A "Ferry Like" Hull has been spotted in Howe Sound

[Ferryman]

Today, on my way down to Vancouver, I noticed the Porteau Cove dock actually being used. One barge was pressed up into the dock, while another barge was anchored a few meters away from it, and both barges were connected by a bridge. As I continued driving, I thought to myself, "How would that barge fit into that dock? It would have to be shaped like a Ferry's hull to fit properly. On the return trip home, I stopped by Porteau Cove, and this is what I saw.

Porteau Cove dock with North end of Anvil Island in the background.

[Biff Fisticuffs]

You know something?...

Looking at the curve of the hull, I wouldn't be surprised if that's the
old Langdale Queen.
- Good find!

[SS San Mateo]

Biff said:

You know something?...

Looking at the curve of the hull, I wouldn't be surprised if that's the old Langdale Queen.

Not likely since what was left of her was cut up in 2005.

[kylefossett]

hey look at who posted the langdale queen comment. actually i don't you have been on the site long enough to know of biff

[Mike C]

Biff is the almighty source of Kyle's entertainment.

Well, it fits into that berth snugly, so I'm guessing it's an old Ministry ferry? I can't think of anything else, unless it's a barge from Puget Sound, then there could be a number of possibilities.

[Ferryman]

If you look closely, what's left of the Superstructure is painted blue. This reminds me of the kind of blue we see in the pictures of the Queen of Richmond painted in, during her final days at Alang.

[shipyard]

From it's size, my guess would be the Saltspring Queen.

[kieran h]

who has a pic of the queen of richmond and salt spring ??

[Balfour]

no one has pics of the Queen of Richmond. She was sent away to Alang before anyone ever got any pics and the BC Gov't destroyed all records of her being in the ferry fleet.

[Hardy]

Perhaps this could be the fabled "Queen of Much Needed Repairs" that is oft disparagingly referenced? In this case the title would surely fit ......

[FNS]

Can't be the BEACH GIRL.

After the west half of the Hood Canal Bridge sank in 1979, WSF contracted a passenger vessel to run between Lofall and South Point with transit connections. For commercial traffic, WSF contracted a self propelled orange barge named BEACH GIRL. This ran out of Port Gamble. Beach to beach, she had a ramp at each end. All got the pink slip when WSF ran the TILLIKUM and KULSHAN on the Canal run in 1980.

BEACH KING and BEACH QUEEN. Good names for any beach to beach passenger ferries!

[Hardy]

ferrynutseattle said:

Can't be the BEACH GIRL.

That's no way to refer to Ms. Marshall! ;D

[FNS]

I don't know what the final dispositions of the SALTSPRING QUEEN and VESUVIUS QUEEN are. Could this be one of them? Sure looks like a former small ferry with the bulwarks in one feet from the overall beam. The remains pictured in this thread on Howe Sound looks like she has the same dimensions of the above mentioned vessels.

GO CANUCKS!

[NMcKay]

The Vesuvius Queen was sold in the mid 90s to a company in the Dominican Republic. she was a ferry there for a while, until a newer faster ferry was bought. she now sits idle somewhere in the dominican replublic.

[EGfleet]

harbourlynxkid said:

The Vesuvius Queen was sold in the mid 90s to a company in the Dominican Republic. she was a ferry there for a while, until a newer faster ferry was bought. she now sits idle somewhere in the dominican replublic.

I came across an issue of Steamboat Bill that mentioned the Vesuvius Queen had been renamed Elupina.

I'll have to poke around and see if anything comes up under that name.

[Ferryman]

Re: Vesuvius/Saltspring Queens. The Vesuvius Queen is indeed in the Dominican Republic still. The Saltspring Queen however, is still in South Coast BC waters without a superstruture? Could this hull we are talking about be her? I don't think so, only because this hull looks like a single enders hull, and curves up at the bow.

Elupina aka Vesuvius Queen sitting idle in the Dominican Republic.

[queenofcowichan]

The SaltSpring Queen was re-named Golden Queen and according to a recent (less then a year) write up in one of the Westcoast Mariner or Western Mariner magazines she is been used as a machinery shop.

[queenofcowichan]

I just checked out Transport Canada and hear is the current info listed.

Transport Canada
Vessle registation Query Systerm

Vessle: Golden Queen
official Number: 190667
ship Name: Golden Queen
Former Name: Salt Spring Queen
IMO Number: 5425358
year built: 1949
Port of Reg: Victoria
Reg Date: 1949-07-14
Certificate Exp: 2010-02-28

[BrianWilliams]

I've often wondered who built the Porteau dock, when and why.

I suspect it was dressed up with the fancy lampposts and railings for the 1999 movie "Double Jeopardy", but what was its original purpose?

"MV Puget Islander" (disguised Tachek) docking at Porteau in the movie:

[Ferryman]

The Porteau Cove berth is actually one of the former berths at Swartz Bay. Whichever berth was upgraded from a single ramp, to a double ramp in the Early to Mid 90's.

The docks purpose for being there, is so just in case the highway was to close down for an extended amount of time, there could be a Ferry Service provided from either Squamish's Darrel Bay dock, or Horseshoe Bay to Poreau Cove. Porteau Cove is the approximate halfway point between Horseshoe Bay and Squamish.

According to Johns Webpage, the Nicola and Tachek (?) was used in the Early 90's to Ferry People back and forth from Porteau Cove to Horseshoe Bay, due to a major landslide on the highway. There were certain times this past winter that I had thought there was going to be a washout, especially during the times when the ditches overflowed on the Cliffside of the highway during the heavy rain spells, and the water was slowly eating away at the dirt along the highway, causing a big muddy gravely mess all over the road. Luckly the Kiewit boys were standing by with the equipment on idle, trying to prevent anything major from happening.

[Political Incorrectness]

ferryman said:

The Porteau Cove berth is actually one of the former berths at Swartz Bay. Whichever berth was upgraded from a single ramp, to a double ramp in the Early to Mid 90's.

That would have been berth 3

[Dane]

The Porteau bearth was actually given to the contractor upgrading Swartz Bay, as no plan was made for its actual removal. It was a "its free if you dont charge to take it" deal. A couple years later the government bought it back for a couple hundred thousand dollars.

I have some pictures of us testing it for functionality last year, I'll go see if I can dig them up.

[BrianWilliams]

Thanks for the insight, guys.

Porteau's use as a gravel and equipment dock makes sense, now as the 99 construction proceeds.

[Retrovision]

A little off topic, but I've always wondered if the old Eburne Mill's berth, between the airport and Vancouver's new bus garage, was Swartz Bay's Berth 1 or 2, based on the similar if not same design...

[Mill Bay]

Long delayed, but an important cross reference to this post...

The web page for the S.S. CITY OF SACRAMENTO, Asbury Park, Kahloke, LANGDALE QUEEN & Lady Grace has been updated on evergreenfleet.com: www.evergreenfleet.com/cityofsacramento_page6.html

Recently found info seems to suggest that the old ferry's hull had been finally cut up sometime in 2005. So, sadly, that sounds like she would have been gone already at least a couple years before Chris found his ferry hull floating at Porteau Cove.

For anyone who might still want to try and identify the hull in the photos, our friend Evergreenfleet has also updated the dogwood fleet portion of Langdale Queen's story with a nice new header photo: www.evergreenfleet.com/cityofsacramento_page5.html

A direct link to the photo, ( www.evergreenfleet.com/langdalequeen/langdalequeen_opener.jpg ) will give you a nice clear resolution photo which is unique in being an overhead view that shows, in detail, in addition to her bow machinery and deck-house fittings, also shows her uniquely rounded bow and stern which could be used as a reference to try and identify the hull in the pictures Chris posted at the start of this thread.