PORT TOWNSEND – They have been working hard since Thanksgiving Day, and into the night – learning the ropes, getting used to the controls, practicing, training, cleaning, fixing.

By Sunday afternoon, their goal was achieved: ferry service was restored between Port Townsend and Whidbey Island.

And in the process, they made history.

“This is the first time in the history of the run there’s been a passenger ferry,” said Rex Carlaw.

“I’ve never heard of a passenger ferry on this run.”

Carlaw is a member of the ferry advisory committee for Kingston who came to Port Townsend with his cousin, Ben Sabin, and the Sabin family to make the inaugural trip of the MV Snohomish to Whidbey Island.

Through the efforts of engineers, captains and crew who worked through the holiday weekend, passengers who rely on the ferry have something to be thankful for.

“A lot of people pulled together to make this happen,” said Pete Williams, port captain for Washington State Ferries.