A tugboat is moored at a shipyard dock on calm water. — **Plate I.** Whatcom Chief Ferry during dry dock. From whatcomcounty.us

A ferry boat travels across the water with cars on board, and a bird stands on a piling in the foreground. — **Plate II.** Whatcom Chief Ferry carrying vehicles. Photograph by mtsvancouver from West Coast of North America, CC BY 2.0, via Wikimedia Commons

A ferry travels on the water with a mountain and sunset sky in the background. — **Plate III.** Whatcom Chief Ferry at sunset. From whatcomcounty.us

Whatcom Chief Ferry

Lummi Island, Whatcom County, Washington. Vehicle ferry; Operates 365 days a year.

Details

Where: Lummi Island, Whatcom County, WA. No street address stated. Directions
When: Monday - Friday 5:40 a.m. - 12:10 a.m.; Saturdays 7 a.m. - 12:30 a.m.; Sundays & Holidays 7 a.m. - 12:10 a.m.
Getting there: Runs 0.8 miles between Lummi Island and mainland Gooseberry Point; the trip takes about five minutes excluding loading and unloading.
Fees: Passenger/pedestrian $10.00 per round trip.
Access: The Whatcom Chief is a first-come, first-served ferry; we do not accept reservations for ferry runs. Vehicles over 40,000 GVW are prohibited on the ferry during any tide under zero to prevent damage to ferry loading ramps.
Walk-in or reserve: No reservations; first-come, first-served.
Phone: 360-778-6200
Website: whatcomcounty.us
Managed by: Whatcom County Ferry Division.
Established: 1962.

The Whatcom Chief is the only road connection to Lummi Island, a first-come, first-served county vehicle ferry running scheduled crossings between Gooseberry Point on the mainland and Lummi Island.

Notable Events

1924LIFC sold the Hale Passage route to Whatcom County in 1924, including both docking sites and the wooden hull, wood-fired steam powered, six-car ferry Central. lummi-island.com
1924Ownership switched hands several times, with Whatcom County purchasing its first boat in 1924. whatcomwatch.org
1928In 1928 the County relocated the mainland dock about 100 feet to the east to its current location. lummi-island.com
1929In 1929, the U.S. Coast Guard condemned the steam boiler of the Central, and the County made an emergency appropriation for a new ferry: the Atlas diesel-powered, wooden six car ferry Chief Kwina. lummi-island.com
1931In 1931 the Island Grange brought forth a lengthy complaint about the service, partially dealing with the absence of a schedule. lummi-island.com
1941Whatcom County Commissioners, with San Juan County, leased the 20-car ferry Fox Island for the summer of 1941 to operate between Gooseberry and Orcas. lummi-island.com
1962In 1962 the County built the current ferry, the steel, double-ended, dual-diesel powered Whatcom Chief, for $444,000. lummi-island.com
1962The Whatcom Chief made its maiden voyage from the shipyards to the Island with its first captain, Jerry McDonald. ourlummiisland.org
1970The Chief Kwina was retained as a spare boat until 1970 when it was sold to local resident Frank Granger and extensively rebuilt. lummi-island.com
1970sThe old wooden island dock (now a county park directly across from the Beach Store Cafe) was replaced with a present terminal in the 1970s. lummi-island.com
1988In 1988, Lummi Nation leased two parcels to Whatcom County — the tidelands between Lummi Island and Gooseberry Point and a piece of Gooseberry Point. whatcomwatch.org
2011The county pays Lummi Nation monthly for the ferry service, an agreement that did not come without controversy when the contract was extended in 2011. whatcomwatch.org
2022The $25 million federal grant awarded to the replacement project in August 2022 requires completion in 2031. whatcomwatch.org

People

Bob Granger, Owner who leased the backup ferry Acorn to the County in the 1950s.
Frank Granger, Local resident who bought and rebuilt the Chief Kwina (1970).
Jerry McDonald, First captain of the Whatcom Chief.
T. J. Larsen, Of the T. T. Larsen Steel Co, which turned the Whatcom Chief over to Whatcom County.

Details

Notable Events

People

Sources