 10 hours. Crews can return home daily rather than the current two weeks on, two weeks off schedule requiring two crews for each ferry. The savings and travel costs are vast and endless.
We need to consider the most cost-effective system to deliver safe, reliable transportation to Southeast Alaska. It’s time to return to the highly experienced Captain Gitkov’s simple but detailed plan to best serve our communities and shed the past six decades of a failed grand vision. It’s time to consider a system based on smaller, affordable, day vessels. It’s not too late to take Captain Gitkov’s brilliant advice.
• Dave Werner is a Haines resident who has over 60 years’ experience as a bush pilot in Alaska, including owning and operating a small air taxi in Wrangell.
