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Post by Low Light Mike on Dec 16, 2006 10:33:44 GMT -8
Please tell the story about these pics:
- is this the actual sinking of vacationland?
- where did you get these pics?
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Post by Curtis on Dec 16, 2006 12:19:36 GMT -8
OH MY F***** GOD!! Thats a bitter end for a ship. The first of BCF's Big Double Enders.
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Post by Ferryman on Dec 16, 2006 14:07:22 GMT -8
Please tell the story about these pics: - is this the actual sinking of vacationland? - where did you get these pics? Yes, this is the actual pictures seen from the tug, that was towing the ex Gulf Kanayak, Sunshine Coast Queen, Vacationland, etc....while it was sinking. She was on her way to Asia to be scrapped, but she had other plans. They never figured out how it ended up sinking, but there was several different speculated guesses as to how it could of started to take on water. One of them being, seeming the bow doors were closed and reinforced with steel beams, which were welded on to the car deck, and a large wave hit the doors hard enough to open the doors, and drive one of the beams through the car deck, and through her hull. These pics are screenshots from the Sunshine Coast Queen DVD which was given to me by a very kind member of this forum, who doesn't come around here anymore. There's no actual moving film footage. Basically a montage of photos, with a narrator (the person who sent me the DVD), and cheesy music playing in the background. He made this video back in 1988, for the former crew members of the Ferry, and showed it at the Royal Canadian Legion in Gibsons.
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Post by Queen of Nanaimo Teen on Dec 16, 2006 20:43:04 GMT -8
Wow, thats a sad fate. It's too bad she had to go like that
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Post by Barnacle on Dec 18, 2006 11:10:18 GMT -8
Wow, thats a sad fate. It's too bad she had to go like that Eh, I don't know. Burial at sea is still better than death by dismemberment (scrapping).
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Post by Queen of Nanaimo Teen on Dec 18, 2006 16:27:29 GMT -8
yes, you are probably right. Burial at sea is like dying of old age rather than sickness (or in this case, scrapping) At least we know the Suzy Q. will always be on the earth
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Post by EGfleet on Dec 18, 2006 17:26:36 GMT -8
Wow, thats a sad fate. It's too bad she had to go like that Eh, I don't know. Burial at sea is still better than death by dismemberment (scrapping). Or neglect, ala San Mateo and Klahanie.
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Post by Fenklebaum on Dec 18, 2006 19:18:08 GMT -8
Eh, I don't know. Burial at sea is still better than death by dismemberment (scrapping). Or neglect, ala San Mateo and Klahanie.Amen.
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Post by EGfleet on Jan 4, 2007 20:58:15 GMT -8
I just came across this in an old Steamboat Bill magazine and thought I'd share it...gives the details of the mechanics in what caused the Susie Q to sink: SteamBoat Bill # 186 Summer 1988: At Gibsons, on the Sunshine Coast, on April 15 former crew members and fans of SUNSHINE COAST QUEEN a VACATIONLAND b JACK DALTON c PERE NOUVEL e GULF KANAYAK (and unofficially CANARCTIC EXPLORER) held a “wake” for the ferry which sank on December 3rd while under tow for China and scrapping. SSHSA member Leslie F Bagley, a longtime fan, gave the gathering an illustrated talk on the ferry. It seems that SUNSHINE COAST QUEEN went down after heavy seas pounded an iron brace, welded between the center car deck doors for added support during the tow, through a watertight bulkhead and the hull below. It took the ferry eighteen hours to sink. She settled by the stern, leveled off, and then settled lower as the integrity of watertight compartments was compromised by water coming up on the car deck over the top of the bulkheads.And here's the photo from the article, taken by or courtesy of L.F. Bagley:
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Post by doctorcad on Apr 10, 2008 11:30:28 GMT -8
Well, seeming there was a spambot issue on this thread earlier this morning, and there would have been a blue dot, that signals there was a new message on this board, I may as well make it worth while to have a look at this board. Now I bet most of you haven't seen this pics, so enjoy... The two ships, which are below the waves now. Just want to say thank you for these great pics. I believe the Suzie Q was the first ferry I ever rode on, back when I was about 1 year old on Route 3. Can anyone verify that she was on route 3 in 1977?
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Mirrlees
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Post by Mirrlees on Apr 10, 2008 21:39:33 GMT -8
No, both Sunshine Coast Queen and Langdale Queen were retired in 1976. Suzy-Q was stored at a variety of terminals including Swartz Bay up until her sale in 1981.
Queen of New Westminster was on Route 3 in 1977.
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WettCoast
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Post by WettCoast on Apr 10, 2008 21:54:59 GMT -8
The arrival of the first 3 C class vessels during 1976 bumped the B's off of route 2. At least one of them ended up working route 3, as stated by Mirrlees, above. So, the Suzie Q was indeed history by 1977.
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Post by doctorcad on Apr 11, 2008 8:04:44 GMT -8
Huh. All these years my dad was telling me I rode on the suzie-q. Maybe i caught on e of the last voyages in the spring of '76...
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Post by Bob Kalal on May 29, 2008 5:38:13 GMT -8
Great stories & photos of the Sunshine Queen. In case you don't know, Les Bagley has a great video out ther of the History of the Ferry, from Vacationland to sinking. The name is "A Ferry's Wake" If anyone is interested in this video, Les may still have some left. divcoclub@silverlink.net
Again, Thanks. Bob Kalal
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Post by Canucks on Jul 17, 2008 21:05:47 GMT -8
Amazing Photo! Great to see a comparison of the big double ender, the Suzie-Q and the bigger double ender, the Coquitlam. What was the actual difference between them? To me they don;t look much different but it is hard to tell because you are looking at different sides of them.
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Post by Northern Exploration on Jul 18, 2008 6:29:42 GMT -8
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Mill Bay
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Post by Mill Bay on Jul 18, 2008 11:33:23 GMT -8
Amazing Photo! Great to see a comparison of the big double ender, the Suzie-Q and the bigger double ender, the Coquitlam. What was the actual difference between them? To me they don;t look much different but it is hard to tell because you are looking at different sides of them. Some stats for comparison SUNSHINE COAST QUEENGross tons: 5010 Length 119.26m Breadth 23.37m Draft 5.36 m QUEEN OF COQUITLAMGross Tons: 6551.18 Length 139.35m Breadth 27.13m Draft 8.03 m. The Susy-Q was also only a single-decked vessel, with a vastly different internal structure.
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Post by Canucks on Jul 18, 2008 11:41:25 GMT -8
Okay thanks for those measurements Mill Bay. 20 metres is quite a lot of length, more then I thought looking at the picture.
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Post by WettCoast on Jul 18, 2008 15:53:40 GMT -8
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Post by Mill Bay on Jul 18, 2008 18:12:33 GMT -8
Okay thanks for those measurements Mill Bay. 20 metres is quite a lot of length, more then I thought looking at the picture. It made a difference when she first came into the fleet too. Even though the last of the Spauldings were just being stretched at the time, the Susy-Q still stood head and shoulders above them. She was huge in comparison in general length and her engines and propulsion systems were on a completely different scale as well.
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Post by Mill Bay on Aug 13, 2008 13:10:45 GMT -8
We've never had a photo of the Langdale Queen's interior on this forum, and I would also love to see the Island Princess's layout. I'm pretty certain they had a food service, and I'd be intrigued to see what those little staterooms would have been like. Hard to imagine a lounge, coffee bar, and four staterooms on a boat that size. The Langdale Queen is described in various sources as having stately passenger amenities. I'm curious what stately means. Looking at the pictures of the CP ships here, with curtains in their windows, they just seem to project a very warm atmosphere even looking in the windows. I wonder if the stateliness included large upholstered chairs and curtains. Perhaps even a cabin filled with bass knick-knacks from her steamship days, much like the Rhody still has, especially in the engine room and wheelhouse. Most likely she would have had brass wall lamps, casting a warm glow, like some steamships did. Probably teak doors, as well, or something similar as some of the original Spauldings still boast. We can assume she probably had a full-service dining room like the V's did in their early lives. Even more, I wonder if that stateliness included carpeting, because the Susy-Q is acknowledged as being the first ship in the fleet to have carpet, but I wonder if the Langdale Queen just might have had it as well.
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Post by Neil on Aug 13, 2008 13:32:47 GMT -8
Actually, all of the original major vessels had carpeting, long before the Sunshine Coast Queen arrived.
All I remember of the Langdale Queen's interior was that the forward lounge had a distinct upward slope to the floor. I don't recall the boat being particularly distinguished, or having any ornate finishings, but my memory isn't all that clear.
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Mill Bay
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Post by Mill Bay on Aug 13, 2008 13:41:26 GMT -8
Actually, all of the original major vessels had carpeting, long before the Sunshine Coast Queen arrived. All I remember of the Langdale Queen's interior was that the forward lounge had a distinct upward slope to the floor. I don't recall the boat being particularly distinguished, or having any ornate finishings, but my memory isn't all that clear. That's interesting Neil... the slope of the forward deck is clearly visible in the structure of the ship. But, according to Les Bagley's book on the history of Michigan State Ferries and his video about the Susy-Q, she was the first in our fleet to have a carpeted interior. Maybe the distinction is whether or not the V's were fully carpeted throughout, but this was in 1967, still fairly early in the history of the fleet.
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Post by Quatchi on Aug 13, 2008 14:07:15 GMT -8
Actually, all of the original major vessels had carpeting, long before the Sunshine Coast Queen arrived. All I remember of the Langdale Queen's interior was that the forward lounge had a distinct upward slope to the floor. I don't recall the boat being particularly distinguished, or having any ornate finishings, but my memory isn't all that clear. That's interesting Neil... the slope of the forward deck is clearly visible in the structure of the ship. But, according to Les Bagley's book on the history of Michigan State Ferries and his video about the Susy-Q, she was the first in our fleet to have a carpeted interior. Maybe the distinction is whether or not the V's were fully carpeted throughout, but this was in 1967, still fairly early in the history of the fleet. Maybe they are referring to shag carpet on the ceiling or something hip from the 70's like that. Imagine a ferry with shag carpets and beads hanging over the doorways. ;D Cheers,
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Post by chinook2 on Aug 14, 2008 2:51:27 GMT -8
IIRC the 9 Sidney and V/B class ships did not originally have carpet. Green dogwood wall to wall was installed during stretching. The Sidney and Tsawwassen were carpeted later in the 1970s likely same time as the restaurant and coffee shop were changed to Cafeteria and upper lounge etc.
I remember the SuzyQ had platform car decks, but have not found any reference to BCF installing them. Anyone know if the ship came to BCF with them already installed?
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