Neil
Voyager
Posts: 7,175
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Post by Neil on Oct 4, 2011 13:26:13 GMT -8
Workers are preparing the dilapidated concrete ramp at Buckley Bay for the temporary barge service to Hornby during the two week shutdown. Perhaps this was the original ferry ramp. Not much margin for error for commercial vehicle drivers. At Shingle Spit, trucks will load at this ramp, which appears to be in better condition, though just as narrow further down. I'm not sure how they can thread the barge through the pilings to the ramp, but that's the plan. Not much of a dock left at Shingle Spit right now, which complicates dockings during the constant windstorms this time of year.
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Neil
Voyager
Posts: 7,175
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Post by Neil on Oct 21, 2011 16:29:29 GMT -8
Apparently this is the passenger lounge that will serve people leaving Ford Cove on Hornby for Gravelly Bay on Denman, during the two week ferry shutdown which starts Sunday. Just a generic blue pennant on top- no waves- and the Starbucks counter inside has yet to be installed.
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Post by Low Light Mike on Oct 21, 2011 19:08:44 GMT -8
Apparently this is the passenger lounge that will serve people leaving Ford Cove on Hornby for Gravelly Bay on Denman, during the two week ferry shutdown which starts Sunday. Just a generic blue pennant on top- no waves- and the Starbucks counter inside has yet to be installed. Is that the "Chillums Shack" ?
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Neil
Voyager
Posts: 7,175
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Post by Neil on Oct 21, 2011 20:44:26 GMT -8
Apparently this is the passenger lounge that will serve people leaving Ford Cove on Hornby for Gravelly Bay on Denman, during the two week ferry shutdown which starts Sunday. Just a generic blue pennant on top- no waves- and the Starbucks counter inside has yet to be installed. Is that the "Chillums Shack" ? ;D May as well be... somehow I don't think it will actually be sheltering too many passengers.
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Post by WettCoast on Nov 2, 2011 19:48:09 GMT -8
Here is a shore side photo of the facilities at Alert Bay, Malcolm Cormorant Island, with the Quadra Queen II at berth. This photo was taken while on a day trip to Alert Bay on the 16th of May 2009. This is hosted on my Flickr photo site.I love the look of these old wooden berth structures that are slowly but surely being replaced by concrete and steel.
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Post by Low Light Mike on Jan 6, 2012 20:26:22 GMT -8
Buckley Bay terminal seen at dusk on January 6, 2012. - from the highway rest-stop Full view: Close-up to see the car-light time-exposure trails
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Post by Low Light Mike on Jan 19, 2012 8:39:48 GMT -8
Here is a shore side photo of the facilities at Alert Bay, Malcolm Island, with the Quadra Queen II at berth. This photo was taken while on a day trip to Alert Bay on the 16th of May 2009. This is hosted on my Flickr photo site.I love the look of these old wooden berth structures that are slowly but surely being replaced by concrete and steel. ...and this one will be replaced, sometime in near future. BCFerries is calling for proposals on designing an updated ramp and structures.
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Post by Low Light Mike on Feb 6, 2012 19:37:44 GMT -8
I chatted with a toll-booth worker at Buckley Bay terminal, a couple of days ago. I asked about whether the Comox-Westview route will be operating out of Buckley Bay temporarily when upcoming repairs are done to Comox.
He said yes it would, and that this has been pushed back a year or so (as I've noted somewhere else on this forum, re the delay of planned projects).
He said that both the 'Burnaby and 'Chilliwack have done dock-fitting tests at Buckley Bay, and that the 'Burnaby did not fit the dock.
I asked about staging-area for traffic and he said that BCFerries might rent the field-area that is just south of the terminal alongside Hwy 19A.
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Post by Low Light Mike on Feb 7, 2012 20:01:43 GMT -8
Hornby Island's Shingle Spit ferry landing, as seen from a few spots along the East side of Denman Island. - February 4, 2012. First off, for the context. You can see both Shingle Spit and Gravelly Bay ferry landings in this shot of Lambert Channel Shingle Spit - 3 bridges I love that font...
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Post by Low Light Mike on Feb 10, 2012 19:36:31 GMT -8
Imagine the fun that a ferry photographer can have at an empty ferry terminal..... Here's an empty Gravelly Bay terminal on February 4, 2012: ---------------- The setting, seen from a few km up East Rd. on Denman: Seen from the top of the car staging area. The air reeked from a rotting sea-lion carcass by the old boat ramp. Looking at Gravelly Bay and at Shingle Spit too Blue-box recycling is important on Denman. - or maybe it's just a hydro box? ;D I'd better hurry with my goofing around, before the ferry crew arrives on Kahloke... Kahloke in the berth. Looking back. - there's a 2nd building in the far background. I think it's washrooms for the car-traffic
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Post by Low Light Mike on Feb 10, 2012 21:23:37 GMT -8
Buckley Bay terminal, which links Vancouver Island to Denman Island. The pink X is where I've taken photographs before of the terminal from the hill above it. ...and here is a January 2012 photo from that hill location: ----------------------- -------------------- Awaiting the MV Quinitsa Some day, I'll take a photo of the Queen of Chilliwack in this berth. ....and for some fun:
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Post by Low Light Mike on Feb 12, 2012 19:32:51 GMT -8
The Metcalf Bay Ferry Landing District on the west shore of Denman Island is a place of beauty and tranquility. I was considering buying some coal on Denman, but the sign on the terminal neighbour's lawn says that there is no coal available today. Too bad, I suppose that Denman Island is also out of chocolate. Lovely reflection in the water of that old wood structure Wingwall close-up Epilogue: Exit Denman Left.
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Post by DENelson83 on Feb 15, 2012 23:45:22 GMT -8
Here is a shore side photo of the facilities at Alert Bay, Malcolm Island... Say what? Edit: The delay was because I only just now noticed that error.
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Neil
Voyager
Posts: 7,175
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Post by Neil on Feb 16, 2012 0:05:11 GMT -8
One of those serendipitous (or ironic?) occasions that one can't help remarking on...
...after Mr Horn cheekily slips in a reference to the Metcalf Bay (sic) ferry landing district, the chap who was originally responsible for that little faux pas pops up in the very next post to correct someone else's little slip, after thinking about it for three months.
I think you guys planned it.
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Post by Low Light Mike on Feb 18, 2012 10:56:52 GMT -8
The wing-wall equipment at Gravelly Bay on the lovely south-east corner of Denman Island. - Feb.4, 2012 Kahloke in the berth.
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Post by Low Light Mike on Apr 8, 2012 20:18:25 GMT -8
A banner photo contest reject
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Neil
Voyager
Posts: 7,175
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Post by Neil on Apr 9, 2012 19:39:28 GMT -8
Well, I've certainly had a good dose of the Tenaka in the last few days; five crossings in all. Still one of my favorite ferries, although woefully inadequate for the run they have her on currrently- the Hornby route- though that's not entirely her fault.
This afternoon I was coming back from dropping my daughter off at Departure Bay. By the way... the Northfield turnoff is much superior to the marked route to the terminal- and the distance from the new highway to Departure Bay is perhaps five minutes, depending on the lights.
I was talking to one of the senior deckhands on the Hornby route. He was telling me that the Cortes crew apparently prefers Tenaka on that route, although residents and businesses like Tachek's vastly better overheight capacity.
The challenge for the Hornby crew is that the new berths were not designed for the vessels using them. This is despite the nice drawings I saw at the open house last fall which showed Kahloke, Tachek, and Quinitsa fitting perfectly into the Gravelly Bay and Shingle Spit docks. Ferries using the docks have to nestle against dolphins on one side, and Tenaka and Kahloke are so small that when berthed, they are decidedly off centre with the ramp. This isn't so much of a problem with the Kahloke, but Tenaka has three divided lanes, and the berthed angle is such that larger cars and pickups cannot be put into the portside lane- a real problem when the boat only takes 21-22 cars. I asked what vessel might comfortably use the dock, and the crewman replied, "Maybe the Island Sky"... which will happen perhaps when pigs fly or when Hornby gets a Marriott hotel.
This is a mystifying problem. Why would BC Ferries install supposedly one-size-fits-all docks when they have no intention of ever using a large ferry on the route? Even a layman such as myself can see that the docks are too big for the vessels that most likely will use them.
If the cable ferry option becomes a reality, we have heard that Quinitsa may be transferred to the Hornby route, but apparently Quinitsa may also be shifted to Port MacNeill, which apparently is problematic because of that vessel's ability to manoeuvre tides in Johnstone Strait.
The new docks look great, and are much easier for vehicles to navigate than the decrepit forty year old structures they replaced. Whether BC Ferries could have come up with something more serviceable by consulting the crews that use them everyday is another matter.
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Post by Mike C on Aug 27, 2012 15:40:55 GMT -8
Campbell River has received self-serve ticketing kiosks, as per a tweet this afternoon. Will this be a future staple at minor terminals now...? I would find it to be a welcome addition at places like Little River, Westview or Saltery Bay, not so sure about somewhere like Heriot Bay...
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Post by Low Light Mike on Oct 6, 2012 20:39:56 GMT -8
Texada Island's Blubber Bay. - As industrial as a BC Ferry terminal neighbourhood can get.
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Post by Low Light Mike on Oct 7, 2012 12:08:53 GMT -8
The Buckley Bay ferry terminal, gateway to Denman Island, and that island beyond Denman... Close up of the queuing traffic on a long weekend Friday, headed for the little Islands.
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Post by Low Light Mike on Oct 27, 2012 15:54:23 GMT -8
Compilation of a few of my video clips of Sointula and Port McNeill terminals. - seen from the ferry Quadra Queen II, in July 2011.
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Post by Low Light Mike on Dec 29, 2012 18:15:09 GMT -8
From a trip from Port McNeill to Sointula. - December 29, 2012 The highly organized multi-route holding compound at Port McNeill Other than the last couple of sailings of the day, all sailings are A-to-B sailings, with no multi-port trips. ---------------- And because we don't have many (or any) photos of Sointula's terminal from the Malcolm Island viewpoint, here are some: I'm on the public wharf which is part of the overall wharf/terminal structure. QQtwo in the berth. View from up on the street. A lovely evening, in spite of some light rain.
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Post by Low Light Mike on Jan 1, 2013 17:40:53 GMT -8
With the clock now ticking-down the remaining months for these old-school wood lift structures, I thought I should post a few of my recent photos. ------------------------------- This is Port McNeill terminal, seen by me on December 29 & 31, 2012. - scheduled for rebuild by April 2014
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Post by Low Light Mike on Jan 1, 2013 18:25:30 GMT -8
Sointula's ferry dock, seen by me on December 29, 30 & 31st 2012. - the old wood ramp-lift structures are scheduled for replacement by April 2015. Seen from the jetty The modern waiting room. Painted in BCF colours. - no washrooms, just an empty room with benches around the edge. The traffic holding-compound is the edge of the street; the town's main street. Some fool was thrilled to be in spot #1 in the lineup. Some people must think ferry lineups are exciting places. - that's the Co-op store in background right, with the mural on the side. Sunny morning view of the terminal area A few more photos from this nice angle. - from the beach below the pub (the town's only pub, so it's "THE pub") - from the museum/library/seniors-hall/daycare/tennis courts building parking lot
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Post by Low Light Mike on Jan 1, 2013 21:45:20 GMT -8
On-board from the bow video of the Quadra Queen II ferry sailing between Port McNeill and Sointula, on December 29 & 31, 2012.
sped-up 5x.
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