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Post by Low Light Mike on Aug 16, 2015 18:35:26 GMT -8
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Post by Low Light Mike on Aug 16, 2015 18:48:43 GMT -8
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Neil
Voyager
Posts: 7,150
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Post by Neil on Aug 16, 2015 22:48:08 GMT -8
Thank you for your photo essay on this vessel and its route, Mr Horn. Definitely looks like a trip worth taking.
You had a shot of the port side lounge... is the starboard lounge for crew?
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Post by Low Light Mike on Aug 17, 2015 7:04:23 GMT -8
Thank you for your photo essay on this vessel and its route, Mr Horn. Definitely looks like a trip worth taking.
You had a shot of the port side lounge... is the starboard lounge for crew? The starboard lounge is same as port, for passengers. I'm not sure where the crew keeps their coffee-pot, etc.
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Post by Low Light Mike on Aug 17, 2015 21:26:45 GMT -8
And my final Nicola offering:
Video of the return leg from the Lax Kw'alaams landing to Prince Rupert. The scenery is the star of the show.
...and now I know a lot more about the route and its people.
------------- (note: music edit is still processing)
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Neil
Voyager
Posts: 7,150
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Post by Neil on Aug 18, 2015 21:36:45 GMT -8
Mr Horn: Given that the Nicola is the second oldest car ferry owned by BC Ferries at 55 years, what were your visual impressions as to her state, compared to, say, Tenaka?
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Post by Low Light Mike on Aug 19, 2015 6:41:27 GMT -8
Mr Horn: Given that the Nicola is the second oldest car ferry owned by BC Ferries at 55 years, what were your visual impressions as to her state, compared to, say, Tenaka? Considering that I was more focused on the scenery than the ship itself, I didn't notice too much of oldness. The outside wooden door to the bridge looked very poor, but that's the only thing that stood out for me. The car deck looked clean, but no lines painted. And from my vantage points, I wasn't able to get a good look of her hull from the outside. She seemed very basic and clean.
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Post by Low Light Mike on Aug 21, 2015 13:59:27 GMT -8
A provincial govt news release from July 2015, which gives an idea of how the route is funded, and some recent news on Nicola: from HERE
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Post by Mike C on Aug 22, 2015 7:56:12 GMT -8
A provincial govt news release from July 2015, which gives an idea of how the route is funded, and some recent news on Nicola: Thanks for this.
I think the vessel upgrade is understandable, but I wonder what has motivated the province to provide a service bump of over 70% on their ferry route, and a fairly significant upgrade to their road infrastructure. I am short on stats for this community/ferry route at the moment, so I can't say for sure, but I get the impression that, had this been a branded part of BC Ferries network, we wouldn't be reading this press release right now. Whatever the case may be, this project stands as an outlier to the rest of the coast.
When Todd Stone waves his magic ferry wand, will the Nicola be getting potable water!?
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Post by WettCoast on Aug 22, 2015 8:07:05 GMT -8
A provincial govt news release from July 2015, which gives an idea of how the route is funded, and some recent news on Nicola: Thanks for this.
I think the vessel upgrade is understandable, but I wonder what has motivated the province to provide a service bump of over 70% on their ferry route, and a fairly significant upgrade to their road infrastructure. I am short on stats for this community/ferry route at the moment, so I can't say for sure, but I get the impression that, had this been a branded part of BC Ferries network, we wouldn't be reading this press release right now. Whatever the case may be, this project stands as an outlier to the rest of the coast.
When Todd Stone waves his magic ferry wand, will the Nicola be getting potable water!? The key is very likely LNG. The Port Simpson area has one or more proposed LNG plants there. Whether or not any of these actually 'happen' remains to be seen.
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Deleted
Deleted Member
Posts: 0
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Post by Deleted on Aug 22, 2015 9:39:16 GMT -8
A provincial govt news release from July 2015, which gives an idea of how the route is funded, and some recent news on Nicola: When Todd Stone waves his magic ferry wand, will the Nicola be getting potable water!?
It's the only route under his leadership getting increased service!
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Post by Starsteward on Aug 23, 2015 8:35:40 GMT -8
Thanks for this.
I think the vessel upgrade is understandable, but I wonder what has motivated the province to provide a service bump of over 70% on their ferry route, and a fairly significant upgrade to their road infrastructure. I am short on stats for this community/ferry route at the moment, so I can't say for sure, but I get the impression that, had this been a branded part of BC Ferries network, we wouldn't be reading this press release right now. Whatever the case may be, this project stands as an outlier to the rest of the coast.
When Todd Stone waves his magic ferry wand, will the Nicola be getting potable water!? The key is very likely LNG. The Port Simpson area has one or more proposed LNG plants there. Whether or not any of these actually 'happen' remains to be seen. I do believe, 'Wett Coast' that you have hit the nail on the head. Perhaps the good folks affected by the total mismanagement of route 40 should cats about and see if there is some way they could attract an oil pipeline or an LNG plant to their area thereby increasing their chances of reaping the benefits of Minister Stone's magic ferry wand, that does come with the benefits of potable water. The First Nations folks in the Prince Rupert area hopefully realize what 'strings' are really attached to this ferry upgrade et al and drive a real tough bargain and tell Minister Stone he has to return with a much bigger magic ferry wand.
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Post by Low Light Mike on Aug 6, 2016 22:14:53 GMT -8
Dirk Septer (shipwatcher in Campbell River) messaged me to say that he saw Nicola southbound today, towed by tug SMIT MISSISSIPPI.
According to AIS, they are near Lasquiti Island right now. Must be headed for a Vancouver shipyard or to Deas for lift out.
Stay tuned.
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Post by Low Light Mike on Aug 7, 2016 7:14:53 GMT -8
Dirk Septer (shipwatcher in Campbell River) messaged me to say that he saw Nicola southbound today, towed by tug SMIT MISSISSIPPI. According to AIS, they are near Lasquiti Island right now. Must be headed for a Vancouver shipyard or to Deas for lift out. Stay tuned. Smit Mississippi is currently in Burrard Inlet. I think that Nicola is headed for Allied. ---------------- 2 mentions of ferry refit noted in a recent Lax Kw'alaams newsletter: from HERE
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Post by WettCoast on Aug 7, 2016 8:13:18 GMT -8
Smit Mississippi is a Rupert based tug.
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Post by Low Light Mike on Aug 7, 2016 12:11:54 GMT -8
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Post by shipyard on Aug 22, 2016 18:10:32 GMT -8
I can't help but wonder if this run would have been a suitable fit for the larger Tenaka if it hadn't been sold?
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Post by Low Light Mike on Nov 16, 2016 17:57:28 GMT -8
A bit of history from MV Nicola, seen at the Navy League building in Nanaimo. The local sea cadets must be using it for something. - seen November 16, 2016 20161116_153949 by Mike Bonkowski, on Flickr
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Post by roeco on Nov 17, 2016 12:02:03 GMT -8
I would wonder if a brand new ship is needed. I would think maybe something else in the future from the current BCF fleet that's a little bigger for the run.
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Post by WettCoast on Aug 19, 2018 20:30:52 GMT -8
My wife & I had a lovely trip today from Prince Rupert to Lax Kw’alaams & return via the Nicola and the newly paved road to the village. The weather was gorgeous; blue bird skies,warm & no smoke. I will have more to say when I get home to my computer. I don’t much like posting from a ‘smart’ phone.
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Post by WettCoast on Aug 21, 2018 18:34:02 GMT -8
Another view of the Nicola, this one at its berth on the northern end of the run at Tuck Inlet. There are two round trips per day from Aero Point @ Prince Rupert to the north end of Tuck Inlet and the start of the 17 km paved but winding & hilly road to the village of Lax Kw'alaams (once known as Port Simpson). The Sunday schedule allows you almost 5 hours to explore the village & area, including lovely nearby beaches. There is no Walmart! I used part of the time after arriving at Tuck Inlet to take this photo of the Nicola loading for its 12 noon sailing back to Prince Rupert. The photo that I posted on Sunday was taken as the 4 PM sailing from Rupert was approaching the north end terminal. Obviously we brought our car with us. Also of note is that the seniors' rate kicks in at age 60 (I saved $12). Fares are shown in the above link. How busy were the sailings I was on? The 11 AM sailing north had my car & five others aboard, and probably about a dozen passengers (there are five crew). The return sailing south was full or very nearly full (16 car capacity). The later south bound sailing at 5 PM had seven cars aboard including ours. The passenger count might have been fifteen. Based on what I saw, I don't think a larger vessel would be justified unless something like an LNG plant actually materialized near Lax Kw'alaams. It would be very easy to increase capacity by adding additional sailings ... My impression re the vessel is that it is being well cared for. Loading the Nicola (aka 'Spirit of Lax Kw'alaams') @ Tuck Inlet landing - 19 August 2018
Grace United Church, Lax Kw'alaams (once known as Port Simpson), north of Prince Rupert, BC - 19 August 2018
Both photos © WCK-JST by Jim Thorne, on Flickr
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Post by WettCoast on Aug 25, 2018 20:49:29 GMT -8
Tuck Inlet terminal - northern terminus for the Nicola's run between Prince Rupert & Lax Kw'alaams (Port Simpson) 19 August 2018 The vessel basically pulls up to an anchored barge which floats with the tide & is connected by a bridge to the shore. You can see on the right of the photo the newly paved road that leads 17 km to the village of Lax Kw'alaams. The road is pretty much without straight stretches or for that matter level stretches, but it gets the job done. It would be quite a challenge if you rode your bicycle on this road.
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Post by compdude787 on Sept 1, 2018 20:53:11 GMT -8
So, when are they planning on replacing the Nicola? I thought that that tribe wanted a new boat.
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Post by WettCoast on Nov 14, 2018 12:56:37 GMT -8
Nicola (aka the Spirit of Lax Kw'alaams) pivoting around for its return journey (12 noon sailing) back to Prince Rupert - 19 August 2018
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Post by Low Light Mike on Dec 26, 2018 22:18:55 GMT -8
Here is Nicola in her Quadra Queen days working that namesake route: Photo taken by my father: (...and poor quality camera-phone duplicates made by me from projected slide-show that my sister organized for our christmas visit, with a big stain on the projector. But that's all ok for conveying the subject here) Seen during the 1960s at Campbell River, BC: 20181226_205157 by Mike Bonkowski, on Flickr
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