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Post by paulvanb on May 21, 2023 22:17:19 GMT -8
Am I reading this wrong? Since when is travelling with your vehicle through Tsawwassen to Vancouver Island a suitable alternative to avoid sailing waits to get to the Sunshine Coast? May Long Weekend - Busy Travel Expected Horseshoe Bay to Langdale May 18 to May 23, 2023 Customers travelling stand-by on the Horseshoe Bay (Vancouver) to Langdale (Sunshine Coast) route can expect sailing waits this coming weekend. Customers without bookings should consider alternate plans, including using public transit or travelling with their vehicle through the Tsawwassen terminal to access Vancouver Island. There will be longer than usual line-ups in the pre-ticketing zone in front of the vehicle tollbooths. If traffic exceeds the capacity of the pre-ticketing area at terminals, stand-by traffic may be turned away and asked to return at a later time for safety reasons. I went over to Langdale on Friday morning without a reservation. Got in line at at 7;55, and we made the 9:50 sailing without issue, but it didn't take long for traffic to build behind us.
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Post by 1foot2ships on May 22, 2023 8:09:56 GMT -8
not to pile on more crap to them, but i think their website is down.
i didnt want to bring it up on thurs, but it seems that long wknd curse really does have some substance.
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Post by Departure Bay on Jun 1, 2023 14:22:42 GMT -8
Sounds like we're going to have a bright and noisy night at Departure Bay this Saturday night. The Coastal Inspiration isn't here yet so I guess we can expect her sometime soon. www.bcferries.com/current-conditions/service-notices?serviceNoticeCode=8801304751880&subscriptionRoute=HSB-DEPService notice - Life Raft Exchange Night Work - Departure Bay - June 3-4, 2023 The Coastal Inspiration will be conducting a required life raft exchange on Saturday, June 3. The exchange will take place between 9:00 pm on June 3 and 7:00 am on June 4. This work will involve a crane and additional lighting at the terminal for most of the night and may result in an increased noise level. All efforts will be made to minimize the noise level and duration during this time; however, the sound levels may be noticeable for nearby residents. BC Ferries would like to thank their customers and neighbours for their patience and understanding while these necessary activities are completed.
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Post by Blue Bus Fan on Jun 5, 2023 12:39:24 GMT -8
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Post by yak on Jun 11, 2023 0:56:33 GMT -8
To be clear, it wasn't oversized vehicles but vehicles with long overhangs over the rear axle such as Class A motorhomes.
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Post by Blue Bus Fan on Jun 25, 2023 19:09:41 GMT -8
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Neil
Voyager
Posts: 7,192
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Post by Neil on Jun 29, 2023 19:05:30 GMT -8
Seems to me that every single day, there's a service notice about the 'Capilano being 20-30-40 minutes behind schedule, with the standard reason of berth congestion and volume of traffic. I don't know what's going on. Are all three berths at Horseshoe Bay in operation, or is one undergoing maintenance?
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Post by 1foot2ships on Jun 30, 2023 23:11:53 GMT -8
1. all berths at hsb are fully operational
2. the reason why the cap is always delayed is b/c its the route from hsb most expendable.
background: - the terminal only has enough staff to take ~1.5 boats - loading/ unloading priority will always go to keeping rt2 and rt3 on time (or to make back time) - a short run like to bowen doesnt really need a schedule per say... except to declare when is the first trip of day, when is the first trip for the pm crew, and when is the last sailing of the night. all other trips really dont need to follow a schedule b/c "terminal congestion" is a ready-to-use (& valid excuse).
in these instances, the tower will instruct the cap to simply run slower approaching hsb, or the tower will yield terminal staff to tend the bigger boats first. this is why so many bowen island regulars get so upset. after discharge, sometimes, they dont take on traffic until the bigger boat is in and back out again.
the big boats are targeted to run opposite to eachother (ergo, be as evenly spaced apart as possible). the cap is the only boat on her run. thus, another easy reason to screw over bowen passengers
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Post by paulvanb on Jul 3, 2023 17:19:18 GMT -8
1. all berths at hsb are fully operational 2. the reason why the cap is always delayed is b/c its the route from hsb most expendable. background: - the terminal only has enough staff to take ~1.5 boats - loading/ unloading priority will always go to keeping rt2 and rt3 on time (or to make back time) - a short run like to bowen doesnt really need a schedule per say... except to declare when is the first trip of day, when is the first trip for the pm crew, and when is the last sailing of the night. all other trips really dont need to follow a schedule b/c "terminal congestion" is a ready-to-use (& valid excuse). in these instances, the tower will instruct the cap to simply run slower approaching hsb, or the tower will yield terminal staff to tend the bigger boats first. this is why so many bowen island regulars get so upset. after discharge, sometimes, they dont take on traffic until the bigger boat is in and back out again. the big boats are targeted to run opposite to eachother (ergo, be as evenly spaced apart as possible). the cap is the only boat on her run. thus, another easy reason to screw over bowen passengers And just wait until they open the campground on Bowen Island.
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Neil
Voyager
Posts: 7,192
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Post by Neil on Jul 25, 2023 14:24:54 GMT -8
I don't know what to make of this one...
Not a service notice, but on current conditions, it says the 6:45pm Queen of Coquitlam sailing from Langdale is cancelled. Reason? "Substitute vessel slower than our regular ship".
Huh?
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Post by Blue Bus Fan on Jul 25, 2023 15:24:43 GMT -8
I don't know what to make of this one... Not a service notice, but on current conditions, it says the 6:45pm Queen of Coquitlam sailing from Langdale is cancelled. Reason? "Substitute vessel slower than our regular ship". Huh? I don’t think that sailing occurred today due eight sailing happening on Tuesday and Wednesday, so I don’t why BC Ferries couldn’t delete from current condition page or just put sailing cancelled due an error on this page.
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Neil
Voyager
Posts: 7,192
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Post by Neil on Jul 25, 2023 16:59:26 GMT -8
I don't know what to make of this one... Not a service notice, but on current conditions, it says the 6:45pm Queen of Coquitlam sailing from Langdale is cancelled. Reason? "Substitute vessel slower than our regular ship". Huh? I don’t think that sailing occurred today due eight sailing happening on Tuesday and Wednesday, so I don’t why BC Ferries couldn’t delete from current condition page or just put sailing cancelled due an error on this page. Now we're hearing that there never was a nine sailing wait on route one today; it was a website error. Maybe the Langdale cancellation was too, as well as the reservable sailings that their site describes as 100% available. Broken down ships, staffing shortages, and even their communication doesn't work. Kind of a hot mess.
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Post by Starsteward on Jul 26, 2023 11:51:51 GMT -8
I don’t think that sailing occurred today due eight sailing happening on Tuesday and Wednesday, so I don’t why BC Ferries couldn’t delete from current condition page or just put sailing cancelled due an error on this page. Now we're hearing that there never was a nine sailing wait on route one today; it was a website error. Maybe the Langdale cancellation was too, as well as the reservable sailings that their site describes as 100% available. Broken down ships, staffing shortages, and even their communication doesn't work. Kind of a hot mess. Oh dear, the keys to the liquor stores have obviously fallen into the hand(s) of that cadre of 200+ "managers" ! (That's observation/comment #1) Unless my memory is beginning to fail me, back in the day when the initial B.C. Ferry & Toll Authority fleet was built at VMD and Burrard Dry Dock, I don't recall any ongoing problems with mechanical failures such as leaky shafts etc. that necessitated the periodic cancellation of sailings on either route one or two. The "Spirit" vessels, also built locally haven't experienced such problems either. Come to think of it, all the vessels built locally have been, or continue to be very reliable. ( Groundings/total vessel losses not included)
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Post by Mike C on Jul 26, 2023 15:54:33 GMT -8
Now we're hearing that there never was a nine sailing wait on route one today; it was a website error. Maybe the Langdale cancellation was too, as well as the reservable sailings that their site describes as 100% available. Broken down ships, staffing shortages, and even their communication doesn't work. Kind of a hot mess. Oh dear, the keys to the liquor stores have obviously fallen into the hand(s) of that cadre of 200+ "managers" ! (That's observation/comment #1) Unless my memory is beginning to fail me, back in the day when the initial B.C. Ferry & Toll Authority fleet was built at VMD and Burrard Dry Dock, I don't recall any ongoing problems with mechanical failures such as leaky shafts etc. that necessitated the periodic cancellation of sailings on either route one or two. The "Spirit" vessels, also built locally haven't experienced such problems either. Come to think of it, all the vessels built locally have been, or continue to be very reliable. ( Groundings/total vessel losses not included) Since I know basically nothing about this (which would probably make me well equipped to comment on the matter on other social media sites), I decided to Google around and see if there was any history of ships having this issue (at least as far back as the internet allows us to look). Turns out, this has happened before in BC, though it seems to be exceptionally rare: A nearly identical issue happened to the Queen of Burnaby in 2017, necessitating removal from service a handful of times for extended periods. The article notes that the ship had to be brought into the drydock numerous times over the course of a year for the same or similar issues. This may not be a fair comparison to the CC, however, since a matter of months after this incident, she was replaced by the Salish Orca. So it is possible that the issue was not repaired to the same extent one would expect on a ship not facing pending retirement. While not explicitly part of the BC Ferries fleet, the Osprey 2000 was out for a month when she experienced a similar issue. This seemed to be more of a 'burst' rather than a gradual leak, leading to a health advisory for swimming in Kootenay Lake. I tried to find a breakdown of, well, breakdowns by ship. The closest I could get would be to search the total downtime a route experienced in the annual reports to the ferry commissioner - this could also be due to weather or other issues, so do not take this as necessarily an indication of mechanical reliability. But I felt it was interesting nonetheless. The reports break down this data by services delivered as required in the Coastal Ferry Act, and whether the routes were delivered at the minimum service levels dictated in the Act. The top three routes in FY 2021-22 for falling short of this requirement were (with primary ship assignments in parenthesis): - Campbell River to Quadra (Powell River Queen) - Quadra to Cortes (Tachek / QQII) - Port McNeill to Alert Bay / Sointula (Island Aurora) In 2020-2021, these were: - Port McNeill to Alert Bay / Sointula (mostly Island Aurora, took over for the QQII in June) - Mill Bay to Brentwood Bay (Klitsa) - Quadra to Cortes (Tachek) In 2019-2020, these were: - Mill Bay to Brentwood Bay (Klitsa) - Port McNeill to Alert Bay / Sointula (QQII) - Swartz Bay to Fulford Harbour (Skeena Queen)
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Post by Blue Bus Fan on Aug 17, 2023 6:47:37 GMT -8
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Alec
Oiler (New Member)
Posts: 21
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Post by Alec on Aug 22, 2023 14:15:59 GMT -8
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Post by 1foot2ships on Aug 22, 2023 14:19:46 GMT -8
yeah, i just saw that too. good quick thinking to use this as an option. well done BCF
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Post by Ollie on Aug 31, 2023 15:35:34 GMT -8
BC Ferries service notice for the Queen of Alberni:
Also in the service notice:
The scheduled refit for the Queen of Coquitlam has been delayed until September 10 so that it can provide service on the Departure Bay – Horseshoe Bay – Langdale routes as scheduled September 5-8.
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Post by The Black cat on Aug 31, 2023 16:40:20 GMT -8
Let's hope no other ships break down.
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Post by Departure Bay on Sept 1, 2023 8:19:33 GMT -8
The Queen of Alberni is having trouble again this morning.
Vancouver (Tsawwassen) - Nanaimo (Duke Point) Issued at: 8:49 am The Queen of Alberni departed 50 minutes behind schedule for the 7:45 am sailing from Duke Point (Nanaimo) due to a mechanical issue with the vessel's oil pump.
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Post by Ollie on Sept 7, 2023 12:27:57 GMT -8
BC Ferries service notice for Langdale:
Langdale berth 1 will be closed from October 2 to 5 and instead use berth 2:
"To accommodate two-ship operation, the Queen of Oak Bay will be temporarily moved from its Departure Bay (Nanaimo) – Horseshoe Bay (Vancouver) duties and will join the Queen of Surrey to provide main deck loading service for Horseshoe Bay – Langdale customers."
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Post by Blue Bus Fan on Sept 7, 2023 12:43:34 GMT -8
BC Ferries service notice for Langdale:
Langdale berth 1 will be closed from October 2 to 5 and instead use berth 2:
"To accommodate two-ship operation, the Queen of Oak Bay will be temporarily moved from its Departure Bay (Nanaimo) – Horseshoe Bay (Vancouver) duties and will join the Queen of Surrey to provide main deck loading service for Horseshoe Bay – Langdale customers."
So, what vessel is going to help Queen of Cowichan on route 2?
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Post by The Black cat on Sept 7, 2023 13:46:29 GMT -8
BC Ferries service notice for Langdale:
Langdale berth 1 will be closed from October 2 to 5 and instead use berth 2:
"To accommodate two-ship operation, the Queen of Oak Bay will be temporarily moved from its Departure Bay (Nanaimo) – Horseshoe Bay (Vancouver) duties and will join the Queen of Surrey to provide main deck loading service for Horseshoe Bay – Langdale customers."
So, what vessel is going to help Queen of Cowichan on route 2? Judging from the schedule in today's Province OB's affected sailings are canceled on rt2 Attachments:
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Post by Dane on Sept 7, 2023 14:18:26 GMT -8
BC Ferries service notice for Langdale:
Langdale berth 1 will be closed from October 2 to 5 and instead use berth 2:
"To accommodate two-ship operation, the Queen of Oak Bay will be temporarily moved from its Departure Bay (Nanaimo) – Horseshoe Bay (Vancouver) duties and will join the Queen of Surrey to provide main deck loading service for Horseshoe Bay – Langdale customers."
So, what vessel is going to help Queen of Cowichan on route 2? Looks like it's the Coquitlam, but starting the service day from Departure Bay, so, first sailing from Horseshoe Bay and last sailing to Horseshoe Bay cancelled. This is based on the Reservations system, which is a bit fragmented right now (showing the Oak Bay on cancelled sailings with reservations unavailable).
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Post by The Black cat on Sept 7, 2023 15:22:39 GMT -8
So I gather Queen of Coquitlam will have a relatively short refit this year by the looks of it, appears to be on the schedule replacing the Cowichan after that.
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