Malaspina History Story (Daily News)

 

By Dave Kiffer

For the Daily News

The recent news that the longtime Alaska Marine Highway System ferry Malaspina will be officially retired and will remain in Ketchikan's Ward Cove as a museum and a training vessel is good news to the fans of the AMHS who had feared that the "Mal" would suffer the same fate as its sistership, the Taku, which was sold in 2018 and then scrapped in India.

The Malaspina, along with the Taku and the Matanuska were the first "mainline" ferries in the state fleet, all going online in 1963. They were expected to have a life span of some 30 years, but all ended up serving well over 50 years. The Matanuska remains an active mainline ferry for the state.

The Malaspina was the first to go online, in January of 1963, and even though it was replaced as the largest ship in the fleet by the Columbia in 1973, it remained "the Queen" of the fleet in the eyes of the general public.

When it arrived in Southeast Alaska in 1963, it was a major news event. The Panhandle had been without regular year-round passenger ship service since the early 1950s and the building of the new fleet, three ships each projecting to cost $4.5 million, was a major news story throughout 1962 and 1963.

The Malaspina arrived on its first run to Ketchikan on Jan. 23, 1963 and the Ketchikan Daily News reported that more than 3,000 residents turned out greet the ship. Local schools even allowed students to skip school to be on hand and most of the businesses in the community shut down for the celebration. Similar celebrations were held in the other Southeast communities later in the week and Alaska Governor Bill Egan - whose wife Neva was the official patron of the Malaspina - rode the ferry on its first visit to Alaska. Ketchikan City Mayor Louis Glatz proclaimed Jan. 23 as "Alaska Marine Highway Day" in the First City.

 

One of the people in the crowd was seven year old Ben Hastings. Hastings told his parents that he would go to work on the ferries when he grew up. Twelve years later, he  said recently, he did.

Before the mainliners were built, the Alaska Marine Highway operated day boats in Lynn Canal. The state believed that year-round passenger service throughout the region would benefit the local economy and improve connections between the Panhandle and British Columbia and Washington state. The creation of the mainliners was the primary goal of Southeast Conference, which was founded shortly after statehood in 1959.

Compared to some other ships in the fleet - most notably the Taku which had multiple grounding adventures over the years - the Malaspina had a somewhat less checkered history in its runs in Southeast and between the Panhandle and Prince Rupert and Washington State. The AMHS estimates that it traveled more than 4 million miles and carried more than 2.5 million passengers between 1963 and 2019 when it was laid up in Ward Cove.

There were several notable events in the Malaspina's history.

In May of 1971, the cruise ship Meteor caught fire 60 miles north of Vancouver. Although the fire killed 32 crew members, the Malaspina's crew was credited with rescuing the 67 passengers  and four surviving crew members on board the ship.

"Captain (Harold) Payne with his chief mate Walter Jackinsky and the crew of the northbound Malaspina went to the Meteor's aid," Former marine highway Captain William Hopkins wrote in a story to the AHMS website in 2013. "Within two hours of receiving the Mayday call from the Meteor, the Malaspina had rescued the survivors from the burning ship; many still in their nightgowns and brought them to safety in Vancouver. Captain Payne and Walter Jackinsky received citations from the US Maritime Adminstration for acting in 'the highest traditions of the U.S. Merchant Marine.' "

In the 1970s, both the Malaspina and the Matanuska were both lengthened from 350 to 408 feet, increasing stateroom and vehicle capacity. The Taku was left at 350 feet.

In 1997, the Malaspina was making one of its normal runs to Prince Rupert when it was caught up in an incident that made international headlines.

In late July, anger over what the Canadian fishermen believed to be "overharvesting" by Alaska fishermen on salmon stocks bound for British Columbia caused them to blockaid the Malaspina while it was tied to the dock in Prince Rupert.

For three days, the ferry was trapped in the port until the fishermen relented and the ferry was allowed to leave. Alaska responded by ending the popular twice a week service between Prince Rupert and Southeast, which up to that point had been transporting some 170,000 people a year. The state eventually resumed the service but budget cuts and other issues eventually limited service to once a week or less.

In 2019, the state announced the service would be ended. It is resuming in the summer of 2022, but only twice a month.

In 2013, when the Alaska Marine Highway System celebrated its 50 ^th Anniversary, the Queen of the Fleet was gussied up with a new paint job - most notably a yellow smokestack like in the early days of the system - and served at the centerpiece of celebrations in each community.

Mariah Warren was a member of the Malaspina's deck crew, but she had originally started in the galley.

"I was brought aboard as part of the extra cook army for her 50th anniversary "Golden Cruise," in 2013," she said last week. "The ship had just been heavily overhauled and spiffed up. That's when the stack was repainted yellow. We opened up the galley in ports along way and served vast crowds. I remember leaving Wrangell one night in the dark, and it seemed as if half the town was out in their cars honking and flashing their lights in a show of appreciation and support. It was a pretty magical time."

But that proved to be the last shining moment for the Malaspina in the fleet. Within a couple of years, she was facing between $16 million and $20 million in repairs and the state was looking to lay her up. A decision was made to repair the Matanuska instead and the Malaspina was docked in Ward Cove in late 2019. There she has sat for the past three years as the Marine Highway looked for a seller and also tried to avoid the ship going to scrap like the Taku did.

Longtime Malaspina crew members are generally happy that the ship is being preserved and not sold for scrap, but they also believe the Malaspina also had sea years left.

"Sad to see her go," Longtime chief engineer Richard Cook said recently. "There was nothing wrong on her that couldn't be repaired."

Retired AMHS Captain Hopkins, who served as third mate, second mate, chief mate and relief captain on the Malaspina, agreed.

"The Malaspina was a great handling ship with tremendous backing power, more so than the Matanuska," Hopkins said last week. "She had split-handle throttles where we could pull a pin and 'split' the throttle handles to control engine RPM’s and propeller pitch separately. This made for great control of the ship, making it do what you wanted it to do. The Malaspina was always obedient to those commands. It seems unjust that the Matanuska is still running while the Malaspina isn’t."

Hopkins - who went on to captain the Kennicott for many years - also has another reason to think fondly of his time on the Malaspina, he met his wife, Wynne Gilmore Hopkins on board the Mal.

"My wife served as a Forest Service naturalist in the summer on the Malaspina," Hopkins said. "That is how we met each other in 1981. The ship has a very fond place in our hearts and memories."

Wynne Hopkins agreed.

"I do have wonderful memories on the (Malaspina)," She said last week. "For those of us who served the passengers onboard, she was our home away from home. Eating, sleeping, working and squeezing in a bit of fun when the moment allowed. She was truly like a family member, not unlike a human being. She is loved by the many who knew her well."

 

Of course, it is not possible to recount the Malaspina's history without noting her long-time skipper, Harold Payne, considered by many to be the best skipper in the 60-year history of the Marine Highway. Payne captained the Malaspina from 1969 to 1991. He was named fleet commodore toward the end of his tenure.

"Captain Payne was perhaps the Marine Highway's greatest shipmaster," Captain Hopkins said last week. "When backing the Malaspina as when backing out of Auke Bay and you shook the stern it would displease Captain Payne. Everything with him was smooth and graceful. If you over-used the bow thruster, he would put his hand on yours and say, 'Not yet.' He was a quiet man, but his word was final."

Hopkins said that Payne always spoke about making the elements and the ship your "friends."

"In the ship’s heyday, we sailed from Prince Rupert, BC with the car deck full, both cargo vans and vehicles, making two round trips per week between there and Skagway and stops in between including once per week in Sitka," Hopkins said. "It was serious work and satisfying, day and night, fog, snow and high wind. The Malaspina rarely broke down. The ship always had good marine engineers, officers and crew, and captains. Payne taught the crew to 'feel' the ship, that is to feel it losing momentum through your feet or feel the ship's engines through your fingertips when touching the engine controls. Payne taught situational awareness and never letting one's guard down at any time."

Hopkins said that Payne was particularly strong in the places that gave other mariner's fits: Wrangell Narrows and Peril Strait. Hopkins said that Payne would help junior offficers through the Narrows, which Payne called "the ditch," by standing off to one side and providing a calming presence.

"I can still hear his soothing voice speaking softly, saying 'now' to indicate that it was time to put the rudder over 10 or 15 degrees and come to the next course," Hopkins said. "If the ship was swinging too slowly for his taste, he would say, 'give her more rudder' or if the ship was swinging too fast 'easy on the rudder' or 'check her up.'

Other common Payne phrases, Hopkins said, were 'give her more snoose' or 'kick her up a notch' meaning to increase the propeller pitch or 'drop her down a peg' or 'ease her back a little' to reduce pitch. Increasing the pitch increased power while decreasing it had the opposite effect.

"A day finally came when I was conning his beautiful Malaspina through Wrangell Narrows when he fell asleep in his captain's chair," Hopkins said last week. "The able seaman steering the ship brought the captain's slumber to my attention, noting 'the Old Man' really does trust you now.' But I doubt he was truly asleep."

The Malaspina is being sold to the operators of the Ward Cove for $128,000. The Taku was sold to scrappers for $171,000 in 2018. State officials say selling the Malaspina will save the state more than $400,000 a year in layup costs.

But the sale leaves the AHMS with only four larger vessels available for service. The Columbia, like the Matanuska, is considered "old" at nearly 50 years and the Tustamena - which is slated to be replaced next - is only a year younger than the Matanuska.

The Kennicott, built in 1998, is the baby of the fleet.