Four Fast Ferries
M/V VALLEJO
 The
VALLEJO was purchased by the City in 1994 when the vessel was known by her original
name, JET CAT EXPRESS. Construction of this 28 knot ferry was started in 1990
at Gladding-Hearn shipyard in Massachusetts for an Alaskan tour operator; vessel
design was by INCAT of Australia. During construction the Alaskan operator fell
on hard times and gave up its interest in the vessel. The Bombard Family from
Southern California ended up paying to complete the vessel in 1991 and she entered
service on the Catalina Island route. JET CAT EXPRESS was purchased in 1994
and entered service in Vallejo shortly thereafter; all as part of the North
Bay Ferry Demonstration Project funded in the aftermath of the 1989 Loma Prieta
earthquake. The vessel served Vallejo for three years before being relegated
to back-up service in 1997 with the delivery of INTINTOLI and MARE ISLAND. In
2001 the JET CAT EXPRESS was lengthened, re-powered to 34 knots, and re-christened
VALLEJO in honor of the City and its citizens.
M/V INTINTOLI & MARE ISLAND
  These
sister ships are identical vessels completed in 1997 expressly for the Vallejo
ferry service to be known as Baylink. As with the VALLEJO before them, funding
for these vessels also came from the North Bay Ferry Demonstration Project
in the wake of the 1989 earthquake. The vessels were designed by Advanced
Multihull Designs of Australia, and were built at Dakota Creek Shipyard in
Anacortes, Washington. These 34 knot, 300 passenger catamarans were the first
true high speed ferries to operate on San Francisco Bay. The INTINTOLI is
named in honor of Mayor Anthony Intintoli, Jr. who, in his first term as mayor,
was instrumental in obtaining the required funding for vessel construction.
The MARE ISLAND is named in honor of the Mare Island Ferry Company and its
owners the Raahauge Family. The Mare Island Ferry Company operated for many
years carrying well over a million shipyard workers from Vallejo across the
strait to the historic U.S. Navy shipyard located on Mare Island.
M/V SOLANO
 Named
for Solano County, California and its citizens, this vessel is a derivative
of the INTINTOLI and MARE ISLAND design. Naval architecture was provided by
Advanced Multihull Designs, with the vessel being built at Dakota Creek and
finished in 2004. What distinguishes SOLANO from her cousins is the installation
of a catalytic exhaust after treatment system that makes her the cleanest
ferry of her type operating anywhere in the world. On a daily basis the SOLANO
produces about 60% less NOx (a smog producing compound) than other ferries.
The vessel also features state of the art propulsion control systems; and
many improvements in the realm of passenger comfort and convenience. Read
more M/V SOLANO facts and figures.
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