History was made this morning by the state of Alaska and its ferry system when the M/V Fairweather left Derecktor Shipyard in Bridgeport, CT for its new home. The Alaska Marine Highway’s newest vessel is the first high speed vehicle and passenger ferry built in the United States to exacting international standards. It began the delivery voyage to Juneau, the state’s capital city and home port for the newly constructed vessel, at 10:15am EST today.

According to Captain George Capacci, general manager of the System, the first port of call, which should be reached this Friday, March 5, is Ft Lauderdale, Florida. With good weather conditions and favorable passage through the Panama Canal, the Fairweather could be in Juneau as early as March 25th. After training and more sea trials, Capacci plans to put the vessel into operation in May. (The ship will travel between Juneau and Haines, Skagway and Sitka, virtually revolutionizing the 40-year-old Alaska Marine Highway System.)

Related to the sailing is the ability for anyone to track its progress as it sails down the eastern seaboard, through the Canal and up the west coast:

• Use Microsoft Internet Explorer 4.5 or newer
• Access URL: https://www.mysars.com/
• Company: Fairweather
• Username: Fairweather
• Password: Fairweather
• First time users will need to download the free Mapguide Viewer. See note just below password entry.
• A map will appear with a red dot. The red dot indicates where the Fairweather is reporting.

• NOTES

o zoom tools are at the top
o use the legend to turn on other features, i.e. hillshade features
o right mouse click on the red dot and information on the location will appear
o use Trip History (top right) to show previous tracking reports
o this password entry is only temporary until the Fairweather reaches the Juneau port.

More information about the M/V Fairweather and the Alaska Marine Highway is available on the New Waves Web site (or by phoning, toll free, 1-800-642-0066).