In memory of the Queen of the North

[Shane]

On the morning of March 22nd I woke up around six o-clock in the morning and turned on the TV and put on Global news, the first word I heard was "Single Hulled Ferries."
So I ran up to the TV and what I saw sadened me instantly.
The words that I read on the screen were "BC ferry sinks on north coast."
Right away I knew it was the North, but I thought it wasn't that bad at first, I though she could be raised and put back into service.
When I got home from school that day I watched the five o-clock news and as I watched it I knew that we would never see that ship in service ever again.
Now all we have are memories and pictures of this amazing ferry who's life was tragically cut short.
Now I know how much you guys like ferries and I know how much you guys liked the North.
OK, this is gonna sound dumb for you guys but what ever, take a minute and don't talk or do anything, just sit and remember this great ferry, for people that have been on her remember the experience and for those who haven't been on her try to remember how much of a good ferry she was.
Its sad to see BC Ferries' flag ship die in such a sad way, but when she was in service she was known as the "Queen of the north coast." She was known by everybody on the coast, she was a life-line for small coastal communities which weren't accesible by anything other that the ferries.
When childeren went on her they were amazed by how big the ferry was and how neat it looked.
Even though she is gone she will always be the flagship of BC Ferries.
R.I.P Queen of the North 1969-2006
You will be missed but not forgotten.

[Koastal Karl]

Post your photo memories here of the North too. Here are mine community.webshots.com/album/467262292HNrSTf I did a little bit of editing to the name with a description.


Here are Sandi's photos of the North
community.webshots.com/album/468217306gufTnn

Post other photos too. Man I never thought it would be so hard to type out a description for my album like that when thinking about the North. It's still really sad!

[Deleted]

Very nice pics. I have some of mine are almost the same as I see we were on the same positional cruise. What a nice day that was, I could have never imagined that would be the last time I would sail on her. I will definetly miss those positional cruises. I am sure they will continue them but it wouldn't be the same without the Queen of the North she was such a wonderful classy ferry.

[Ferryman]

Here are some pics of the North on the Inside Passage, I have no idea when they are from, but they look fairly recent.

www.islandphoto.ca/gl.php?fld=road1day2

[Balfour]

Those are so beautiful...

[Mike C]

All of that now sitting at the bottom of Wright Sound... what a waste...

The only way you can get those pics now is if you ride the Nimpkish.

[Ferryman]

Currently, yes. But next week the Prince Rupert will return of course.

[Curtis]

Very Nice pics

[Koastal Karl]

Although this song is about the Wreck of the Edmundfitzgerald, listen to the song and while your listening to it take the the time to remember all the ships that have sunk to their final resting place, at the bottom of the sea. The sea can be a nasty place at times. These ships we will never see again except in the memories and photos of we have of them.

This is a really great song. I never get tired of listening too it. I can picture everything that he is saying, it still gives you that chilling feeling. The Edmundfitzgerald is one of many ships we should be remembering that have gone down. Maybe someone should do a song on the Queen of the North. A working ship, a tourist attraction, a neccessity to the people on the North Coast.

Here are the lyrics

Gordon Lightfoot - The Wreck Of The Edmund...
Artists > Gordon Lightfoot > The Wreck Of The Edmund Fitzgerald
Submitted by kevin on May 27, 2001

The legend lives on from the Chippewa on down
Of the big lake they called 'Gitche Gumee'
The lake, it is said, never gives up her dead
When the skies of November turn gloomy
With a load of iron ore twenty-six thousand tons more
Than the Edmund Fitzgerald weighed empty.
That good ship and true was a bone to be chewed
When the gales of November came early.

The ship was the pride of the American side
Coming back from some mill in Wisconsin
As the big freighters go, it was bigger than most
With a crew and good captain well seasoned
Concluding some terms with a couple of steel firms
When they left fully loaded for Cleveland
And later that night when the ship's bell rang
Could it be the north wind they'd been feelin'?
The wind in the wires made a tattle-tale sound
And a wave broke over the railing
And every man knew, as the captain did too,
T'was the witch of November come stealin'.
The dawn came late and the breakfast had to wait
When the Gales of November came slashin'.
When afternoon came it was freezin' rain
In the face of a hurricane west wind.

When suppertime came, the old cook came on deck sayin'.
Fellas, it's too rough to feed ya.
At Seven P.M. a main hatchway caved in, he said
Fellas, it's been good t'know ya
The captain wired in he had water comin' in
And the good ship and crew was in peril.
And later that night when his lights went outta sight
Came the wreck of the Edmund Fitzgerald.

Does any one know where the love of God goes
When the waves turn the minutes to hours?
The searches all say they'd have made Whitefish Bay
If they'd put fifteen more miles behind her.
They might have split up or they might have capsized;
May have broke deep and took water.
And all that remains is the faces and the names
Of the wives and the sons and the daughters.

Lake Huron rolls, Superior sings
In the rooms of her ice-water mansion.
Old Michigan steams like a young man's dreams;
The islands and bays are for sportsmen.
And farther below Lake Ontario
Takes in what Lake Erie can send her,
And the iron boats go as the mariners all know
With the Gales of November remembered.

In a musty old hall in Detroit they prayed,
In the Maritime Sailors' Cathedral.
The church bell chimed till it rang twenty-nine times
For each man on the Edmund Fitzgerald.
The legend lives on from the Chippewa on down
Of the big lake they call 'Gitche Gumee'.
Superior, they said, never gives up her dead
When the gales of November come early!

[Koastal Karl]

Also next time you go on a ferry take a min to remember the Queen of the North and how she was such a beautiful ship, and how important she was to everyone on the north coast, and to everyone who worked on her.

[Curtis]

karl said:

Although this song is about the Wreck of the Edmundfitzgerald, listen to the song and while your listening to it take the the time to remember all the ships that have sunk to their final resting place, at the bottom of the sea. The sea can be a nasty place at times. These ships we will never see again except in the memories and photos of we have of them.

This is a really great song. I never get tired of listening too it. I can picture everything that he is saying, it still gives you that chilling feeling. The Edmundfitzgerald is one of many ships we should be remembering that have gone down. Maybe someone should do a song on the Queen of the North. A working ship, a tourist attraction, a neccessity to the people on the North Coast.

Here are the lyrics

Gordon Lightfoot - The Wreck Of The Edmund...
Artists > Gordon Lightfoot > The Wreck Of The Edmund Fitzgerald
Submitted by kevin on May 27, 2001

The legend lives on from the Chippewa on down
Of the big lake they called 'Gitche Gumee'
The lake, it is said, never gives up her dead
When the skies of November turn gloomy
With a load of iron ore twenty-six thousand tons more
Than the Edmund Fitzgerald weighed empty.
That good ship and true was a bone to be chewed
When the gales of November came early.

The ship was the pride of the American side
Coming back from some mill in Wisconsin
As the big freighters go, it was bigger than most
With a crew and good captain well seasoned
Concluding some terms with a couple of steel firms
When they left fully loaded for Cleveland
And later that night when the ship's bell rang
Could it be the north wind they'd been feelin'?
The wind in the wires made a tattle-tale sound
And a wave broke over the railing
And every man knew, as the captain did too,
T'was the witch of November come stealin'.
The dawn came late and the breakfast had to wait
When the Gales of November came slashin'.
When afternoon came it was freezin' rain
In the face of a hurricane west wind.

When suppertime came, the old cook came on deck sayin'.
Fellas, it's too rough to feed ya.
At Seven P.M. a main hatchway caved in, he said
Fellas, it's been good t'know ya
The captain wired in he had water comin' in
And the good ship and crew was in peril.
And later that night when his lights went outta sight
Came the wreck of the Edmund Fitzgerald.

Does any one know where the love of God goes
When the waves turn the minutes to hours?
The searches all say they'd have made Whitefish Bay
If they'd put fifteen more miles behind her.
They might have split up or they might have capsized;
May have broke deep and took water.
And all that remains is the faces and the names
Of the wives and the sons and the daughters.

Lake Huron rolls, Superior sings
In the rooms of her ice-water mansion.
Old Michigan steams like a young man's dreams;
The islands and bays are for sportsmen.
And farther below Lake Ontario
Takes in what Lake Erie can send her,
And the iron boats go as the mariners all know
With the Gales of November remembered.

In a musty old hall in Detroit they prayed,
In the Maritime Sailors' Cathedral.
The church bell chimed till it rang twenty-nine times
For each man on the Edmund Fitzgerald.
The legend lives on from the Chippewa on down
Of the big lake they call 'Gitche Gumee'.
Superior, they said, never gives up her dead
When the gales of November come early!

Another Piece Of Irony. on the day our great ship the Queen of the North Sunk my English Class read that very same tragic poem

[Doug]

Ya...I think it was a pretty big coincidence that the North sadly sank. There has been a few people on this forum saying "which ferry will sink next", but I don't think the chances of one sinking again are very good at all. I guess the North sinking was "bad luck".

[Shane]

Yeah, I agree.
The last time a BC Ferry sank was in 1962 when the Quillayute hit a log in Jervis Inlet.

[Curtis]

I'm not saying the Chilliwack is the Next to Sink (If thats what you meant) just because she is a odd ship or something like that. I'm saying if she Takes on water which is most unlikly she could easily suffer a fate as the North did cause she doesn't have enough Compartments to meet safety standards so if she does take on water sometime in her future life after BC Ferries if they decide to abandon ship she would probably take on water about as fast as the North. So I'm not racist or something like that toward the Chilliwack if thats what you think. She doesn't have enough compartments thats what I'm saying. I think that no ferries are going to sink for quite a long time after this incident.

[Curtis]

In result to this I deleted the Picture Completly

[Fenklebaum]

PR Ferries Teen 16, for the love of God, don't make me rant at you about your run-on sentences. If you have any desire not to be publicly lampooned, you'll stop. They're making my eyes hurt, for crying out loud!

Strong Skier: Please do not rant about the grammer or spelling of other people!

The necessities having been dealt with... What's all this about the Quillayute sinking in 1962? She ended up as a fishing camp that lasted at least until the mid seventies...

[ed]

ferryfreakshane said:

Yeah, I agree.
The last time a BC Ferry sank was in 1962 when the Quillayute hit a log in Jervis Inlet.

Had a bit of luck in 1979 when the Queen of Alberni ran aground in Active Pass and got off ok.

[Curtis]

fenklebaum said:

PR Ferries Teen 16, for the love of God, don't make me rant at you about your run-on sentences. If you have any desire not to be publicly lampooned, you'll stop. They're making my eyes hurt, for crying out loud!

I HAVE NO DAMN IDEA WHAT I'M DOING!!

[NMcKay]

at least I'M was contracted right dont bug him. hes young. and well all get carried away when we are typing.

[Curtis]

Thank You!

[Mike C]

prqueenkid16 said:

Thank You!

Don't worry, I did the very same thing for a lonnggg time!! I also admit I made pretty dumb posts when I first registered, so don't worry about it, Pr Ferries.

[nolonger]

Today, at approximately 1215 hrs, a moment's silence was observed aboard all ship's in the fleet. Our ship was stopped up and the moments silence for the 2 missing persons and the ship were observed. Our ship's Captain also spoke about and thanked the Captain and crew of the Sir Wilfred Laurier and most of all the people of Hartley Bay.

[Koastal Karl]

I am assuming that is 12:15pm in the afternoon?? I was at Duke Point at 12:15pm waiting to board the New West. Obviously she dident stop, but they probably did it just as she was arriving at Duke Point.

[Curtis]

Thats a good Idea! I wonder what will happen on the 1 year Anniversary of the Accident

[Koastal Karl]

I think we should all get together on whatever ferry is serving the inside passage at the time of the 1 year anniversary and go up to the sinking site and get the ferry to stop and have a little ceremony for the North and the two people that went down. Have a little memorial ceremony! That would be a good idea!

I was sitting outside on the New West today and thought about the Queen of the North for a min sitting on the bottom of the ocean and looking at the New West's life boats and thinking what those people would of went through that night out there on the cold waters then the site of the ship going down, made me feel sad again. I cant stand it to see a ship go down. It's heartbreaking.