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Post by Charles on Aug 6, 2022 16:56:30 GMT -8
The Mayne Queen is definitely out of tune and I work on her time to time and when I sounded her whistle which I posted on my youtube channel it emitted a sound even the captain had never heard. That said in other ferry horn related news the QoNW has finally had her horns repaired and she is sounding by far the most beautiful I’ve heard her sound in my twenty years of being alive and I hear her nearly every day when I work on the Celebration, She sounds almost like the Vancouver right now and her automatic button horn sounds equally as good as her pull cord. I have a few recordings of the New West recently and when they use the pull cord just right she sounds all three tones with a proper E Major, her push button sounds just like the Burnaby without the bass note.
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Post by Charles on Jun 29, 2022 11:58:54 GMT -8
I’m on the New West right now and they’re running a bit behind and trying to make up time and my watch says that we’re doing 21 - 22 knots, does the New West usually go this fast to make up time? I didn’t think they went above 20 knots (my watch could just be inaccurate however)…
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Post by Charles on Jun 11, 2022 8:30:18 GMT -8
I like purpose design already the only thing forward end kinda needs some slightly redesign. I wonder if deck 5 will need to be opened all the time compared Coastal Class. I wonder if this will push the Spirit Class to become secondary vessels on route 1? I think it looks like an evolution of the Coastal’s, which it’s supposed to be. I do have a couple comments and hopes for the design however. On the Coastal’s, the solarium doesn’t cover the entire forward facing area, I think it’s nice to be able to have some forward looking area not covered by glass, maybe that’s just me. The Coastal’s also have areas in the middle of the superstructure on deck 7. They act as really nice windbreaks and I hope that those can be incorporated into the final design. Finally, the masts are so set back, it’s very odd looking and unappealing, oh and also three tone whistles (preferably ones that sound an E Major ). Obviously these are just personal preferences, they hold no merit but still, I wonder how much the design will change from this preliminary mock-up…
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Post by Charles on Mar 21, 2022 20:46:34 GMT -8
This is what it sounded like at the beginning of spring break. Note the last two soundings are with a pull cord. The clear way to tell is a slower start and each trumpet coming in separately. She also changed in tune recently, don't know how or why but... I can’t help but assume that the bass note of the whistle on the New West has stopped working. Which means it’s sounding 2 out of 3 horns, similar sounding to what the Queen of Burnaby had in her later years Video courtesy of CS16: I agree, that’s what I thought when we departed Tsawassen. In the videos it sounded like the bass note was missing but I promise it sounded. I hope that BCFerries are able to repair the solenoid or clean the whistles or do whatever they do before the summer season…
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Post by Charles on Mar 21, 2022 10:01:37 GMT -8
I recorded Queen of New Westminster's horn today but my recording doesn't sound like how I expected it to. Is this how it normally sounds? I think it sounds much better on other videos compared to my recording. Maybe it is my camera settings? I didn't really listen to the horn because I was focusing on taking photos so I can't remember if it sounded like my recording. Also, what is a "pullcord" horn? Does the horn have multiple ways to work? My recording link is on this post.
This is what it sounded like at the beginning of spring break. Note the last two soundings are with a pull cord. The clear way to tell is a slower start and each trumpet coming in separately. She also changed in tune recently, don't know how or why but...
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Post by Charles on Mar 20, 2022 22:15:41 GMT -8
Yes it does so the pull cord is a manual string that connects from the wheel house to the funnel or mast then another manual method for horns is the Pull lever or Pull bar which is as it’s name suggests a bar that is just pulled slowly downwards and lastly the most common method is the switch or button which sends a electronic signal to the air solenoid valve in the whistle which then opens fully to allow air to rush out and then closes once one’s finger is off the button or switch. Thanks. Do they sound different? The button soundings have been a little off recently. Last time I went on the New West she sounded only two tones with the button. With the pull cord however she sounded all three tones. In this video it sounded like only two tones were sounding.
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Post by Charles on Jan 25, 2022 15:17:40 GMT -8
Here are the last of my 2021 recordings, the crew on the New West during the summer were absolutely amazing, almost every sounding was pull cord! However the Spirits rarely used their three tone whistle this year when I was on Mayne in the summer... and the Celebration drops a tone, but oh well. Also I have switched cameras for this video, if you notice a difference please say so!
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Post by Charles on Sept 20, 2021 12:59:16 GMT -8
None of your links work, try uploading them to Flickr! Worked for me too. You need to be logged in. Sorry! Are you guys on a PC or Mac? I only have my iPhone, that might be the issue 😅…
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Post by Charles on Sept 19, 2021 16:06:26 GMT -8
View Attachmenthere's me sounding the Queen's pull chord off Prevost Island after exiting Active Pass back on Boxing Day 2019 None of your links work, try uploading them to Flickr!
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Post by Charles on Aug 1, 2021 18:35:09 GMT -8
I’ve also been on the New West in the past few weeks. Her outer decks are quite full usually but inside there was always room for sitting down. The upper snack-bar is still closed but the seating area was open with a TV playing Olympic Surfing which was nice! They’ve also made an adaptation to the mask rule on the announcements stating that masks are recommended and made the comment that “some people’s comfort may not be the same as yours” which I feel was a very proactive way with dealing with people who are very against wearing masks.
I also noticed the K9 support and I’ve never seen it at a terminal before and found it quite strange… but I guess in the name of safety I’m alright with it!
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Post by Charles on Jun 24, 2021 21:12:24 GMT -8
I think it’s more a quality of life thing and not a necessity. If you don’t want to wait in any lines when you’re a foot passenger then all you have to do is reserve, but yes I don’t know any instances of walk on passenger waits. If anyone does please enlighten? You still need to redeem the prepaid at kiosk or tickets agent. I’m assuming there would be a reserved line up for people who have already paid and just need proof of purchase. It’s not meant to be revolutionary just something to speed up the process. For example say you had people going on a field trip or just any amount of people going on a group trip, you already have everyone paid for and it’s overall less stress.
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Post by Charles on Jun 24, 2021 18:52:37 GMT -8
I think it’s more a quality of life thing and not a necessity. If you don’t want to wait in any lines when you’re a foot passenger then all you have to do is reserve, but yes I don’t know any instances of walk on passenger waits. If anyone does please enlighten?
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Post by Charles on May 31, 2021 21:26:06 GMT -8
Now getting closer to the Atlantic Ocean and the big test. Can a ferry like this one handle an open sea like the one this is about to transit? In contrast, here's a video of the first two Salish ships aboard the Sun Rise as 'passengers', let someone else worry about the waves! I've added the video to the Salish 3 page at patbaywebcam.com/island3.phptak I think you mean Island ships 😅. Cool video though!
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Post by Charles on Apr 8, 2021 11:12:29 GMT -8
According to a BCFerries customer relations rep, the Queen of Burnaby has officially been sold! No idea who to and for what price because the site made it very clear it would be a private purchase... Pacific Boat Brokers has her still listed for sale. Maybe they haven't updated the listing, or maybe the current owner isn't BC Ferries, even though she's still sitting at Deas. I found that strange as well, maybe the rep just wanted to give me a quick answer, and was actually talking about when she was previously sold? I have no idea...
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Post by Charles on Apr 7, 2021 19:16:53 GMT -8
According to a BCFerries customer relations rep, the Queen of Burnaby has officially been sold! No idea who to and for what price because the site made it very clear it would be a private purchase...
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Post by Charles on Apr 4, 2021 11:50:36 GMT -8
The Spirit of British Columbia's three tone whistle got lots of use this summer, reminds me of when the Swartz Bay crews started using the Coastal Celebration's three tone. The Spirit of Vancouver Island almost never sounded her three tone however, the only time she did I included in the video.
They're much louder whistles than the old one so early morning or late evening sailings they would usually switch to the single tone. Oh and the highest tone stopped working for some reason.
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Post by Charles on Mar 27, 2021 21:53:08 GMT -8
I really wanted to showcase the New West’s whistle seemingly changes slightly or majorly year to year. I hope one day it goes back to the Signature E Major but we’ll see...
(Apologizes for the less than stellar framing in the earlier clips, I was still learning how to use a DSLR)
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Post by Charles on Mar 22, 2021 16:09:12 GMT -8
Well, a member on the previous page did make some quite bold statements about going forth with such museum efforts - wonder if we'll ever hear back from them... I think that was one of the forum's teen members. Four or five others have chimed in with suggestions to perpetuate the ' Burnaby. I guess they form the start of the lineup of investors willing to make it happen. Their $100, or whatever they're willing to put up, along with, oh... maybe another $50 million or so... might just bring things to fruition. Woah woah woah, let’s not surmise the claims of purchasing the Burnaby to those pesky teenagers, because while some of us have, let’s say an extreme amount of ambition, I’m a bit pessimistic. The Burnaby is beyond repair and is too costly to keep afloat, and it would be sad to see her end up like the Sidney, all though if any of the younger members are looking to put some forward, I got a whole $50 with the Burnaby’s name on it 😉
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Post by Charles on Jan 31, 2021 15:58:23 GMT -8
BCFerries updated their website and said that the vessel replacement program is pushed back at least 5 years, and also that they don’t have designs for the new vessels yet.
This program was barely into its infancy before COVID hit, I think with how hard BCFerries got hit it will likely be longer. These up coming summers will definitely play a major factor into how long it will take until a contract is signed for these vessels.
In the mean time I think the New West, Cowichan and Coquitlam are in good enough shape so that we don’t run into any major issues like what the Queen of Nanaimo ran into with her retirement!
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Post by Charles on Jan 1, 2021 10:13:10 GMT -8
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Post by Charles on Dec 28, 2020 15:09:06 GMT -8
I found a re-upload of the same movie that had the short clip of the ‘Victoria. Interesting views of the V Class pre lifting! (Skip to 49:40)
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Post by Charles on Dec 28, 2020 15:04:43 GMT -8
To make it clear to everyone refit happens typically once a year to recertify all the safety equipment and with the Spirits coming from Poland they also can get any warranty work done and as for drydocking for our ships it is to my knowledge that it is only required every 5 years unless there has to be a emergency drydocking, cheers and have a great morning I’d also think they’d perform some upkeep to the vessel to make it look less weathered, but also I’m confused, where is this coming from?
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Post by Charles on Dec 9, 2020 8:16:01 GMT -8
This seems like quite the preposterous idea .. it’s still going to be sold for a significant amount of money. Then there’s upkeep and do you have a dock prepared that the Burnaby can moor onto?
She has no propulsion as her engines were all stripped so scheduling tugs is another cost and finally I think they learned their lesson after the Queen of Sidney. It’s a very cool dream but I think you need to see reality.
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Post by Charles on Sept 22, 2020 19:55:25 GMT -8
I was just looking through the new “Our Fleet” section and I found it funny that they put that the Coastal Celebration only has 2144 horsepower, just a tad bit off there .
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Post by Charles on Sept 9, 2020 10:54:20 GMT -8
BC Ferries' Queen of Surrey en route across Howe Sound from Langdale to Horseshoe Bay, near Vancouver 31 July 2020
Where did you get this shot? This is an amazing photo!
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