Tourist No.2 Built: 1924 Length: 110'  Beam: 36'  Gross tonnage of 95. Propulsion: 320 HP Atlas-Imperial diesel engine.   Autho capacity: 20 cars Passenger capacity: 155 Cliff West snapped this photo of the Tourist #2 approaching the dock in the twilight years of the ferry system's run on the Columbia River.
Built in 1924, the Tourist No. 2 was a larger improvement on the Tourist No. 1 and worked th Astoria-Megler run quiet uneventfully until 1941.  That year, after the attack at Pearl Harbor, the little ferry was taken over by the U.S. Army.  Painted gray, she commenced  laying mines in the lower Columbia River as the USAMP Octopus.            Her mine-laying duties completed, the   Army used her in her intended purpose  as a ferry, running between Fort Canby and Fort Stevens.  At war's end, the Army sold the  Tourist 2 back to Elfving for $36,000.  The State of Oregon took over the ferry in 1946.           After the Astoria Bridge was built, the ferry was moved from Oregon to Pierce County, Washington in 1967 and renamed the Islander. The  ferry worked on Puget Sound  between Anderson Island, Ketron Island and the mainland for many years, but eventually it became too small for the route and the ferry was retired and sold.           She was purchased by Argosy Cruises of Seattle in 1996 and extensively refurbished.  Renamed the Kirkland, the ferry was  a popular cruise vessel for Argosy.      Sadly, on 28 August 2010 an electrical fire was sparked below decks on the Kirkland.  Though it was put out quickly, Argosy determined it would be too expensive to repair the vessel, and the company decided to scrap the boat, ending her eighty-six year career.
At left, a postcard of the Tourist No. 2 working at Astoria.  At right, looking very much like a toy boat, the Islander, ex-Tourist No.2 is shown here in the days just before her retirement.  Photo courtesy of LB Bryce.
The old  Toruist # 2 sailing as the M/V Kirkland for  Argosy.  Photo Courtesy of Matt Masuoka.
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