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Post by herrbrinkmann on Jan 29, 2009 22:19:02 GMT -8
Sad and happy at the same time. In less then two hours the NorEx will sail to Kiel (she will be around 16:00h in Kiel and then pass the Kiel canal). Every FSG worker is invited to wave goodbye at 9 o´clock. If everybody comes, that will be an impressive image. And yes, we will try to photograph her leaving ;-) Thanks for everything and a good and safe voyage to the Northern Expedition!
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Post by DENelson83 on Jan 29, 2009 22:37:16 GMT -8
Hey, Brink, when it comes time for you to take a vacation, come to our west coast and admire your ferries.
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Post by WettCoast on Jan 29, 2009 22:42:39 GMT -8
Sad and happy at the same time. In less then two hours the NorEx will sail to Kiel (she will be around 16:00h in Kiel and then pass the Kiel canal). Every FSG worker is invited to wave goodbye at 9 o´clock. If everybody comes, that will be an impressive image. And yes, we will try to photograph her leaving ;-) Thanks for everything and a good and safe voyage to the Northern Expedition! Thanks so much for everything Markus. It is appreciated very much. I am looking forward to a May date on the Inside Passage with the new ship.
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Post by DENelson83 on Jan 29, 2009 23:24:35 GMT -8
Uh, that's only berth 2.
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Post by Low Light Mike on Feb 23, 2009 19:31:01 GMT -8
Thanks. I've enjoyed looking at these full-size pics. Especially to figure out the outside deck areas. On the above photo, I like the outside decks. - Deck 4 is the one with the blue-strips on the exterior. This is the saloon-deck, with the aft as the Canoe Cafe & Raven Lounge. I haven't quite figured out what is on Deck-4, just at the top of the stern car door. Maybe some sort of service area for the top of the door? - Deck-5 has cabins aft, and the stern sheltered outside area with the twin staircases looks to be a smoke-pit. From other angles, it looks like you can walk around the corners to a bit on the sides, until you get near to below the lifeboat. - Deck-6 also has cabins aft, with the designated outdoor lounge at the stern, sheltered from the wind. It looks like there is tinted glass on the sides, to give some side viewing. Also, it looks like you can also walk around the corner outside to the sides, and then up some outside stairs to Deck 7. And that outside route looks to be the only way that you can move from Deck 6 to 7 on the outside. - Deck-7 looks to have outside side walks that go the length of the ship. I will like that. - And does the top of deck-8, aft of the funnel, look like picinic tables? Or is it just housetop crew stuff? I'm looking forward to my first trip on her....
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Mill Bay
Voyager
Long Suffering Bosun
Posts: 2,886
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Post by Mill Bay on Feb 23, 2009 20:54:41 GMT -8
Thanks. I've enjoyed looking at these full-size pics. Especially to figure out the outside deck areas. On the above photo, I like the outside decks. - Deck 4 is the one with the blue-strips on the exterior. This is the saloon-deck, with the aft as the Canoe Cafe & Raven Lounge. I haven't quite figured out what is on Deck-4, just at the top of the stern car door. Maybe some sort of service area for the top of the door? - Deck-5 has cabins aft, and the stern sheltered outside area with the twin staircases looks to be a smoke-pit. From other angles, it looks like you can walk around the corners to a bit on the sides, until you get near to below the lifeboat. - Deck-6 also has cabins aft, with the designated outdoor lounge at the stern, sheltered from the wind. It looks like there is tinted glass on the sides, to give some side viewing. Also, it looks like you can also walk around the corner outside to the sides, and then up some outside stairs to Deck 7. And that outside route looks to be the only way that you can move from Deck 6 to 7 on the outside. - Deck-7 looks to have outside side walks that go the length of the ship. I will like that. - And does the top of deck-8, aft of the funnel, look like picinic tables? Or is it just housetop crew stuff? I'm looking forward to my first trip on her.... I'm a little unsure of these things, but I'm plagued by this nasty delusion that somehow passengers won't necessarily be allowed free roam of the outside decks. I think it'll be a SOLAS thing (if they comply with it) about having passengers in too many areas without direct supervision from the crew. Remember, the QotN did not really have any outside spaces along the sides except at the very top two decks... all the other side passages were glassed in. Also, on the Coastals, their outside staircases are not open for passenger use, why i don't know, although I assume that they are primarily to allow quick access to the fast response craft. That may also be the case on the Norex, and those stairs will be cordoned off during normal times so that they will be clear to provide quick access to the lifeboats when necessary. Again, on the Coastals, access is also not allowed to deck 8, so I wonder if they would really allow it on the Norex either. The one thing I can't get over is why they added those two elephant ear flaps at the stern... they really seem to stick out because they only progress a short way along the stern, and then end so abruptly, and they are flat on top, which just doesn't match the curve of the stern. I really like shots of her from this angle though, because this shows the sharp angles at the bow, where she turns into a nice, neat triangle that seems to hang dramatically over the water.
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Post by Northern Exploration on Feb 23, 2009 21:26:04 GMT -8
On the above photo, I like the outside decks. - Deck 4 is the one with the blue-strips on the exterior. This is the saloon-deck, with the aft as the Canoe Cafe & Raven Lounge. I haven't quite figured out what is on Deck-4, just at the top of the stern car door. Maybe some sort of service area for the top of the door? My guess here is that the back of Deck 4 may be crew space. On the pics of the boat moored in the Caribbean the ropes for mooring come out of this space. I tried to see normal access to this area on the plans and it looks like there is access but my guess is for emergency purposes only. I remember noticing on the plans no other access up on the exterior. I agree that will be an excellent place to view the scenery. The one set of stairs on each side worries me that this possibly may not be open for access. This deck on the QoftN had a covered area at the rear with the tinted lexan/plexiglass and that was my favourite place in the rain. I would love it if it was open. This deck was closed to the public on the QoftN. We got a good view of it when that employee on the ferry took his video camera up there and posted to YouTube. The front half near the radars won't be but it would be cool if aft of the funnel was. I have my first choice cabin already picked out for my first day round trip on the NorEx.
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rt1commuter
Chief Steward
JP - Overworked grad student
Posts: 167
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Post by rt1commuter on Feb 24, 2009 23:16:58 GMT -8
On the above photo, I like the outside decks. - Deck 4 is the one with the blue-strips on the exterior. This is the saloon-deck, with the aft as the Canoe Cafe & Raven Lounge. I haven't quite figured out what is on Deck-4, just at the top of the stern car door. Maybe some sort of service area for the top of the door? My guess here is that the back of Deck 4 may be crew space. On the pics of the boat moored in the Caribbean the ropes for mooring come out of this space. I tried to see normal access to this area on the plans and it looks like there is access but my guess is for emergency purposes only. I remember noticing on the plans no other access up on the exterior. I agree that will be an excellent place to view the scenery. The one set of stairs on each side worries me that this possibly may not be open for access. This deck on the QoftN had a covered area at the rear with the tinted lexan/plexiglass and that was my favourite place in the rain. I would love it if it was open. This deck was closed to the public on the QoftN. We got a good view of it when that employee on the ferry took his video camera up there and posted to YouTube. The front half near the radars won't be but it would be cool if aft of the funnel was. I have my first choice cabin already picked out for my first day round trip on the NorEx. Glancing at Paul's site, it looks like Deck 7 will have public access via an interior staircase. Images below: So looks like we'll be roaming outside after all.
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Post by Northern Exploration on Feb 25, 2009 6:52:33 GMT -8
All I can say is wahoo. ;D
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Post by NMcKay on Feb 25, 2009 17:31:27 GMT -8
golly... shes got some big shoes to fill... but she certainly is purdy
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Post by DENelson83 on Mar 6, 2009 19:24:57 GMT -8
Now that the NE has arrived, when she takes her first sail to Prince Rupert, I will track that voyage the best I can on this thread. All I ask for is three days notice before she begins heading north.
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Post by ferryfanyvr on Mar 6, 2009 21:51:31 GMT -8
I just got off the phone with my friend who starts work this Sunday on the NorEx. I'm heading over to Departure Bay that day and hopefully he'll get permission to give me a tour of the ship!
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Nick
Voyager
Chief Engineer - Queen of Richmond
Posts: 2,078
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Post by Nick on Mar 17, 2009 15:10:00 GMT -8
I'm not sure where to put this, but this seems somewhat relevant.
Last night there was a story on CHEK news about the Expedition. It didn't mention much that hasn't been covered at depth here, except one thing David Hahn said.
He mentioned that BCF will be looking at additional ways to maximize the use of the new ship, and he specifically mentioned doing scheduled cruises out of Vancouver, rather than just Port Hardy. I would assume they would use Tsawwassen, as HSB tends to be pretty busy and Canada Place doesn't allow for vehicle loading.
Now, I am interpreting what he said as something similar to what BCF did with the QotN back in the early to mid 80s, when they did a departure a week or so from Tsawwassen and stopped at Port Hardy en route. Does anybody know what years BCF did this, and how often?
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Post by Northern Exploration on Mar 17, 2009 19:15:06 GMT -8
I'm not sure where to put this, but this seems somewhat relevant. Last night there was a story on CHEK news about the Expedition. It didn't mention much that hasn't been covered at depth here, except one thing David Hahn said. He mentioned that BCF will be looking at additional ways to maximize the use of the new ship, and he specifically mentioned doing scheduled cruises out of Vancouver, rather than just Port Hardy. I would assume they would use Tsawwassen, as HSB tends to be pretty busy and Canada Place doesn't allow for vehicle loading. Now, I am interpreting what he said as something similar to what BCF did with the QotN back in the early to mid 80s, when they did a departure a week or so from Tsawwassen and stopped at Port Hardy en route. Does anybody know what years BCF did this, and how often? The Northern Ferries used to do positioning cruises. They would have to do the trip anyways. Putting some passengers onboard means that they have a dry run before the first scheduled sailings from Port Hardy. Those positioning cruises always came at the beginning or end of refit periods when the ferries had to come south anyways.
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Post by WettCoast on Mar 17, 2009 19:59:27 GMT -8
There was service from Rupert to Tsawwassen via Port Hardy once per week, and only during the off season. They started doing this in the latter part of the 1970's and continued with it until 1982, I think. Dane may have exact dates in his 'time line'. Both the QPR & QotN provided this service at different times.
This practise was ended not long after after the Queen Charlotte service was started in late 1980 or early 1981. During the off season the QotN provided twice weekly sailings south with one trip going all the way to Tsawwassen. Meanwhile the QPR was dedicated to three round trips weekly to QCI. The exception came when one or the other vessel went in for refit. Then, during an economic downturn (1982, I think), BCFC took a hard look at the costs of operating two vessels in northern service during the slow off season period and pulled one vessel. After that trips to & from Tsawwassen were possible only with repositioning cruises once or twice yearly.
This same logic should still apply today.
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Post by DENelson83 on Mar 18, 2009 19:02:25 GMT -8
The NE's AIS transponder is now transmitting her Canadian MMSI, but is still using her Kingstown callsign.
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Neil
Voyager
Posts: 7,181
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Post by Neil on Mar 19, 2009 13:21:01 GMT -8
There was service from Rupert to Tsawwassen via Port Hardy once per week, and only during the off season. They started doing this in the latter part of the 1970's and continued with it until 1982, I think. Dane may have exact dates in his 'time line'. Both the QPR & QotN provided this service at different times. This practise was ended not long after after the Queen Charlotte service was started in late 1980 or early 1981. During the off season the QotN provided twice weekly sailings south with one trip going all the way to Tsawwassen. Meanwhile the QPR was dedicated to three round trips weekly to QCI. The exception came when one or the other vessel went in for refit. Then, during an economic downturn (1982, I think), BCFC took a hard look at the costs of operating two vessels in northern service during the slow off season period and pulled one vessel. After that trips to & from Tsawwassen were possible only with repositioning cruises once or twice yearly. Don't know exactly what year it began, but the last season was the winter of '83-'84. A sample schedule, from '78- '79, along with the answer to 'why are there no routes 14 and 15?', in case anyone has ever wondered.
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Post by DENelson83 on Mar 19, 2009 16:48:59 GMT -8
The Nicola operates on route 15 right now, right?
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Post by DENelson83 on Mar 21, 2009 18:45:13 GMT -8
The NE's AIS transponder is now transmitting her new Canadian callsign—CFN5364.
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Post by DENelson83 on Mar 21, 2009 20:37:21 GMT -8
And of course, 155.91 is the BCF common fleet frequency.
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Post by kevins on Mar 22, 2009 19:50:55 GMT -8
Crew training while at sea, yesterday and today, tomorrow carrying out more training while at sea, perhaps a trip through Active Pass.
Kevin
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Post by kevins on Mar 24, 2009 6:03:00 GMT -8
Captains very happy with the vessel's performance through Active Pass, all went well. Crew change over the next few days with more trainees coming onboard. Vessel will be at the dock for the next while for the 3 days of safety training. The other day we steamed along side the CR for awhile, I hope some passing float plane took a photo.
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Post by Low Light Mike on Mar 24, 2009 6:45:50 GMT -8
The other day we steamed along side the CR for awhile, I hope some passing float plane took a photo. Hi Kevin: I'm not sure if you read other threads in this forum, so here's a heads-up to a NorEx photo thread, located here, which includes sea-trials photos taken from the C'Renaissance and from shore: ferriesbc.proboards20.com/index.cgi?board=photos&action=display&thread=4500
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Post by Northern Exploration on Mar 24, 2009 7:10:14 GMT -8
The other day we steamed along side the CR for awhile, I hope some passing float plane took a photo. Hi Kevin: I'm not sure if you read other threads in this forum, so here's a heads-up to a NorEx photo thread, located here, which includes sea-trials photos taken from the C'Renaissance and from shore: ferriesbc.proboards20.com/index.cgi?board=photos&action=display&thread=4500Hint hint Markus. FSG should commission some helicopter shots (if they don't exist already) of the triplets and sister for photoshopping into a poster/publicity shot. The Flensburger BC Ferries Fleet .
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Post by Hardy on Mar 24, 2009 14:03:13 GMT -8
Hint hint Markus. FSG should commission some helicopter shots (if they don't exist already) of the triplets and sister for photoshopping into a poster/publicity shot. The Flensburger BC Ferries Fleet . FSG: Canadian Left Coast Division
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