Thankfully, no one was hurt when strong currents pushed the Chetzemoka into a dolphin (an offshore structure that guides ferries), causing one of the dolphin’s supports to pierce a double-walled hull door. The boat was patched up on Tuesday evening and will continue to sail for now.

Islander Cindy Hoyt was on the boat at the time of the accident, having left her car parked close to where the accident occurred.

She said she was on the passenger deck, and about to go downstairs to her car when she heard a “terrific racket.” She looked down, to see one of the supports of the dolphin in the water. Heading downstairs to her car, she observed a driver who she said “was pretty freaked out” that the hull-piercing had occurred three feet away from his car.

Another boat, the Salish, is scheduled to operate on the route while Chetzemoka heads to Eagle Harbor Maintenance Facility in March, said Ferries spokesperson Bryn Hunter. At that time, the door will be replaced, she said.

The Chetzemoka sails between Vashon’s Tahlequah ferry terminal and the Point Defiance dock.