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Post by ferrytraveller on Oct 7, 2008 11:01:37 GMT -8
Posted Tuesday, October 7, 2008 Print Version Note: This Service Notice applies to the following route(s): - Brentwood - Mill Bay
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Updated at 10:40 am
Please be advised that the MV Mill Bay had to suspend service until further notice.
For updated information please feel free to call toll free 1-888-BC FERRY (1-888-223-3779).
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Post by ferrytraveller on Oct 7, 2008 11:02:19 GMT -8
Posted Monday, October 6, 2008 Print Version Note: This Service Notice applies to the following route(s): - Chemainus - Kuper Island - Thetis Island
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------- The MV Kuper will return to service on Tuesday, October 7 with the
12:10 p.m. sailing from Kuper Island.
She is just leaving burrard inlet passing Pt. Atkinson right now.
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Post by Northern Exploration on Oct 7, 2008 12:34:25 GMT -8
Posted Tuesday, October 7, 2008 Note: This Service Notice applies to the following route(s): - Brentwood - Mill Bay
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Updated at 1:15 pm
Please be advised that the MV Mill Bay has resumed service with the 1:15 pm sailing from Brentwood Bay.
For updated information please feel free to call toll free 1-888-BC FERRY (1-888-223-3779).
We apologize for any inconvenience experienced as a result of the service suspension.
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Post by Coastal Canuck on Oct 9, 2008 18:03:53 GMT -8
the MV Queen of Alberni has had her 3:15/5:45pm round trip cancelled and the MV Queen of Vancouver will be replacing her for the 8:15/10:45pm round trip
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Post by gordon on Oct 9, 2008 18:23:14 GMT -8
Hmmm I wonder what her problem is ? according to RBI The Alberni is back tomorrow for the long weekend before she heads to Deas for a month.
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Post by Hardy on Oct 9, 2008 18:42:34 GMT -8
Alberni seems broken ... QoVan is pinch hitting the rest of her schedule tonight. www.bcferries.com/bcfservicenotice?id=67409Service Notice - Sailing Cancellation - Tsawwassen/Duke Point Posted Thursday, October 9, 2008 Note: This Service Notice applies to the following route(s): - Vancouver (Tsawwassen) - Nanaimo (Duke Point) Updated at 2:40 pm Please be advised that the Queen of Alberni had to cancel the 3:15 pm departure from Tsawwassen and the 5:45 pm from Duke Point. For updated information please feel free to call toll free 1-888-BC FERRY (1-888-223-3779) or visit our Vessel Tracking web page. We apologize for any inconvenience experienced as a result of these sailing cancellations. Copyright ©2008, British Columbia Ferry Services Inc.
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Post by Ferryman on Oct 27, 2008 7:48:54 GMT -8
Looks like the Queen of Vancouver isn't going to be running for the first two round trips this morning...
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Post by Hardy on Oct 27, 2008 8:22:04 GMT -8
Looks like the Queen of Vancouver isn't going to be running for the first two round trips this morning... I don't know about the rest of you, but having a major route drop from 2-boat service to 1-boat service with 5-6 hours between sailings seems rather concerning to me. I mean, there are other options. Some of them may not (currently, due entirely to lack of cross-training of crews - discussed elsewhere!) be possible, but it is NOT for the lack of available vessels. Potential options that I see for short term relief of this situation: a) reposition Queen of Saanich from Victoria/Rte-1. Upside: same vessel-class as Queen of Vancouver, same capacity, same speed. Downside: Leaves Rte-1 with 2-boat service, losing 2 rounders. Crew out of position. b) redeploy Queen of Coquitlam from Nanaimo/Rte-2. Upside: vessel not currently in use due to return of CI to route, C-class on Rte-30 tried and true, vessel able to keep original schedule. Downside: Tsawwassen-based crew not familiar with evac systems on C-class, crew out of position, less overheight capacity. So - there are two options that I see as an armchair quarterback. The biggest drawback is the crewing issues. But leaving a route (even -30!) with 1-boat service creates it's own headaches. However, as has been stated, BCFS is not necessarily in the business of actually MOVING people and vehicles, but rather to turn a profit. They really have no mandate to actually make travel on their vessels CONVENIENT NOR TIMELY.
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Post by Northern Exploration on Oct 27, 2008 11:05:26 GMT -8
I guess the Vancouver was tired out from a big day yesterday. Too many ferry geeks for too long wore her out . Either that or she was drunk from all the attention and has a hangover today.
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Nick
Voyager
Chief Engineer - Queen of Richmond
Posts: 2,078
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Post by Nick on Oct 27, 2008 11:55:06 GMT -8
Hardy, those plans look pretty good on paper. There's a few issues though that would make them not feasible in my opinion. Especially when you factor in that the Vancouver is not out for the entire day. Also, all this is based on the assumption that it is a mechanical issue, and not a crewing problem that has caused the trips to be canceled. First 2 round trips = 1 shift, so that makes me think it could be a crewing issue. Too many people called in sick, possibly?
a) On a Monday morning, late October, the Queen of Saanich is not crewed to be able to bring the ship to TSW for the Vancouver's crew to take over. Either you wait the 2 hours (at least) for crew to be called in, or you send the Vancouver's crew over on the SOBC's first sailing to get her. Either way, the ship won't be able to get to TSW before 11am.
b) I'm not so familiar with the crewing conditions at Departure Bay, but I think it would be similar to those at Swartz. The Coquitlam would not be sitting there crewed up and ready to be relocated to TSW. So, again, you have the same options. Either the TSW crew would have to figure out a way to get to Departure Bay and fire up the ship themselves, even though most of them have probably never sailed her in their lives, or Departure Bay attempts to scramble a crew to reposition the Coq. Either way, they'd have a difficult time getting the ship to TSW in time to make an impact on the Vancouver's canceled sailings.
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Post by Hardy on Oct 27, 2008 14:11:28 GMT -8
I fully realize those "flaws" in my overly-simplified solutions.
I do not think that it is a crewing issue, as, unless it is a "sick-out", there would have been plenty of on-call crew members to call in. Unless they are short critical engineering or bridge staff, all they need is warm bodies in shirts to make TC regs for minimum crewing - whether they are deckhands or galley workers or cleaners. I could see losing the first RT trip, while they waited for people to wake up and get in, as the first sailing is very early.
Your other assumption that she is only gone for part of the day (1/2 really!) is based on the fact that BCFS has NOT YET cancelled the afternoon/evening sailings; I think that this is wishful thinking on their part that they will get the problem resolved, which may occur or it may not - we will have to wait and find out how this plays out.
Regarding getting crew in position or calling crew out - I realize that non-scheduled ships are not fully crewed up and "ready to go" at the drop of a hat. I have taken that into account however, believe it or not.
When the 5-ish sailing ex-Tsawwassen was cancelled, they could have scrambled together a crew out of Departure/Duke to get the Coquitlam running on the return leg for 7-8-ish , thereby having only missed 1 leg. This would leave a crew out of position, unless they paid them the OT when they switched out the 2nd shift out of Tsawwassen to get them back home. This would have left BCFS all day to fix up the Vancouver etc. The ship should have been pretty well provisioned, only really needing some crew.
As for repositioning the crews to match up with the vessels, rather than take commercial sailings and have the 3-hour delay, chartering a boat to get the 20 or so crew to the ship would prove more economical, not to mention faster. Not that this was peak season and high loadings, or the option to fly the crew to the ship would become part of the equation. Again, I am not advocating this in this particular situation, but it is a method for getting the right bodies to the right place in a more expedient fashion.
I don't claim to have all the answers, but I can certainly come up with some solutions. I also don't claim to know all the ins and outs, but I am also certainly not just some random crackpot that spouts ideas without thinking them through (although that is open to varying interpretations)
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Nick
Voyager
Chief Engineer - Queen of Richmond
Posts: 2,078
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Post by Nick on Oct 27, 2008 14:52:21 GMT -8
I'm not saying it's impossible, just not economically viable. I'm pretty sure that chartering a boat to take the crew across the pond would be prohibitively expensive on that short notice. As far as needing "warm bodies to keep TC regs" it's a little more complicated. The deck crew needs a certain number to function, as does catering. Just throwing another person in the galley doesn't mean that they can load the MCD safely. As far as the sick-call theory goes, I'm pretty sure that on a weekday, they are probably running the Vancouver on a C license. So, if they loose one person, who's position can't be filled in time, they can't sail.
The other thing to look at is that taking the Saanich means canceling rt1 sailings. Typically, route 1 is a lot busier than rt 30, and losing sailings there would impact more people, and cause more lost revenue, than losing sailings on rt30. As it stands now (3:36), after losing 2 round trips, the 3:50 QoV (which has yet to be canceled) is only 70% full. It's not like a lot of people are being left behind.
I still don't think that Departure Bay would have enough on-call staff, with enough collective experience, to be able to sail the Coquitlam. Most of the on-call staff are junior employees, who have yet to secure a full-time position.
As a final note, please don't think I'm regarding you as a "random crackpot". I enjoy reading your perspective on BCF's operations, and I think you come up with some good ideas.
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Post by Kahloke on Oct 27, 2008 15:17:29 GMT -8
It appears the 3:50 QVan sailing is now cancelled - big surprise, right?
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Post by Hardy on Oct 27, 2008 16:50:22 GMT -8
Nick: while they DO need a set number of people to sail, it would not require cancelling an entire SHIFT (2 rounders) - likely, it would be cancelling the first round trip while they crewed up (6 hours should be enough to get bodies onboard!).
Second point: regarding more traffic on Rte-1 -- yes, true, ASSUMING that Rte-30 is running though! Having Rte-30 at half operation today has MORE THEN LIKELY increased traffic on Rtes-1 & -2 as a time-effective alternative to get to the Island. I would think that redeploying the Saanich from Rte-1 to Rte-30 would have ended up increasing overall capacity -- lessee, three round trips total (assuming that they could not get her running for the missed first one!) versus the two that she is scheduled to make on Rte-1. You could also sail her on a lower class license on Rte-30, and we'd be right back into the revenue question of "what generates more revenue, cars or trucks" which we had in a different thread.
Don't think that people are not aware of the cancelled sailings, and therefore not booking reservations etc on Rte-30. Most of the commercial traffic that takes that route is all to aware of monitoring conditions and the larger bookers/reservers for that route would more than likely still be on the old system of having major service notices FAXED to them.
As for my crack-pot status, I just wanted to assure some people that I am not just pulling ideas randomly out of the ether - I've been accused of it in the past.
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Post by Ferryman on Oct 27, 2008 18:02:00 GMT -8
Another random item to throw in the mix...
I seem to recall from various engine room tours, that when the engines are shut down for a length of time, it takes a while to get them going again. Now I'm not 100% on this fact, but I believe it's not as simple as having an engineer go down to the engine room, open up the choke, and yank on the pull cord a few times to get it going (haha). In fact, they have to warm the engines up, without running them, by using heaters. That way they don't crack the engine block from the sudden temperature increase. That's just what I seem to remember hearing, but there's a chance I could be wrong on that one. (anyone around to back me up?)
So if that was the case, even if you got the crew together, it might be another hour or so before the ship itself is even fully operational.
Once upon a time, they actually would run the Coquitlam on the Vancouver side of Route 30. I seem to remember sailing on her, in place of the New West a few times. Ahh, those were the days...
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Post by Northern Exploration on Oct 27, 2008 18:31:51 GMT -8
I recall hearing it took two hours for the full start up procedure but not sure where that was. I also don't know what the full process was and don't think it was just constrained to just starting the engines up. So that may include everything from heating the oil in the french fry machine to picking and then loading perishable stores to testing radios and radars.
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Post by DENelson83 on Oct 31, 2008 9:51:01 GMT -8
Service Notice - Access to Pick-Up and Drop-Off Areas is CompletePosted Friday, October 31, 2008 Note: This Service Notice applies to the following route(s): - Vancouver (Horseshoe Bay) - Nanaimo (Departure Bay) Construction work to improve access to the pick-up and drop-off areas at the Departure Bay terminal is now complete. This also includes access to the transit bus loop and the taxi staging area. Drivers picking up or dropping off passengers are reminded to obey the overhead signage and to follow the directions of both Robbins and BC Ferries staff in the area. Work is continuing to complete the landscaping and sidewalks at the terminal. Thank you for your patience as we build for the future.
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Post by Political Incorrectness on Nov 5, 2008 20:33:45 GMT -8
From the strange notice department Service Notice - Temporary Berth ClosureBerth 3 at Horseshoe Bay will be closed for approximately two weeks starting on Wednesday, October 30 to allow for berthing and structure repairs. As a result, there will be different loading patterns in effect and possible service disruptions during this time.
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Post by Hardy on Nov 5, 2008 22:05:32 GMT -8
Why strange? I would assume that there is a regular cycle of maintenance and repair/upgrade that has to be done. I am unaware of any hard landings at B3, but I could be wrong. Clarify your definition of strange?
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Post by Dane on Nov 6, 2008 0:51:54 GMT -8
It's likely relevant as it will effect cross-traffic, a frequent visitor to Horseshoe Bay. With Berth 3 out of service there will be an increase in cross traffic I would presume. It also will get people out of their berth habits as it's pretty easy to get used to the pattern at HSB.
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Post by Coastal Canuck on Nov 11, 2008 12:24:30 GMT -8
Service Notice - Possible Sailing Delay Posted Monday, November 10, 2008 Print Version Note: This Service Notice applies to the following route(s): - Vancouver (Horseshoe Bay) - Nanaimo (Departure Bay) -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- On Wednesday, November 12 on the 8:30 am sailing from Horseshoe Bay to Departure Bay, Transport Canada will be conducting a mandatory safety drill on the Queen of Coquitlam. At approximately 9:45 am, prior to the Queen of Coquitlam arriving at Departure Bay, a smoke flare will be deployed. Once the flare is extinguished, it will be picked up by the vessel’s rescue boat. The Queen of Coquitlam will continue to Departure Bay and wait for the rescue boat to arrive when the drill is complete. As a result, there may be a possible delay on the 10:30 am sailing out of Departure Bay. BC Ferries appreciates your understanding and asks that you plan your travels accordingly. Complete schedule information is available at www.bcferries.com or by calling 1 888 BCFERRY (1 888 223 3779).
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Post by Nickfro on Nov 13, 2008 11:02:54 GMT -8
This morning's windy weather is impacting all Tsawwassen-based routes. Albeit on time, the Nanaimo is currently struggling across the strait at under 10 knots. . .50 mins into the sailing and she is only about two thirds across it. The SoBC didn't leave for its first sailing until 35 mins after its scheduled time, with weather as the reason. The Vancouver is now 30 mins behind schedule.
A beautiful sunny day doesn't always mean smooth sailings on BC Ferries!
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Post by Nickfro on Nov 21, 2008 9:43:37 GMT -8
Here's the first sailing cancellation notice of the day. I'm sure there are more to come! Service Notice - Service Suspended/Weather - Quadra Island/Cortes IslandPosted Friday, November 21, 2008 Note: This Service Notice applies to the following route(s): - Cortes Island(Whaletown) - Quadra Island (Heriot Bay) Updated at 9:22 am Please be advised that the MV Tenaka is suspending service until further notice due to weather conditions. For updated information please feel free to call toll free 1-888-BC FERRY (1-888-223-3779). We apologize for any inconvenience experienced as a result of this service suspension.
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Post by ferrytraveller on Nov 21, 2008 11:16:53 GMT -8
Note: This Service Notice applies to the following route(s): - Vancouver Island (Campbell River) - Quadra Island (Quathiaski Cove)
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Updated at 10:55 am
Please be advised that the Powell River Queen is suspending service until further notice due to weather conditions.
For updated information please feel free to call toll free 1-888-BC FERRY (1-888-223-3779).
We apologize for any inconvenience experienced as a result of this service suspension.
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Nick
Voyager
Chief Engineer - Queen of Richmond
Posts: 2,078
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Post by Nick on Nov 24, 2008 15:35:39 GMT -8
So it's official: There will be no more fuel surcharges system-wide after December 19th. All routes except cross-strait routes will be surcharge-free by December 5th. Why they are holding onto the surcharge on the major routes, I don't know. www.bcferries.com/bcferries/faces/attachments?id=75656
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