Neil
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Post by Neil on Apr 9, 2024 17:30:24 GMT -8
This is a question for the small number of forum members who've travelled in Greece, and perhaps a couple of other European countries that have the same docking procedures.
I'm always mystified when I see ferries dock where there are no wing walls, no dolphins, apparently nothing but a concrete shore structure. They approach, virtually always stern to, and seemingly 'hover' just close enough for a ramp to be lowered onto land, with the bow pointed directly outward. I understand that they cast mooring lines, but I wonder how it is, particularly in rough seas, that they manage to maintain position, without slamming onto the 'dock'. Are there bumpers at the docking edge? Do the mooring lines hold the ship secure while engines provide a gentle pull away from the dock? And I'm not even sure it can be called a dock, because there's really nothing of what we understand to be a ferry berth.
I'm sure we've all seen the videos of cars and passengers loading and unloading while waves wash over the ferry's ramp. I guess this is the least expensive sort of structure for some of Europe's less privileged ferry dependent communities. I'm just not clear on the operational logistics.
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Neil
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Post by Neil on Apr 8, 2024 20:09:45 GMT -8
Captured this by accident with my drone. The two Hullo boats at the same time, I believe. Not the best capture as I gleaned it from a video. This would be their respective 3 and 3:30 sailings. I looked at this post and thought... how could there be two Hullo vessels out there when they're only doing four round trips a day... but then I looked at their schedule, and five days a week, they're doing six round trips. Impressive. Almost feel I need to pinch myself and deal with the possibility that a private carrier has actually figured out a viable model for a passenger ferry service between the mainland and Vancouver Island, without a subsidy. But no, we're not going there quite yet. For now, let's just watch Hullo, and see how things turn out. Best of luck to them, finding a way forward where others have failed in fairly short order.
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Neil
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Post by Neil on Apr 7, 2024 19:01:11 GMT -8
Looks like her old age is showing. Could the end be near for the QPR? Jeez... I sure hope so. She'll probably be much less likely to do damage as recycled steel than as a sixty year old vessel navigating the open Pacific...
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Neil
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Post by Neil on Apr 6, 2024 21:15:29 GMT -8
What are the chances that the Tachek or Quadra Queen II get used on a route other than the Whaletown route again? The Northern Gulf Islands are all the same now... What option would BC Ferries have other than the Quadra Queen II during refit of the Alert Bay or Texada vessels? No Bowen Queen anymore.
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Neil
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Post by Neil on Apr 6, 2024 17:06:22 GMT -8
My wife, Elizabeth, took the 11 AM Hullo sailing (Spuhéls) from Nanaimo to Vancouver today. She said it was around 95% full. Not bad for a mid day, mid week sailing I think... hey wettcoast.... i dunno why, but this observation caught my eye back in december. before i begin, i must apologise b/c this is going to personal. all im out for is the truth and i would like to present something ive discovered. please please dont interpret my words as an accusation of being untruthful, misleading, or anything either positive or negative. im just trying to present a scenario where it gives somebody the chance to just say hmmmmm... i finally was able to show my contact the observations your wife made back in december. this contact is the same person who informed me the teething problems last sumer was a log strike. upon reading it, he simply laughed and shook his head. he told me that they had never even come close to this mark. he said that a good day would be something like 40% per sailing. i didnt think to quantify at the time, but doing the math now, that roughly matches the data the co. has released in the past www.mycoastnow.com/76263/news/hullo-ferries-celebrates-six-months-of-service-between-nanaimo-and-vancouver/opening 6 mths (2023 aug to 2024 feb) 150,000 passengers = 25,000/mth = 833/day 354 (capacity) *6 sailings per day = 2124/day capacity 833/2124 = 40% (exactly like he said) 833/6 =138/sailing for comparison, count for day1, sailing #1 was 189 again, im NOT trying to imply or suggest anything. all im trying to do is create a hmmmmm moment. if u guys will allow, theres a pt. ii to my "research" I'm sure that Jim (Wettcoast) can affirm or deny his wife's ability to tell an occupied seat from an empty one, but there are enough posts on here to substantiate sailings where the boats are close to full, despite your 'contact' laughing and shaking his head at the notion. This being a service that mainly appeals to Islanders, no doubt there are going to be sailings that are low in the pax count. I'm guessing that BC Ferries' evening sailing from Powell River back to Comox is pretty empty, given the small number of Islanders coming back from a day on the mainland. it's just the nature of most transit systems, land or marine based.
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Neil
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Post by Neil on Apr 5, 2024 17:39:30 GMT -8
Thanks for posting that, BBF. What a nice looking vessel, inside and out. Those staterooms look really well designed, and the lounge seating looks plush and comfy. They mention gender neutral washrooms, but I hope they also have facilities for people, particularly women, who are more comfortable with the traditional division of identities.
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Neil
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Post by Neil on Apr 3, 2024 16:40:59 GMT -8
If the story is correct, this fills in the last gap in service between Victoria and Campbell River, and I was wrong in what I said yesterday. However... it in no way constitutes inter city service, and the spokesperson who chortled about riders being able to get all the way up to Campbell River was being a bit ridiculous. Just going from Nanaimo to Courtenay involves three buses, and minimal frequency on the 99 from Qualicum to Deep Bay. Maybe some transit buff could work out how many buses you would have to take to actually get from Victoria to Campbell River. I would guess at least six, with very little choice as to when.
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Neil
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Post by Neil on Apr 2, 2024 17:47:54 GMT -8
Port Alberni Transit System is looking at linking up to Regional District of Nanaimo. I hope Regional District Transit system on the Vancouver Island can work with each other start integrating the fare structure to cheap travel between all regions districts on Vancouver Island: www.bctransit.com/the-future-of-transit-in-alberni-02-04-2024/This piecemeal approach to transit planning on Vancouver Island is so frustrating. Actually, it's not limited to the Island. All over BC, local transit systems are expanding. That would be great, except that there's no regional vision. The private inter city carriers- the few that exist- are being forced out, and BC Transit is not filling the breach with their own longer routes. If Port Alberni is linked to Nanaimo by transit, that will probably force Island Link out of that market. Maybe the expansion of transit will make it uneconomical for Island Link to operate anywhere. But I haven't heard of any plan by BC Transit to run buses from Victoria to Campbell River. Even by transferring, you can't take BC Transit all up the Island. There are gaps between systems. There is no E&N train anymore, and there never will be. Inter city buses is what the Island now needs, and BC Transit has to either subsidize Island Link or another carrier to provide those, or in essence, 'buy them out', fairly, and institute service themselves.
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Neil
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Post by Neil on Mar 31, 2024 17:11:05 GMT -8
This would definitely be Port McNeill. According to Wikipedia, the Tenaka was moved from its original route (Powell River-Comox) to the Port McNeill-Sointula-Alert Bay route in 1979 to replace the Nimpkish. She remained there until 1994 where she replaced the Nimpkish yet again, this time on the Cortes Island route. Tenaka did a few summers as second boat on rte. 6 in late 1980s, with Nicola taking its place in the off season. This ended around 1990 when tachek took over year round till the cumbie entered service. "Second boat on rte 6"? I don't see anything in the schedules to indicate two boat service on route 6, even in the Expo summer, when every vessel was in use, with some very interesting assignments. I thought that Tenaka switched from Alert Bay to Cortes, where she stayed pretty much to the end of her service with BC Ferries... although she did show up for a time at Hornby. Didn't BC Ferries originally have the Queen of Chilliwack on route 5?
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Neil
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Post by Neil on Mar 31, 2024 16:59:24 GMT -8
mods, admins, senior officers... i have a story to share (w/ some good photos), but cannot find a proper place to post it in. couldnt find on the search function, but does there exist a thread for "idiot passengers" ? I'd suggest 'Strange and silly things observed at BC Ferries', page 4 of the general discussion section.
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Neil
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Post by Neil on Mar 30, 2024 21:09:38 GMT -8
I think the only other ones still printed are for the inter-island connections on Route 5 & 9. This brings up another question, how does BCFS justify printed schedules for a select few routes, but not all the others? I don't think that's the case. For instance, I think they're printing the full southern Gulf Islands schedule. The confusion is in the limited availability of these printings.
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Neil
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Post by Neil on Mar 30, 2024 17:37:42 GMT -8
I miss paper schedules. WSF got rid of theirs when the pandemic hit. It seems unlikely they will ever return. I don't so much miss paper schedules so much. It really about the 'old-fashioned' format that you see on these. I can see in a glance when the ferries are running and can easily figure out when extra sailings are available. The schedules that BCFS offers up online are IMHO a mess. I'd like to think that WSF's does better. I very much miss paper schedules. I love that I can go to my bankers boxes of maritime info and see the level of service, and maybe even the vessel, in 1966, 1974, 1990... we can't do that now. The enhancement or diminishment of service isn't well chronicled. BC Ferries has- I think- yearly fares archived, but not schedules. Every year I think, okay, I'm going to suss out the Gulf Islands schedule and all the others and record it by hand. Never done it; too much work. As for printing everything out, BC Ferries has such a ridiculous schedule format that to do it all would require enough paper and ink to print a small phone book. e.g., there are two pages even for the Hornby schedule, one for each direction, with utterly useless information such as each sailing being ten minutes, and non-stop. It is unquestionably dark days for ferry schedule nerds. All five or six of us, in the overall population of normal people. Jim has pointed out the Sunshine Coast schedule. BC Ferries also prints a Gulf Islands schedule, and I think they do some individual ones for routes, but they're not widely available. They don't include the vessels on the route. There's no such thing as a system wide schedule.
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Neil
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Post by Neil on Mar 29, 2024 20:06:38 GMT -8
This seems like a slightly oddly worded notice... haven't seen it before. Our 1:50 pm sailing from Mill Bay to Brentwood Bay departed 21 minutes behind schedule due to the crew taking time to get extra vehicles loaded where possible given today’s heavy volume of traffic.Wonder what nooks and crannies they'd find onboard the wee Klitsa to stash those extra vehicles. They can fit maybe 21 cars on board, 24 if they are all smart cars. So one minute required for each car ... I absolutely get why BC Ferries has had to downgrade the capacities of their vessels. Just going shopping and seeing the number of huge pickups and SUVs in parking lots... I wonder where people get the money to buy these things, and the gas to fuel them.
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Neil
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Post by Neil on Mar 29, 2024 13:41:11 GMT -8
This seems like a slightly oddly worded notice... haven't seen it before. Our 1:50 pm sailing from Mill Bay to Brentwood Bay departed 21 minutes behind schedule due to the crew taking time to get extra vehicles loaded where possible given today’s heavy volume of traffic.Wonder what nooks and crannies they'd find onboard the wee Klitsa to stash those extra vehicles.
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Neil
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Post by Neil on Mar 28, 2024 19:56:47 GMT -8
Salish Orca approaches Little River Terminal while en route across the Salish Sea from Powell River
A face only a mother could love. Or maybe the shipyard owner. These vessels, clearly, are built for function, not aesthetics. No amount of first nation graphics could make this boat appealing, from this angle. Somewhat better in profile.
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Neil
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Post by Neil on Mar 24, 2024 21:19:31 GMT -8
It's interesting to me that, despite adding four large ferries to their fleet , Seaspan still has a fleet of six, with their two tug and barge combos of the Seaspan Challenger/Coastal Spirit, and the Seaspan Pusher/Fraser Link. As well, Seaspan Greg is still registered and on Marine Traffic at Tilbury, and the Princess Superior at Duke Point, although they are no longer on the Seaspan fleet list page.
The tug and barge combos are down to a few return trips per week. Still, Seaspan moves a considerable portion of the freight between the mainland and Vancouver Island, and the company's investment in fleet renewal indicates that they're in the market long term.
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Neil
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Post by Neil on Mar 24, 2024 15:57:28 GMT -8
Looking at the possibility of doing a random on the Whatcom Chief next month weather permitting. I did a lookup of her fares: (return) Passenger - $8 Car and Driver - $14 I have been on her once as a walk-on, but may take the car over, though not sure what there is to see over there? Never been there, but looking at the island website, I would definitely take my car. Looks like there are some nice walks, one reaching a viewpoint over 1000' high. Appears to be some good shore access, although with that weird American notion of private beach ownership, that's never a given.
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Neil
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Post by Neil on Mar 23, 2024 20:50:06 GMT -8
Here is a video recording of one of the new doors. I like how these new doors have handles so you can open them even if the button fails.
Still, 30 seconds to get through a door is too long...
Ollie, I hope that you'll accept my light hearted nomination for an award for Ferry Nerdery... your video of a ferry door. True ferry nerds don't miss anything...
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Neil
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Post by Neil on Mar 22, 2024 8:52:46 GMT -8
How easy is it to access the area aroundDeas for any photos? I am heading to Richmond for a shoot, and may stop by there for a visit. The beach at the end of Deas Island is quite good and accessible. The west employee parking lot at Deas Dock has a closer view, but you have to either poke a camera through or over the fence there. I was at Deas Island park yesterday. I was surprised to find that the Northern Sea Wolf is so small you can barely see it behind a building and in front of the NorEx. I was hoping for a good view of the contrast between the two, but no.
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Neil
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Post by Neil on Mar 21, 2024 9:16:44 GMT -8
An update on the Carrier Princess as of yesterday... Thanks for this. It's different and a bit sad to see the Carrier Princess cut-down to a barge deck, but I understand that this has been the fate of many old ships on our coast. I like the glimpse of the Queen of Tsawwassen in the background. I wonder if it is going to be used as a barge or if the next step is dismantlement of the hull. The forward starboard bulwarks are at sort of an odd cut angle.
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Neil
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Post by Neil on Mar 20, 2024 21:41:34 GMT -8
Has anyone else noticed that the service notices seem to no longer contain the affected vessel name but only the route? It's been remarked on here before. Maybe it saves the junior staffer who actually composes the notice from having to look something up. It's annoying.
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Neil
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Post by Neil on Mar 19, 2024 21:14:04 GMT -8
I absolutely get why they're doing this. Whether you're a person who's had a bike stolen or a public transportation company with vessels worth hundreds of millions of dollars, putting in an insurance claim can put your premiums up so much that the so-called coverage is hardly worth it... and then, yes, there is the deductible. Insurance is a scam these days.
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Neil
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Post by Neil on Mar 16, 2024 17:39:42 GMT -8
Very disappointing to see that BC Ferries is going with the same schedules for the mainland to Nanaimo this coming summer; eight round trips on route two, and ten on route thirty. There were so many overloads last summer, and I was hoping they would use the vessel they had added to route thirty for at least three round trips a day, if they were really serious about weaning customers off Horseshoe Bay. Maybe they still don't have the staff.
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Neil
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Post by Neil on Mar 15, 2024 18:29:32 GMT -8
Queen of Surrey has left Deas Dock. That's good news... I'm planning on going to Deas Island Park in a couple of days, and I would really like to get a shot of the Northern Sea Wolf with her much bigger sister, the Northern Expedition, behind her, for contrast. But there are much better photographers on here who could do a way better job... hint, hint.
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Neil
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Post by Neil on Mar 14, 2024 17:34:20 GMT -8
First of all... didn't do it at the time, but I have to thank 'Brandon S.' for the great shot above of six ferries at Deas. Really cool.
Never heard it before, but on my walk at Deas Island Park this afternoon, there was real whistlefest, around 3. Sounded like at least two vessels, with at least ten blasts. I instantly concocted the notion that the poor old Queen of Burnaby was being towed out for her trip to the torches at Ensenada, and her much younger sisters were saying goodbye. But no. Nothing was moving. Guess they were just clearing their throats. I was hoping to see the Northern Sea Wolf, but Queen of Surrey is in the way, even though Marine Traffic doesn't show her being there.
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