About the Virginia V

The S.S. Virginia V was built in 1922 for the West Pass Transportation Company to carry freight and passengers from the communities on Vashon Island to Seattle and Tacoma. Once part of a large fleet of vessels that served waterfront towns all over Puget Sound, the Virginia V is the last surviving boat from the famous "Mosquito Fleet". At a time when most of the small private ferries were scrapped, the "Five" continued to provide a vital commercial service as a passenger and cargo ferry well into the mid-twentieth century. By the 1950s she had become Seattle's favorite excursion and charter vessel and has remained in almost continuous operation in the years since. 

In the 1970s, both Seattle and Tacoma designated the Virginia V as a City Landmark, and in 1992 she was listed as a National Historic Landmark Vessel. Also in the mid-70s the Virginia V Foundation was formed as a non-profit heritage organization with the mission of preserving this historic treasure for generations to come.

In the 1990s the Virginia V underwent an extensive 6.5 million dollar restoration. With gleaming wood, a new certified boiler, and a U.S. Coast Guard Passenger Boat License she is ready to steam into the 21st century.

Today an excursion onboard the Virginia V captures the romance of the fabled days of the Mosquito Fleet era, evoking all the sights, sounds and feelings of when steam ship passage was a way of life throughout the Puget Sound.  The Virginia V's current home is on Lake Union in Seattle, Washington.