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Post by Ferryman on Jun 29, 2023 8:47:16 GMT -8
It was reported on the BC Coastal Mariners facebook page, that the Tenaka was towed out of Ucluelet yesterday. She's presently under tow by the "Westco Promoter", and is approaching East Point in Boundary Pass. Will be interesting to see where she ends up. My guess is Port Melon, but we will see.
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Post by Ferryman on Jun 24, 2023 12:11:13 GMT -8
Not quite sure why this is an "issue", since there are a few other drydocks around that would be able to accommodate an Island Class
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Post by Ferryman on Jun 18, 2023 8:05:03 GMT -8
The QQII has left Deas and is now on sea trials out in the strait
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Post by Ferryman on Jun 9, 2023 17:15:42 GMT -8
The mechanical problem with the end car stopper on the Island K'ulut'a has successfully been resolved.This was part of a service notice this morning. Never heard of this before. What is an 'end car stopper'? A car stopper is a modern term for the steel barrier that folds up vertically at either end of the car deck, preventing cars from rolling off the deck. The Salish have this as well, but just slightly inside of the visor. Older vessels such as the Skeena, Quinsam, or QQ2 have/had something similar to this. It's typically called a bow gate there
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Post by Ferryman on Jun 7, 2023 21:01:02 GMT -8
Will Queen of Alberni be based out of Departure Bay and deadhead to / from Duke Point? Yes, indeed it will. One crew will operate it for 12 hours a day, 7 days on, 7 days off. Two whole crews will be used to fulfill the week on/week off rotation there for the summer
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Post by Ferryman on Jun 6, 2023 13:32:16 GMT -8
The Coastal Inspiration departed Tsawwassen 20+ min late and only traveling @ 18.3 kn and generally travels under 19kn bu will between 23 & 24.5 kn heading towards Tsawwassen, Why not do a round trip @ max speed & get back on Schedule?
There's a big tidal cycle happening right now, which means she will be going against the current in one direction, and following with the current in the other direction. There can be about 1.5 knots of current out on the Strait at the height of the current flow. Adding to that, it's been blowing a gale out on the strait for the past few days. This morning not only was the wind coming from the Northwest, but the ebb tide also flows from the Northwest in the strait. All of which affect the vessel's speed. Route 30 has been travelling uphill to Duke Pt all morning and into this afternoon.
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Post by Ferryman on Jun 2, 2023 13:55:23 GMT -8
According to the Hullo Ferries facebook page, their vessels are now on their way to BC, via a heavy lift transport ship. I didn't catch the name of the heavy lift ship, however they also announced that they'll be providing a link to track the ship. Stay tuned...
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Post by Ferryman on May 8, 2023 10:30:46 GMT -8
Northern Expedition leaving Vancouver, today
Nice capture! Looks like the lifeboat davits are now removed
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Post by Ferryman on May 4, 2023 9:06:41 GMT -8
How long is Queen of Coquitlam replacing the Queen of Cowichan? Today is the last day, while the Cowichan gets some pre-summer TLC. The Oak Bay and Surrey will also get similar 4 day pre-summer TLC over the next several weeks leading up to summer
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Post by Ferryman on Apr 17, 2023 11:23:51 GMT -8
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Post by Ferryman on Apr 13, 2023 20:49:28 GMT -8
The bow doors were welded shut a long time ago. Plus, she hasn't been hooked up to shore power in a few years now either and her generators were removed shortly after retirement. The bow doors would require electricity to run, and the manual hand pump/back up system is painfully slow to operate anyways
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Post by Ferryman on Apr 10, 2023 7:00:36 GMT -8
I don't quite understand why you're asking this question. I wasn't monitoring the specific weather situations, but I know that on the south coast today, wind conditions were formidable in certain areas. You are aware of how exposed Tsawwassen is, in terms of docking? The Tsawwassen to Duke Point and Tsawwassen to Southern Gulf Island or Swartz Bay to Southern Gulf Island were operating normally today and those routes would also have problems docking at the terminals. I don’t why Tsawwassen to Swartz Bay vessels would have more difficulties docking if those routes where total fine to operate. It's quite simple actually. Most ships have different weather handling characteristics. There is a weather matrix of conditions for each ship, so if the weather is either forecasted or observed to exceed, the vessel will tie up. These plans start to come into effect whenever winds reach the 30 knot range. Single Ended vessels, especially the New West, have lower thresholds to operate in, while double enders have the power at both ends to maneuver into the dock more easily and will typically have a higher wind threshold. Wave heights are also taken into consideration to not cause undue stress on the vessel. Here's a link to the marine weather forecast page: weather.gc.ca/marine/forecast_e.html?mapID=02&siteID=14305Another resource that is used is the weather buoys, which relay hourly weather observations weather.gc.ca/marine/forecast_e.html?mapID=02&siteID=14305
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Post by Ferryman on Apr 2, 2023 4:45:22 GMT -8
Queen of Burnaby at Deas Dock, today
Looks like there's been recent activity onboard since I last saw it a month ago. Railings around the bow in front of the bow doors, and a hole in the bow door itself...
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Post by Ferryman on Mar 29, 2023 21:16:24 GMT -8
Looks like the Bowen Queen's AIS transceiver has been reset, and is named as "A" now. She's still tied up in Berth 5 at Deas Dock, as seen on Marinetraffic
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Post by Ferryman on Mar 27, 2023 21:25:58 GMT -8
The B.C. ferries website says the Q of A has a top sped of 22 knots but never seems to go faster that 20.5 knots wy not run her at top speed when needed? Good lord. The ship is 47 years old with its original engines. Would you take a 47 year old car and press your foot on the gas pedal as far as it can go for 20 hours a day? Not only that, but 20 knots is about the fastest economical speed the C-class can run at. Anything faster than that, the fuel consumption goes up exponentially for very little speed reward. With diesel electric vessels, you typically have the option to turn on an extra generator/prime mover to gain a few more knots..ie the Coastal Class, Salish class
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Post by Ferryman on Mar 14, 2023 19:25:53 GMT -8
I have my doubts that this photo is recent. There was a photo from about 6 months ago that went viral by someone from BC who happened to recognize them there during a layover in Alexandria, Egypt. The photo shows them in rougher shape, with windows broken, and overall were quite faded looking. They had also been tied up too close to each other, and their bridge wings appear to have come into contact with each other, causing major damage. This photo that I'm quoting also shows windows broken, and remnants of the DBC twin chute systems that had been deployed. It's only a matter of time that we'll see these sent for scrap, especially with the high price of aluminum right now.
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Post by Ferryman on Mar 7, 2023 20:58:12 GMT -8
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Post by Ferryman on Mar 3, 2023 23:59:33 GMT -8
She's running slow on purpose to arrive at a specific ETA at Allied for refit. When the Northern Ships head North/South, they're at the mercy of both the favourable tide through Seymour Narrows and the ETA for where they're bound for. In the case of both Deas and Allied, you must arrive at high tide in order to even make it in to their associated basins. That, and when the Longshoremen don't charge premium overtime rates for tie up
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Post by Ferryman on Feb 4, 2023 16:02:42 GMT -8
What? No docking fitting trials? They have crew trained and qualified on the vessel? Queen of Cumberland did docking trails at Horseshoe Bay, Snug Cove, Langdale, Early Cove and Saltery Bay back in June 2022. I truly don’t understand why docking trails needed to happened at Horseshoe Bay, Snug Cove and Langdale due Queen of Capilano being sister ships with Queen of Cumberland. To be fair, you'd be surprised at all of the 'little' modifications or customizations that happen with a ferry over the years. Sister ships may have the same bones and structure, but the interface may be different. For example, when the Queen of Burnaby was placed on Route 9 back in 2010, a number of modifications had to be done to the Burnaby just to allow it to match the tie up of the Queen of Nanaimo at Long Harbour. Plus a whole new set of gates had to be assembled in order for it to be able to even have access to the overhead walkway at Berth 2 Tsawwassen. Tie up connection bits , water hoses, sewage hoses, and shore power connections are the common items that can vary by the berth and the ship. Alot of the times, it's just easier to plan ahead by bringing in the ship in to see how it all lines up, that way there are no surprises on game day. To my knowledge, the Cumberland had never used an overhead walkway until its recent stint on Route 8. There were gates added during a refit in recent years that allows for the same connection that the Capilano has on the Sundeck.
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Post by Ferryman on Feb 1, 2023 10:05:32 GMT -8
As of today, the Salish Heron has taken over on Route 5a to free up the Cumberland to replace the Malaspina Sky on Route 7.
Quite the upgrade in capacity!
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Post by Ferryman on Jan 12, 2023 14:17:46 GMT -8
Sorry, but Deas Dock shouldn't be confused as Deas Island. Deas Island is located on the other side of the river from Deas Dock. If anything, it's located on Lulu Island.
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Post by Ferryman on Jan 11, 2023 15:25:11 GMT -8
To make room for other ships that are incoming for refit projects. (SoVI, Heron, eventually SoBC after Drydocking and likely timed after SoVI departs, PRQ for decomissioning, and Queen of Oak Bay to name a few that should and would normally head there for refit this time of year) But why did Queen of Oak Bay or Salish Heron head directly there after leaving the service instead heading to other terminals? I don't know the exact reasoning for those vessels in particular, but typically there's a period of time to de-store the vessels or waiting for a berth to open up at Deas or the Drydock. Also, as part of the ship's inspection process with Transport Canada, the ship must be crewed to perform full scale drills including the deployment of the marine evacuation system. It's easier (and cheaper) to conduct those drills with the crew being closer to home
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Post by Ferryman on Jan 11, 2023 8:58:25 GMT -8
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Post by Ferryman on Jan 11, 2023 8:55:57 GMT -8
Is the CCel running single ended on Route 30? Nope, it doesn't appear to be, according to Marine Traffic track histories, anyways.
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Post by Ferryman on Jan 11, 2023 8:52:24 GMT -8
Why is BC Ferries moving vessels away or not bringing them into Deas Island for maintenance? To make room for other ships that are incoming for refit projects. (SoVI, Heron, eventually SoBC after Drydocking and likely timed after SoVI departs, PRQ for decomissioning, and Queen of Oak Bay to name a few that should and would normally head there for refit this time of year)
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