As an island community, we are susceptible to being completely cut off from resources should an event take out the Agate Pass bridge and suspend the ferry service. The City’s Emergency Operations Plan allows for the use of an emergency flotilla to help with the following:
- transport critical supplies and essential staff on and off the island
- to assist with coastline surveys in the event of a mudslide or other natural disaster
- to assist with oil spill response
- to assist with any other emergent event requiring on-water support
The flotilla is an asset, managed by the Harbormaster and composed of a volunteer corps of citizens who utilize their private vessels to assist the City when activated.
Join the Flotilla
To join the flotilla, visit this page. The City will reimburse fuel costs for flotilla volunteers when activated and when participating in City-sponsored training.
Activation
When flotilla activation is deemed necessary, active members will be contacted by the Harbormaster or member of the City’s incident response team. Members who are available and ready to deploy will be given assignments that are appropriate for their particular skill level and vessel capacity.
See our recent Cascadia Rising exercise video here:
Emergency Flotilla – Access to Private Docks
The City is currently working to identify deep water docks on the island, to be used in conjunction with the emergency flotilla. If you have a private deep water dock, and are willing to make it available for emergency response vessels during an incident, please contact the Harbormaster.
Have More Questions?
You can contact our Flotilla leads Tami Allen (Bainbridge Island Harbormaster, KI7HGF) and Stuart Scadron-Wattles (KJ7WSP) at flotilla-leads@bainbridgeprepares.org.
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