The Alaska Marine Highway System will have a steady winter ferry schedule this year despite budget cuts.
Fuzzy Von Stauffenberg, Haines terminal manager, said ferries will be coming and going “just about five days a week” through the end of December. The winter schedule begins Oct. 1 and continues through the end of April.
Haines will see fewer ships in January and February as some ferries stop service for yearly upkeep and repairs, Von Stauffenberg said. But she expects this winter to be the same as the last.
“The winter ferry schedule doesn’t challenge us too much in tourism,” said Leslie Ross, Haines Borough tourism director.
Ross said tourists will use the ferry system to travel to Haines for the Alaska Bald Eagle Festival in November and the Freeride World Tour in March, but the relatively small number of visitors for each make it hard to qualify as major tourism.
Ross said the winter ferry schedule will mostly effect local travel within the state, but the schedule in and out of Haines is “not really that bad” compared to other communities along the marine highway where service took larger cuts.
“With five ships a week, (locals) shouldn’t have any problem,” Von Stauffenberg said.
Visit the Alaska Marine Highway System website at http://www.dot.state.ak.us/amhs/ to view this winter’s ferry schedule.