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Post by queenofcowichan on Mar 8, 2008 20:53:40 GMT -8
I am still planing on the 10:30/ 12:30pm round trip sailing tomorrow! I can't wait.
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Post by Ferryman on Mar 8, 2008 21:13:30 GMT -8
WOW! What a different experience it was to actually sail aboard the Coastal Renaissance. It was definitely strange being able to look DOWN at the Queen of Cowichans BRIDGE. I was really impressed with how smooth she sails. She has that deep throaty rumble down in the engine room that the V-Class have, but without the vibration. The amount of water that churns from both propellars is a little bit overwhelming, and there was "Coke Float" type foam in between the berths at Departure Bay by the time we left. The Media was everywhere, but I think only a small number of us was actually interviewed. I was not one of them though. I was certainly glad most of us caught the 10:30am over, but was a little disappointed when we saw the Coastal Renaissance already sailing over to Horseshoe Bay once we were out in the Strait on the Oak Bay on an unexpected MD sailing. But, we got to see the ribbon cutting ceremoney on the lower ramp of Berth 2. Little scouts and cubs had taken over the Ferry by the time we were ready to leave. But, the the kids were quite spaced out in different areas of the ship, so having the extra deck 5 was a bonus.
The ONLY thing that went wrong today, was that we accidently caught the wrong transit bus out of Departure Bay while we were killing time before the Renaissance arrived. Initially we decided to head into Downtown Nanaimo to wander the shops. But I forgot to read the route number on the bus after reading the schedule, so we ended up at Woodgrove Mall. We waved as we drove past Scotts House, and Mr. Horns appartment this afternoon. Nobody waved back though.
It was a pleasure meeting some more new members today. Hopefully we'll see Alex, Nickfro, and cohocatcher on some upcomming trips.
I have a video to upload, but I have no guarentee as to when I'll have it up online. I'll try and work on it tonight, but no guarentees it will be ready.
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Post by queenofcowichan on Mar 8, 2008 21:18:53 GMT -8
Yeh, to go to Woodgrove you want either the #2 or 2A both have WOODGROVE on thier Signage. Take it from a regular Nanaimo Transit user.
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Post by Nickfro on Mar 8, 2008 22:08:42 GMT -8
I was wondering about the bus situation when I saw a second bus show up shortly after yours left, curious as to which one was the 'downtown' bus.
I completely agree with John's analysis of the ribbon-cutting ceremony. . .a herd of cattle standing on the ramp, with most people not being able to see nor hear anything! I'm sure someone on the 'team' managed to get themselves a decent vantage point. . .you'd be a lucky breed!
My complete trip consisted of a bit of a 'circle' tour, driven by the fact that I wanted to go to Victoria anyway. It started with a trip on Route 1 on the Queen of Vancouver. I then followed that up with my first trip on the Mill Bay ferry. . .quite the experience with its interesting layout and casual 'dock-ramming' technique when backing into berth at the Mill Bay Terminal. On my way up to Nanaimo I stopped at Crofton to get a view of the 'Hound Dog' to see if there were any visual 'changes' after its 2 month refit, and yes there were. After Crofton I decided to drive along Chemainus Rd and see the Kuper at dock. It was quite amazing how well the timing worked for all 3 of these small classed ferries that I saw. I'll post some photos of those 3 ferries soon.
Previously I had thought that I wouldn't be making it up to Nanaimo until almost 230, thus why I made a reservation. I didn't want to risk missing it due to an overload situation. However, I ended up getting to Nanaimo at about 1230, so much for the reservation! (Actually, the boat was only about 75% full, vehicle-wise) After heading downtown for some lunch, I decided to enter the terminal at about 140, which was just before the CR arrived from her morning MD round trip. Since I had the resso anyway, it gave me the privelege (aside from motorbikes and disabled stickers) of being loaded first onto the upper car deck. On the boat I was then situated in the middle lane of the 3 lanes that exist at the end of the deck. It was hard to leave my truck when I have a great view from my car seat like that, but obviously it was well worth it! A good view of the ship docking in Horseshoe Bay, the very first vehicle to disembark the upper car deck, and I was home in North Van by 500pm!
As for the vessel itself, rock solid in my opinion. Plenty of seating, lots of outside deck space (which I really like) and extra clearance height on the upper car deck (10 ft or so) were all big positives to me. It appears that the tv's have cable so hopefully one will be able to watch a Canucks game while travelling on Route 2. . .a great way to pass the time on a rainy evening trip! The most impressive characteristic though has to be how quiet and smooth the ship is, on all decks. There were times when I was walking along and I felt that the boat had stopped, as you couldn't feel nor hear any part of the engine at work.
Great to meet some of the forum folk, and the weather while on the ship couldn't have been any better! I look forward to my next trip on the CR, especially when it is a little less packed. (And without 200 cubs/scouts running all over the place!)
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Post by DENelson83 on Mar 8, 2008 22:23:53 GMT -8
It appears that the tv's have cable so hopefully one will be able to watch a Canucks game while travelling on Route 2. . .a great way to pass the time on a rainy evening trip! They're satellite TVs. If they were cable, do you think the CR would even be able to move? ;D What pleased me about TVs is that when a public announcement came over the PAs, the video they showed matched what was being said.
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Kam
Voyager
Posts: 926
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Post by Kam on Mar 8, 2008 22:30:46 GMT -8
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Post by Political Incorrectness on Mar 8, 2008 22:39:26 GMT -8
God that sun I could not bare! I really need to get sun shades.
Anyways, my trip started at 6:30 this morning waking up in my hotel room after a bad night of sleep. Got out of Bellingham at around 7:45 and was the first to arrive in Horseshoe Bay at 9:00. I purchased my fare over on the 10:30 and went over to the wharf to get some shots. Once the Oaky came in, it was time to book it over to board. We found each other once we got onboard and then roamed the deck with me usually sneaking behind everyone. Thanks to my high powered zoom, I was able to see the Coastal Renaissance was doing an MD sailing this morning. First time seeing her far away, she looked rather small. Once we got near VI, we passed the Cowichan with the sun showing nice and bright. They need to rename the island "Sunshine Island" just because of that.
Once we arrived in Departure Bay, we waited for sales to close of the 12:30 sailing and purchased our fare for the 3 pm sailing before we made our way in the wrong direction. We were all originally going to go to downtown, instead, we got on the wrong bus (because of someone who did not read the bus numbers right!). We end up going all the way to Woodgrove Centre along the rims of Departure Bay, looking out into the Strait at the Coastal Renaissance nearing Nanaimo.
We went back on the next bus to get our place in line to get aboard the vessel. Seeing her for the first time up close and personal was jaw dropping. You would think she would be small? OH HECK NO! She's just HUGE! I must say seeing her from entering the Departure Bay terminal transit pick up/drop off area was just amazing seeing her! Due to us purchasing fares early, we end up running for Berth 2 to see the official ribbon cutting for her first sailing with all the officers, captain, and some of the exec's of BCFS saying stuff we could not understand. Once this had happened, everyone was crowding over at the former Bistro building to load this new spanking Mercedes Benz of a ferry. In fact, passengers getting off the what seemed to be small Queen of Cowichan had to squeeze through everyone getting on the 3 pm sailing. When we all got onboard, we found Mr. Stapleton with a video camera in hand. All of us had a conversation with him and introduced ourselves then going off to the Sun Deck to get some pictures of the Cowichan while we sailed away. Might I mention, everyone got free beverages for the first day in service. (lovely scouts on soda)
The sailing back to Horseshoe Bay was no less different than going over, we all split up and reconvened for arrival to take the group shot (if you want any more embarassing shots of me to put up on your walls talk to NewFlyer) We end up meeting NewFlyer once we got off, having a brief chat and then all of us who were on the 3 pm (except nickfro) went for the wharf to take shots of her leaving. We all then parted once we got back to the terminal building.
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Post by Scott (Former Account) on Mar 8, 2008 23:42:33 GMT -8
Just got back from the 7:00 and 9:00 sailings of the Coastal Renaissance... I am going to make this short as I have to get up early tomorrow for another ferry trip...
I totally agree with everything that has been said. She rides like no other BC Ferry in the fleet. It is pretty amazing when you are sailing through the strait at 21 knots and can barely feel any vibration or noise.
We ended up watching the Canucks game and when it was done it was interesting to see DENelson on the CBC news reciting all of the specs of the Renaissance while sitting in the TV lounge..!
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Post by Alex on Mar 9, 2008 0:04:07 GMT -8
Well I had a great time! I agree with what everyone else is saying, you really don't get the scale of the ship until you see it in the dock, especially next to an old C. I'll try to post some of my better pics sometime tomorrow.
Also, I missed the 6pm news as I went out for dinner with some friends. Did I get on the news??
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Quatchi
Voyager
Engineering Officer - CCG
Posts: 930
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Post by Quatchi on Mar 9, 2008 0:07:58 GMT -8
Had a great time, just downloaded the newscast and there is a clip of us standing on deck 7 as she cruised into HSB.
Cant wait to ride her some more.
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Post by DENelson83 on Mar 9, 2008 0:11:47 GMT -8
We ended up watching the Canucks game and when it was done it was interesting to see DENelson on the CBC news reciting all of the specs of the Renaissance while sitting in the TV lounge..! Oh, my goodness... My face has gone out on television province-wide! CBC News used footage of me talking about the CR in its report on her maiden voyage on its evening newscast tonight! If anyone here has recorded this CBC News story on tape, please post it on YouTube!
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Post by Curtis on Mar 9, 2008 0:11:48 GMT -8
Sounds like you all had a great voyage on the CR. I would have been there if I wasn't stuck here. and BTW, Some Beautiful Photos, Kam.
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Post by Balfour on Mar 9, 2008 0:23:07 GMT -8
That was fun trip today! You definitely get a good feel for the ship when you take a sailing on her. She's a very roomy ship and she certainly dwarfed the Queen of Cowichan. It was also interesting standing on the corner of Deck 7 and seeing how far out the passenger decks go and to see the hull sort of disappear below is also pretty neat and to top off the experience, it was great to hear the classic E diminished chord similar to the Queen of Vancouver's for her horn and how it just echoed through the bay. It will be a reminder of the BCF fleet history.
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Post by Ferryman on Mar 9, 2008 0:25:55 GMT -8
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Koastal Karl
Voyager
Been on every BC Ferry now!!!!!
Posts: 7,747
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Post by Koastal Karl on Mar 9, 2008 0:44:45 GMT -8
It was a fun trip on the CR this evening as I also did the 7pm and 9pm sailings with Scott. She sure does make the C's look small standing on the upper outer deck. Looking forward to riding her some more.
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Post by Mike C on Mar 9, 2008 9:46:06 GMT -8
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Post by Nickfro on Mar 9, 2008 9:46:43 GMT -8
Great pictures and descriptions, everyone! Here are some photos from my trip. I tended to leave most CR photos to the 'documentary crew', so this batch of photos is a bit of a twist. The MV Mill Bay arriving at Brentwood Bay Terminal. My first time riding this little wonder. It was a fun experience! The Howe Sound Queen at Crofton. The near side stairway is new, and it wraps around so you can access the inside seating area and the outside deck. The regular staircase (far side) has been modified. The middle landing portion used to be only about 5-6 feet long and now it appears to be at least 20 feet long. They have added the washrooms and perhaps one or two other rooms under each stairway. A shot of an empty MV Kuper sitting at Chemainus. Boarding the maiden voyage for the Coastal Renaissance, right behind the motorbikes. The view from my vehicle on the ferry. Lastly, a sunny shot of the ship's funnel. A few others here.
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Post by Kahloke on Mar 9, 2008 11:13:15 GMT -8
I love seeing everyone's pics of this historic event. All of the pictures are really good - a lot of them very artistic! I'm a little jealous. I would have loved to have been there for the inaugural trip, but I just didn't have the time this weekend. I DO plan on making the trip on some Saturday a little later this month, or perhaps early April. It would make a great day trip if I took Coho over in the morning, and I'm thinking maybe even trying the little Mill Bay Ferry, then driving up to Nanaimo from there for the 3:00pm CR sailing. I would probably then just drive home via Vancouver, I-5, and the Edmonds/Kingston ferry.
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Kam
Voyager
Posts: 926
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Post by Kam on Mar 9, 2008 11:29:08 GMT -8
lol... preserving my bald spot for posterity?
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Post by Ferryman on Mar 9, 2008 12:25:31 GMT -8
Heh. Sorry, Kam.
But at least I have my videos all up and running on Youtube now. I had to divide it up into 3 parts in order to fall within the upload restrictions Youtube has in place.
Part 1, Ribbon Cutting Ceremony and boarding the ship:
Part 2, The voyage:
Part 3, Arriving at Horseshoe Bay, and watching her leave Horseshoe Bay:
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Post by Political Incorrectness on Mar 9, 2008 13:01:27 GMT -8
I must say, impressive shots! In the video Chris took, you begin to really see the size difference in the vessels up close and personal.
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Kam
Voyager
Posts: 926
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Post by Kam on Mar 9, 2008 14:31:48 GMT -8
Video of the first depature:
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Post by Alex on Mar 9, 2008 17:01:00 GMT -8
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Koastal Karl
Voyager
Been on every BC Ferry now!!!!!
Posts: 7,747
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Post by Koastal Karl on Mar 9, 2008 21:35:18 GMT -8
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Post by Mac Write on Mar 9, 2008 23:41:16 GMT -8
I am starting to get the feeling (good I hope) that the new BCFC is actually sticking to traditions of the ferries. With a backlite sign with the ship name, while working to make the routes profitable to modernize the system and keep it mdernized.
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