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Post by yak on May 18, 2017 8:38:13 GMT -8
A rare sight - the Nanny approaching Long Harbour bow-first. She needed to perform a scheduled deployment of her marine evacuation system on the port side between morning and afternoon sailings.
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Post by yak on May 16, 2017 10:37:52 GMT -8
One final note from the huge nerd hidden inside me; garage decks are very cool!! I'm curious to see how effective/efficient they end up being as compared to the platforms on the Burnaby/Nanny. Time will tell I suppose! I am looking forward to having pretty much anything classified as an "underheight" actually fit in that space as opposed to having to be particularly vigilant diverting borderline roofracks, canopies and cargo vans from the platforms...
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Post by yak on May 16, 2017 10:27:43 GMT -8
It is sad to see her go - my highschool graduation was on that ship. That being said, even back in 2003, I remember wondering what her surely imminent retirement would hold in store for her... Somehow she managed to tough out another 14 years.
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Post by yak on May 4, 2017 8:17:54 GMT -8
The past meeting the future for the first time last night...
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Post by yak on May 3, 2017 8:44:05 GMT -8
Well, if there's ever a trip to take as a final "farewell" to the Nanaimo, I think this would be it. Thanks to all involved for solving the mystery. Not sure how one would pay for the Otter Bay- Swartz Bay portion... could it be paid for separately at Tsawwassen? If not, hopefully it could be done onboard, as well as the trip to Long Harbour. I am sure that you could pay onboard with the Chief Steward if nothing else... It will be an interesting change from the usual "3 over, 3 back" - including for the crew.
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Post by yak on May 2, 2017 15:52:24 GMT -8
BC Ferries responded quite promptly to my email and apologized for the fact that I was given the wrong info when I phoned...that sailing from Swartz Bay to Long Harbour is apparently operated by the Mayne Queen. Neil, maybe you can email customerservice@bcferries.com regarding your original question and see if they have an answer. If the Mayne Queen and the Queen of Cumberland are the two route five vessels, as usual, that response from BC Ferries makes no sense. As Snowy Ferries mentioned, there is a 9:15 sailing to Pender, and a 10:00 sailing to Mayne, and the Mayne Queen would have to be doing one of those. So does this mean that the Bowen Queen will also be helping out? Can't see that happening. The Sunday morning sailing to Long Harbour has been a summer schedule feature for many years, but in the past I think I've been able to figure out what vessel did it. So now, two summer Sunday mysteries; the whereabouts of the Queen of Nanaimo around noonish, and that odd Long Harbour jaunt. Maybe I will send an email to ask about both. Or maybe our Saltspring-savvy Ferryman Chris has some insight. My understanding is that it will be the Queen of Nanaimo; we're trying to connect the dots ourselves right now.
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Post by yak on Feb 21, 2017 18:32:59 GMT -8
Maybe Ferryman or someone else in the 'know' can answer this question: Is the S Orca now running on LNG or in dual fuel mode? Or is it running at this time exclusively on marine diesel? It has been running on both LNG and on diesel at different times.
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Post by yak on Feb 20, 2017 18:58:48 GMT -8
I am not sure how accurate the information is but a Master on the Queen of Nanaimo suggested that the Burnaby may be headed to Cuba in her next life.
Just speculation perhaps...
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Post by yak on Feb 19, 2017 16:14:29 GMT -8
Queen of New West, heading back into the barn at Berth 2, Tsawwassen after the torch was handed back over to the Queen of Alberni once again today. The Queen of Alberni has just finished up her 3/4 life upgrade. As seen from the Salish Orca How tall is the Salish Orca!? Tall... I can't remember what her actual height is right now but the bridge of the Nanaimo is on about the same level as the main passenger deck (Deck 4) and she has three more decks above that plus the Monkey's Island. Even the New West with her added deck is dwarfed...
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Post by yak on Jan 31, 2017 15:33:27 GMT -8
I found myself at that new gargantuan mall in Tsawwassen yesterday so I thought I'd take a short drive down the causeway and check out the Orca with my own eyes for the first time. I parked in the passenger pick-up lot which allowed me to get pretty close. The bow doors were up so I could see inside quite well too. One thing that struck me about it...it seems quiet tall and narrow in comparsion to it's length...especially compared to the Cumberland. Makes me wonder if it may be a bit of a "wobbler" like the old Queen of the Islands was...I was only a kid at the time but I can still remember how it listed making the turns in Active Pass. It was fun for us kids, but the adults didn't seem to appreciate it. Sure does look nice in person though. I'm excited to step aboard for the first time. Though I may have to wait for the Eagle to arrive. Having been on her for a leg on her trip from Poland and on her for some of the training cruises in the Strait of Georgia I can give you my impressions. When she was in the open ocean she moved around on long swells as you'd expect any ship would. I've been on freighters that were far worse in similar seas but she did move. However, while we were testing her in the strait - and doing some pretty extreme maneuvers (such as crash stops at 90 degrees to her head - something akin to stopping with hockey skates) she was rock solid. Despite being very tall she has a crazy amount of reserve stability and likes to stay upright.
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Post by yak on Jan 10, 2017 21:17:18 GMT -8
Signal...
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Post by yak on Dec 13, 2016 20:15:14 GMT -8
I am leaving tomorrow to join her on the Pacific side of the Canal; we've been told that we should expect to join sometime on the 16th.
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Post by yak on Nov 23, 2016 11:12:25 GMT -8
Looks like she's just gone via Copenhagen... no Kiel Canal? I'll be joining her in Panama for the home stretch, so how about "officially entering BC waters" when I get cell service?
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Post by yak on Nov 4, 2016 14:22:40 GMT -8
The PR news article outlined Vesuvius-Crofton as a candidate for a 44 AEQ vessel. While I think that other members on this forum would probably have more experience with this route, it seems to me that a reduction in capacity would not be a good idea. I use the Vesuvius-Crofton route fairly frequently (and know several people who work that route) and I'd agree that a reduction in capacity would not go over well. The Quinitsa-as-replacement (a 50 AEQ vessel) when the HSQ was out of service wasn't particularly popular. In the summer and for runs that abut a DG run 44 AEQ wouldn't be very sufficient.
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Post by yak on Oct 24, 2016 12:52:07 GMT -8
I just happened to take the Elwha from Anacortes to Sidney on Centerplate's first morning on that run yesterday. It was a total gong-show with the galley not even opening until nearly 30 minutes into the voyage. No menu items were posted and even once the cafeteria was open the breakfast sandwiches they were serving weren't ready until the ship had nearly reached Friday Harbor. Coffee was north of $3 USD for a 12oz cup. This was my first trip ever on a WSF so I don't have any previous service level to reference but I hope that this was just "opening jitters" for the new provider.
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Post by yak on Sept 28, 2016 16:43:52 GMT -8
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Post by yak on Sept 18, 2016 23:18:05 GMT -8
Nice video(s) Mike. It is interesting to watch some of the approaches and turns from a different perspective. I like your last photo in the second post too - literally sailing off into the sunset.
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Post by yak on Sept 10, 2016 0:00:08 GMT -8
Jakub Bogucki has posted some new photos of Salishes Orca, Eagle and Raven to his publicly viewable Facebook page. H E R E--------------- Here's the photo of 3 Salish ferries 3 salish in 1 picI saw your comment on the bow visor of the Orca - I think that it may look a little short due to to the angle of the photograph. From the plans that I've seen it is much taller than the impression that photograph leaves me with. Also, thanks for posting - it is interesting to see how the ships are progressing. There's a real sense of the imminence of the newbuilds creeping into daily life on Route 9 - not a day goes by without at least some "water cooler" discussion about the Nanny replacement.
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Post by yak on Aug 23, 2016 18:17:41 GMT -8
Regarding delivery timing of the new ships: Here's what the latest official word is, per the August 18, 2016 "Management's Discussion and Analysis Report": So this means: - Orca by December 31, 2016 - The birds by March 31, 2017 That's just delivery. ...They are to be delivered under their own steam, right? Yes, they are.
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Post by yak on Aug 22, 2016 20:52:22 GMT -8
That's a very nice picture. I love how the sky has lit up in multiple colors and the orange really makes the ship stand out! Where did you capture this from? I was kind of thinking from a vessel at/pulling in/out from Berth 2. Thanks - the picture was taken from the Queen of Nanaimo in Berth 2
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Post by yak on Aug 21, 2016 19:44:36 GMT -8
Alberni in Berth 3
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Post by yak on Aug 21, 2016 19:33:00 GMT -8
The wheel on the Queen of Nanaimo; probably one of the last (if not the last) wooden wheels in BC Ferries fleet (Burnaby has had hers replaced with a metal wheel)
Full Size
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Post by yak on Aug 18, 2016 23:12:04 GMT -8
I've noticed the past few days that the Queen of Cumberland has been running late because of "Mechanical Difficulties with the Vessel" anyone know what's been going on? Running on 3 RADs (Right Angle Drives) instead of the usual 4.
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Post by yak on Jul 13, 2016 13:38:47 GMT -8
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Post by yak on Jul 1, 2016 22:40:51 GMT -8
Route 9 was right up against the maximum passenger count (953 persons) tonight even with Route 9a running with the Bowen Queen. Nearly 200 passengers were transfers for Saturna Island alone... The reduced passenger capacity might prove problematic with the two Salish boats (1,170 versus 1,335 on the Nanaimo and Bowen Queen). With the Bowen Queen in service, do you guys have a cap for reservable spaces to a specific Island (i.e. SSI)? I am not on the ticketing side and this is my first summer with the ferries so I am not sure of all the intricacies. We see different islands making up the bulk of our traffic on different days - especially with 9a running. We've seen Village Bay or Sturdies Bay outnumbering Long Harbour significantly with the Bowen running to Saltspring more directly than we do. That has meant getting a little more creative with deck space since the default has generally been to put Long Harbour traffic on the ramps and out of the way but the numbers don't justify doing that when we have more inter-island traffic.
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