Getting to Whidbey Island will be a bit easier and a whole lot breezier starting with the summer sailing season for Washington State Ferries which begins June 14.

Clinton Ferry Advisory Committee representative Dave Hoogerwerf announced that the Tokitae’s sun deck will open for the first time to ferry travelers this weekend. Ferries spokesman Ian Sterling confirmed the news.

“It’s beautiful up there,” Hoogerwerf said. “Mountains on both sides, they’ve got chairs you can sit on.”

The sun deck has been closed to the public since the Tokitae first joined the fleet in June 2014. A new feature to the route, the added space required additional crew which was not funded in the ferries’ budget.

Recently passed funding from the state Legislature, however, included enough money for ferries to add two crew members for limited hours and days for the sun deck to open.

The sun deck is above the main passenger area with the two-prong balcony but below the pilothouse.

Both the Tokitae and its sister ship, the Samish on the Anacortes-San Juans route, will have their sun decks, with 284 seats available, open through the summer sailing season, June 14 to Sept. 19. It will only be open Thursday to Sunday, from 10 a.m. to 8 p.m.

“We want our passengers to be able to get out and enjoy what’s been spectacular-like weather so far,” Sterling said.

The Clinton-to-Mukilteo summer schedule also brings more late-night sailings Thursday through Sundays and an early-morning Saturday sailing. Departures begin at 4:40 a.m. from Clinton and 5:05 a.m. from Mukilteo during weekdays. Everyday late-night sailings end at 1:30 a.m. from Clinton and 2 a.m. from Mukilteo. Service is largely based on half-hour sailings through the summer season.

According to a news release from the Washington State Department of Transportation, Ferries Division, increased traffic during summer is expected. The release advises ferry travelers to plan for the journey west outside of peak hours on Friday afternoons and evenings, and eastbound Sunday afternoons.