Nick
Voyager
Chief Engineer - Queen of Richmond
Posts: 2,078
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Post by Nick on Dec 6, 2009 19:19:44 GMT -8
This seems to be as good a place as any for this. I was googling (is that a word?) today, and I found this fantastic trip report of a huge west coast ferry trip. It seems a group of ferry fans from the UK took a trip to Canada specifically to see our ferries, back in 2006. They started back east with Marine Atlantic and all the various ferry operators out there, then migrated to Vancouver and explored our corner of the world. They have a fantastic photo collection and vivid description of pretty much every class of ship between BC and Alaska. I just spent more time than I care to admit reading it all. Includes SOVI, Coho, Queen of Saanich, Skeena Queen, Columbia, Kennicott, Taku, Malaspina or Matanuska (can't remember..), Queen of Prince Rupert, Queen of Burnaby, Queen of Tsawwassen, Queen of Oak Bay, Queen of Surrey and Queen of Alberni. Anyway, thought I'd share... here's the link for anybody who has some spare time. www.hhvferry.com/can_al_06.html
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Post by Low Light Mike on Dec 6, 2009 19:39:38 GMT -8
I found this fantastic trip report of a huge west coast ferry trip. It seems a group of ferry fans from the UK took a trip to Canada specifically to see our ferries, back in 2006. They started back east with Marine Atlantic and all the various ferry operators out there, then migrated to Vancouver and explored our corner of the world. Thanks for that link. I like some of the comments on the BC Ferries, such as the Saanich's forward lounge being like a senior's home lounge. I also like how their trip writers have done their Spaulding research. They did the Spaulding Triple-Crown of Coho, V-Class and Blue-Canoe.
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Neil
Voyager
Posts: 7,196
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Post by Neil on Dec 6, 2009 20:28:21 GMT -8
Thanks for that one, Nick. That was really well written, and it was interesting to read about the similarities between some of our boats and some found in the British isles. That fellow knows his stuff, yet gives a really good overview without obsessing about stuff that doesn't matter. Good to get an outsider's imartial view. I liked the mention of one party member being reported for "suspicious" photography onboard the Coho. I guess ferry fans resemble potential terrorists no matter where they're from.
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Mill Bay
Voyager
Long Suffering Bosun
Posts: 2,886
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Post by Mill Bay on Dec 6, 2009 21:50:58 GMT -8
That's a great find Nick. I really found the design comparison between the QPR and 'Thoresen's Scandinavian-style ferries', to be the most interesting part. I've often wondered exactly where the design inspiration for the QPR came from. Now we know, and we even have first hand accounts of travelers who have sailed on other ships with the similar design.
It seems they had the misfortune of taking a busy sailing on the QPR, though, with the comments about cafeteria reservations and fights over seating seeming at odds with the more empty sailings I've experience on the QPR.
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Post by Low Light Mike on Dec 6, 2009 21:57:51 GMT -8
I have sent a personal email to the contact-person of the HHV ferry group, to thank them for their great report.
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Post by hhvferry on Dec 7, 2009 12:46:20 GMT -8
Thanks to Mike for the email and to everyone for the comments - it's nice to know that people read and appreciate the website I'll also feed it back to Richard Seville who wrote the West Coast part of the report. Looking back now we had a great time on that trip. The number and variety of ships was excellent - just a shame the sun didn't shine all the way through! The link of the QOPR with the Thoresen Vikings was certainly interesting for us as those three ships are very famous over here. The QOPR was derived from the Vikings I, II and III; a fifth ship, the Svea Drott (now Moby Baby) was also built along the same lines. They all proved to be very succesful and only one - the Viking I - has been scrapped to date, which since they are all 40+ years old, is a some achievement. One of the guys I was on the trip with, Bruce, subsequently published a book which covered the history, by ship, of the QOPR's naval architects, Knud E Hansen ( www.knudehansen.com). Although most state-owned and sponsored operators around the world did their own thing when it came to developing the early car ferries, for private operators without their own in-house technical department, KEH were almost always the first people to call in the '60s if you wanted a car ferry drawing up. Hence the story of KEH is pretty much the story of the privately-owned car ferry. Putting the QOPR and her four half sisters into a historical context in terms of 'ferry evolution' they are somewhere between the Grenaa of '64 and the Ibn Batouta of '66 I think! Then things evolved a bit more, ships got bigger and one of the first and most important ships in the 'Second Generation' of KEH car ferries was the Stena Danica - later Queen of the North. Anyway, thanks again for the feedback and I hope the BC Ferries European contingent, those Flensburgers and especially the Sonia, are behaving themselves Matt
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Post by SS San Mateo on Dec 10, 2009 11:47:06 GMT -8
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Post by Kahloke on Dec 10, 2009 12:08:38 GMT -8
Great finds. Klahanie was looking pretty sad there. That's a name I would love to see resurrected for one of the new ferries - maybe one of the 144's.
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Post by Ferryman on Mar 9, 2010 20:38:44 GMT -8
Here's a familiar sight. www.flickr.com/photos/mlafleche2/4416988117/Reminds me of the night where a number of us forum members were aboard the Queen of Vancouver, and the wind caught her like that at Tsawwassen. It took an hour and a half just to get into the dock! The pic up above is what someone captured from the Queen of New West when she was on Route 30 recently.
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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 10, 2010 9:52:03 GMT -8
Oh that's pretty cool! I think I might of been on that sailing cause I took two sailings in November and I remember the first trip I did the New West was sideways in the berth like that unless that was an earlier sailing in the day.
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D'Elete BC in NJ
Voyager
Dispensing gallons of useless information daily...
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Post by D'Elete BC in NJ on Apr 5, 2010 11:26:51 GMT -8
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Mill Bay
Voyager
Long Suffering Bosun
Posts: 2,886
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Post by Mill Bay on Apr 15, 2010 8:32:12 GMT -8
Interesting photo I found of the former Vesuvius Queen-ex Lloyd Jones in service in Okanagan Lake. i210.photobucket.com/albums/bb29/james_fisher/Retired%20Ferries/ok_lake_ferry.jpgI have a few questions about this photobucket account, though. It's listed under the name James Fisher, but it seems to me, a few of the historical photos belong to or maybe should be credited JST or DOT because I know that they are part of their collection.
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WettCoast
Voyager
Posts: 7,489
Member is Online
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Post by WettCoast on Apr 15, 2010 19:41:06 GMT -8
I think that maybe all the photos on the photobucket site of James Fisher are "borrowed". There is a large number of my photos and my brother's also. I also see photos that appear to be those of GAJ (aka 'Retro'). There is not much recent stuff however, so perhaps Mr. Fisher is not actively 'borrowing' at the present time.
I conclude that Mr. Fisher is a kid who does not know any better. Photobucket makes it really easy to pass off other people's stuff as your own.
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Mill Bay
Voyager
Long Suffering Bosun
Posts: 2,886
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Post by Mill Bay on Apr 22, 2010 10:23:21 GMT -8
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Post by Ferryman on Jul 22, 2010 10:57:41 GMT -8
I've been keeping a bit of a close eye on this persons album on Flickr. They seemed to have been aboard the Queen of Sidney and San Mateo in recent days, and is slowly posting images from both of those vessels. www.flickr.com/photos/37224161@N05/with/4818349029/
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Post by lmtengs on Jul 25, 2010 16:02:07 GMT -8
OOH! Interesting stuff, Ferryman!
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Post by lmtengs on Nov 26, 2010 16:21:12 GMT -8
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Post by Ferryman on Jul 12, 2011 11:42:20 GMT -8
This person on Flickr has a bit of a nice collection of old photographs (postcards?) of the ferries in the 60's and 70's. Some that we've all seen many times, plus some new ones that I have never seen before. www.flickr.com/photos/45379817@N08/
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