Ferry Follies

We're enjoying a lovely stormy day today, which reminded me of these startling pix from our last storm



No, they're not mine -- they're the work of professional photographer Ross Fotheringham*.

For those of you unfamiliar with the Washington State Ferry System, these boats are huge! This was the M/V Cathamet which can hold up to 124 cars, 26 commercial vehicles, and 1200 passengers. It takes an amazing amount of force to move these babies like that.

If you look closely at the first photo, you can see outlines of vehicles on the outer lip of the car deck. In the last photo, poof! They're gone. Not washed overboard; probably shoved forward toward the center of the car deck. That's going to leave a mark.

I've only once been on a ferry that's even come close to moving like that. The passenger cabin is so big, it's like being in a building that's rocking and rolling. Urp!

*If you copy and use these pix, please leave them un-cropped, retain the copyright notice in the upper right corner, and include a link to the photographer's website