A couple comments.
1) The gull has, for better or worse, not been seen for certain since Monday. 
2) The ferry report was relayed by a local birder, but was actually made by folks from Texas. 
3) A birds internal compass getting messed up is likely a common cause of migrating birds ending up in the wrong place, but this species is not much of a migrant. The suspicions on this bird are that warm waters from a strong El Nino event in recent years may have caused the bird to stray far from home looking for food. It could have wandered around the northern Pacific ocean for a large amount of time before eventually finding its way to land in search of a mate.