Scott Gile, of the Bay Co., drives a new four-wheeler ATV onto the Rainforest Islander on Feb. 8 for delivery to Banana Point on Mitkof Island for a customer in Petersburg.
It has been more than a month without state ferry service after the Kennicott last stopped in Wrangell on Jan. 11. Ferry service is scheduled to start again on Friday, with the Columbia pulling in on its northbound run.
In the month with no service, privately operated water taxis have been filling even more than before, responding to an increased need for passengers and cargo looking to get to Banana Point at the southern end of Mitkof Island, or all the way into Petersburg or to Coffman Cove and the road system on Prince of Wales Island.
Not only have companies like Muddy Water Adventures and Breakaway Adventures filled the gap left by the state ferries, they've made it possible for stranded airline travelers to get between Wrangell and Petersburg.
Muddy Water owner Zach Taylor, who pilots a 21-passenger catamaran, said that's where most of his water taxi traffic has come from so far this year.
"It's the nature of travel in Southeast," he said. "The plane can't land if it's bad weather. I was able to help. I think I'm up to about 400 people we've moved over to Banana Point just because they (Alaska Airlines) overheaded Petersburg and landed here and vice-versa."
It's about a 45-minute drive between Banana Point and the Petersburg airport.
Outside of stranded passengers, Taylor has transported student-athletes and coaches to Wrangell and Petersburg, a service that's made more sports competitions possible and more affordable than taking a flight.
"(Water taxis have) always been really important, even when the ferries are in full operation," said head wrestling coach Jack Carney, who has used the service to take his middle school grapplers over to Petersburg. "They tailor to our specific needs. Sometimes they'll go over to Petersburg and hang out with us."
Carney said to take a flight would be three times the cost of hiring a water taxi. Though a water taxi takes a little under an hour to get to Banana Point from Wrangell, there is no waiting on the tarmac or slow lines to get through security.
People aren't the only ones making the cross-channel trip using Wrangell-based boats.
"I took someone's cat to Banana Point the other day," Taylor said. "I brought some batteries back for somebody else. I brought a jug of oil for somebody at the Bay Co. A kid from Petersburg was in Coffman Cove, so I picked him up in Coffman Cove, handed him the jug of oil, and he took it to his dad in Petersburg after the Bay Co. gave it to me the day before."
Though Eric Yancey, who pilots the Rainforest Islander landing craft will transport people, the majority of his load is vehicles. Last Wednesday, a truck, a Jeep, a four-wheeler ATV and a boat and trailer were loaded aboard Yancey's vessel for a run to Banana Point. He doesn't make regularly scheduled runs but provides the service when the need arises, which has been more as of late.
"I think there kind of is (an uptick) because of the state ferry service," Yancey said. "With their lack of service, for sure." The Rainforest Islander can carry 28 passengers and four to seven vehicles, depending on their size. And the cost to Coffman Cove, Banana Point or Petersburg can be more cost-efficient, he said, with more things being transported since it's a direct route.
On last Wednesday's haul, Yancey was delivering the boat and trailer and four-wheeler for the Bay Co.
"We're delivering freight for guys over in Petersburg," said Scott Gile, who works for the Bay Co. "We'd be in a world of hurt without stuff like this."
The service is also something Gile is personally thankful for as he takes his truck over to Zarembo Island a couple of times a year using Yancey's service.
"(Without this service) everybody would be waiting for the (state) ferry or paying up the butt for the barge line," Gile said. "The cost is going up every year, seems like."
Come the summer and tourist season, Taylor said water taxi services will need to coordinate along with Anan Wildlife Observatory and LeConte Glacier trips, but more business, he said, is a "good problem to have."
But, he added, the state ferry system is still necessary to the way of life in Southeast.
"I think we do need the ferry system, but if it continues on the way it is, I think it will get busier (for local service providers)," Taylor said. "I think we'll get busier if the ferry continues its decline."
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