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Post by Balfour on May 30, 2008 10:44:12 GMT -8
Sounds like a great trip indeed. I would have loved to heard the Saanich's horn going in fog every 2 minutes. Must have given you goosebumps to hear such an eerie yet calming horn such as the Queen of Saanich.
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Post by Esquimalt Queen on May 30, 2008 11:34:35 GMT -8
Sounds like a great trip indeed. I would have loved to heard the Saanich's horn going in fog every 2 minutes. Must have given you goosebumps to hear such an eerie yet calming horn such as the Queen of Saanich. Her whistle sounded kinda cow-ish, so my mum and I made moo-ing sounds a couple times during the trip, as her whistle sounded.
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Post by Alex on May 30, 2008 11:58:10 GMT -8
we caught the 10:10 sailing of the Queen of Tsawwassen. Oh that's just weird! I was totally on that sailing too! I decided to go out on my own that day to see the Tsawwassen! I was kind of off in my own little world, so I guess I never saw you.
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Post by Low Light Mike on May 30, 2008 12:19:29 GMT -8
Sounds like a great trip indeed. I would have loved to heard the Saanich's horn going in fog every 2 minutes. Must have given you goosebumps to hear such an eerie yet calming horn such as the Queen of Saanich. .....but wouldn't "Nutterbug style" flashing-lights have been more soothing? ;D
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Post by Balfour on May 30, 2008 14:30:06 GMT -8
aaaaaaaaahhhhhhhh..... flashing lights at night would be extremely relaxing... ;D
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Mill Bay
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Post by Mill Bay on May 30, 2008 20:58:35 GMT -8
Donella, your description of the trip was really imaginative, especially the grandly titled 'great rattle'. (Actually I find it's more of rumble). And the unique experience of hearing the fog horn.
(I would also now like to submit a request to the forum staff for more group trips on foggy days ;D.)
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Post by Esquimalt Queen on May 30, 2008 21:29:18 GMT -8
Donella, your description of the trip was really imaginative, especially the grandly titled 'great rattle'. (Actually I find it's more of rumble). Imaginative? I wasn't trying to be. That's just how I see the world. And I still prefer to call it a "rattle." Mum and I purposely bought food so we could have the dishes clang together. Sure, the engines rumble, but all the equipment in the galley rattles and clangs.
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D'Elete BC in NJ
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Post by D'Elete BC in NJ on May 31, 2008 3:53:04 GMT -8
Sounds like a great trip indeed. I would have loved to heard the Saanich's horn going in fog every 2 minutes. Must have given you goosebumps to hear such an eerie yet calming horn such as the Queen of Saanich. .....but wouldn't "Nutterbug style" flashing-lights have been more soothing? ;D lol...Fluge, I must thank you, you've given me an opportunity to rattle off a line I missed out on before . Here's a "nutty" idea...since flashers do so well at attracting salmon, I figured we could toss out a line, and do a foggy troll across the strait...now back to our main program...
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Post by Scott on Jun 5, 2008 21:29:33 GMT -8
Came over to the Island tonight on the Queen of Cowichan on the 5:45 out of Tsawwassen. Quite full, but got on without reservations - 30 bucks for a car and 2 adults, very nice . It's funny when I drive on with my little Ford Escort when they're trying to fit a few more cars in ... the deckhands always have a special little spot for me:) Uneventful trip... although for most of the way across the clouds were so low .... we could have been in the middle of the Pacific and the scenery would have been the same! We were passed quite closely by the Coastal Renaissance about 3/4 of the way across. I could have sworn she was headed to Tsawwasen, but checking the current conditions, I guess she was just a bit more south than usual. Nothing else too noteworthy... the ice cream machine was busted and they don't have the new summer schedules out in print. And word on the ship is that the Coastal Inspiration will start on the 16th.
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Neil
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Post by Neil on Jun 14, 2008 10:21:55 GMT -8
In recognition of BC Ferries' year end financial results, I've decided to help them out with their bottom line.
Tomorrow, my family (four of us) will be taking the Queen of Nanaimo to Long Harbour, then driving to Vesuvius and taking the Howe Hound to Crofton. Then we'll meander down to Mill Bay and across Saanich Inlet, coming back on the 7:00 Spirit. With reservations and food, it should take care of my income tax refund.
Then, next Thursday, we'll be on the 12:45 'Inspiration sailing to Duke Point, on to Hornby, and looking forward to returning on the newly outfitted Quinitsa, with her refurbished lounge featuring plush carpeting and reclining seats ala 'Chilliwack.
For some reason, my daughters are not faint with excitement over riding the 'Inspiration on her first week of service. Obviously, being a ferry fan is not genetic, but I'm trying all the programming tricks I can think of.
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Post by Low Light Mike on Jun 14, 2008 12:56:04 GMT -8
re Neil's trips:
I agree that the "reverse family-intervention" is a good way to achieve unity in the family re ferry-fannness. I'm assuming that you'll be taking a "Mike Brady" approach to teaching your children on the finer points of ferry-appreciation. That always worked well on the BradyBunch, so it should work for you in real life.
re the first round of trips, make sure that you take the family downstairs on the Mill Bay, to experience the cave that is called the passenger lounge. Take your headlamps with you, just in case you take a wrong turn.
ps: Are you thinking of taking the entire family into the SeaWest Lounge on your 'Inspiration trip? $40 will pay for the answer that many generations have been looking for: Can teenage girls stay quiet for an extended period of time.
Have a great set of trips, and enjoy your time on Hornby. Ensure that you printout some of the threads from this forum, and tack them to a few community bulletin boards on Hornby. I'm sure that the locals will enjoy some of the more recent discussion ideas on their democratic right to live on an island.....
In all seriousness (that I can muster), have a good time. I look forward to your comments on the new & refurbished ships.
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Neil
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Post by Neil on Jun 14, 2008 14:11:39 GMT -8
Have a great set of trips, and enjoy your time on Hornby. Ensure that you printout some of the threads from this forum, and tack them to a few community bulletin boards on Hornby. I'm sure that the locals will enjoy some of the more recent discussion ideas on their democratic right to live on an island..... Indeed. It might open their eyes to their obligation to society to cast off their utopian shangri-la and move en masse to Yaletown or the West End, so as to be less of a burden on public service infrastructure. Or at least, to allow the construction of high rise hotels and casinos along the shore of Tribune Bay so that the island can pay it's own way, and have a reason for existence.
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Post by Low Light Mike on Jun 14, 2008 14:20:37 GMT -8
Or at least, to allow the construction of high rise hotels and casinos along the shore of Tribune Bay so that the island can pay it's own way, and have a reason for existence. Is there a niche market for highrise condos overlooking Little Tribune Bay, complete with telescopes on the condo sundecks? ;D
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Neil
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Post by Neil on Jun 17, 2008 14:04:31 GMT -8
My family did our excursion on Sunday; routes 9, 6, 12, and 1. 11:10 am ferry from Tsawwassen to Long Harbour, arrived back at 10:40 on the last Spirit. Didn't really take any photos that haven't been taken by better cameras many times, so will just share a few. These things sure push a lot of water ahead of them... A couple for ~Esquimalt Queen~... the friendly chap who was on watch on the bow of the ' Nanaimo gave the tarnished bell an excellent buff up, and left it gleaming. After arriving at Long Harbour, we walked around Ganges for a while. I know some people think it's too touristy, but I really like it. Then we drove up to the north end of the island, and I had to wonder who had the road maintenance contract- awful road around Walker Hook/ Fernwood. Then on to Vesuvius for the 5:00 ferry, which was rather late. The Howe Sound Queen is a pretty bizarre looking boat, even more so now with the long covered stairway, and that lovely little 'lounge' on the main deck. My younger daughter thought that the redone main lounge was a small ferry pretending to be a big one. Still, the HSQ looked fairly spiffy with it's new 'do', and I think I like it better than I used to, in an oddball sort of way. The boat, not me. Midway through ferry fan 'boot camp' the two younger recruits seems to be holding up fairly well. Spot the Rhodes scholarship candidate. And then there's the Mill Bay. The ride-em lawn mower that floats. Yes, it has it's charms, despite being the only boat in the fleet with it's 'lounge' down in steerage. Everything about this boat induces claustrophobia, from the dungeon, cardeck, the narrow stairway, and the smallest passenger deck imaginable, with washroom doors to whack passersby. With no terminal staff and a boat that runs on an oily rag, this route is probably pretty cheap to operate, but the humble little Mill Bay is a little too utilitarian for me. Could this deck be any smaller?.... When you're the 19th car onboard, there's not much deck left. All in all, a very good day. Too early to tell if ferry fan indoctrination is working, but I have heard expressions of interest in a Texada visit, and in a longer stay on Saltspring.
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Nick
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Chief Engineer - Queen of Richmond
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Post by Nick on Jun 18, 2008 16:18:54 GMT -8
I returned yesterday from an extended circlepac trip I did with my dad. Pretty appropriate weekend, considering it was father's day. Anyway, we left Friday after work, and headed up island to Comox. We explored a little bit and found a great little provincial campground just up the road from the terminal. We stayed here for the night, and got some great sunset photos. Saturday, we caught the 10:10 Queen of Burnaby out of Little River. I really like the 'Burnaby, I find she has a lot of character, and it seems that the crew takes good care of her. I noticed that they left the stern doors open as we crossed the strait, which is something I haven't seen in a long time. We passed the North Island Princess as we neared Westview, but she was quite a ways off, so it wasn't really worth snapping any photos. We explored Powell River a little bit, and stocked up on food before heading North on Highway 101. I was surprised and disappointed that the visitor's information centre in Powell River is only open 9-5 M-F. I would think most tourists come through on the weekends. We headed north, and found a fantastic camp site at a forestry site called Dinner Rock. It's got an access road that makes the road to the Bluffs on Galiano look like a paved highway, but once we got down to the water it was well worth it. We went for a walk and explored a trail that we found, but we had to turn back after a couple hours since we didn't have water or food or anything. Sunday we had a few little issues. Apparenly I had inadvertantly turned the dome light in my truck on when I turned the lights off after parking, so the battery had been completely - and I mean completely - drained. As you might be able to see in the above picture, we only had about 8 feet to bump start before heading down the cliff to the beach below. After we eventually got the truck started, we had to skip our planned route through the backroads by Okeover inlet since we had to beeline it to Powell River to get a new battery, as the old one couldn't take a charge anymore. This was the part of the trip I was looking forward to most - my first trip on the Queen of Tsawwassen. It was very fitting that my first trip on the original Spaulding was on one of the most beautiful routes in the BCF system. Only noteworthy point is that she was running about 40 minutes late. That night we found another forestry camp site, Klein Lake, with absolutely nobody else there. Another beautiful night. The next day we didn't do anything ferry related, only a stop at Skookumchuk Narrows, to see the tides rip through. Unfortunately, we just missed the fastest portion of the tidal exchange, but it was still very spectacular. The next day was a travelling day home, via routes 3 and 2. Hopped on the 12:20 Queen of Surrey out of Langdale, and then the 3:00 Queen of Oak Bay out of Horseshoe Bay. Nothing too noteworthy, both fairly full sailings. So, that was my big trip. It was the first time I had spent some real time on the sunshine coast, and it couldn't have been better. On my way home down island, it occured to me that every ship we had sailed on had been designed by Philip Spaulding.
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Post by Northern Exploration on Jun 18, 2008 17:58:18 GMT -8
Great pics Nick. I would love to make that trip as well minus the battery of course. Gonna have to keep some of those parks in mind.
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Post by Low Light Mike on Jun 18, 2008 19:36:42 GMT -8
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Nick
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Chief Engineer - Queen of Richmond
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Post by Nick on Jun 18, 2008 20:04:57 GMT -8
Interesting. I didn't see any kind of plaque or anything at the camp site like that article mentions, but I wasn't really looking for anything either. I did wonder about the stories behind the rock though, and whether there were any marine disasters attributed to it. Unfortunately, it appears that there was at least one.
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Mill Bay
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Post by Mill Bay on Jun 19, 2008 6:07:17 GMT -8
Nick, this sounds like a fun trip, but I am astonished if this really was your first trip on the Tsawwassen, with you living in the such easy reach of route 9 while she was there.
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Nick
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Post by Nick on Jun 19, 2008 20:39:45 GMT -8
Unfortunately, the scheduling never quite worked for me to get on the TSA while she was on route 9. I had several trips planned, but something always came up.
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Post by BreannaF on Jun 23, 2008 2:36:22 GMT -8
This week I'm planning a little mid-week getaway that will include a day of walk-on travel in the San Juans (probably on Wednesday) and a "yet to be decided until the last minute" itinerary to make it the really, really long way back from Bellingham to Portland. The goals for the trip will be at least one ride on an Evergreen State-class ferry, as many photos of the scenery as I can, and half a day somewhere just sitting under a tree and watching the water go by. I wouldn't want to be too ambitious now, would I? I'm just sad that the Hiyu isn't anywhere right now. I haven't been on her since she was fairly new. After all, a half-day meeting in Bellingham and an hour in Seattle is an excuse for three days off, isn't it? Leaving Tuesday AM -- see you all later!
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Post by Political Incorrectness on Jun 23, 2008 8:38:40 GMT -8
Enjoy traveling the San Juans! That was my favourite route to cruise on just because of the scenery!
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Post by Northern Exploration on Jun 23, 2008 10:21:49 GMT -8
I usually find Wanda Sykes very funny. She is usually an equal opportunity smartass. If you saw Wanda Sykes on Leno the other night you would have had a good laugh. She is doing a lot of travel and went off o n a bit about airtravel. She had a good run at the security people. Then she started on the airlines about charging for checked bags. She vowed she was going to just carry all her clothes in a big armful and plunk them down on the security. belt.
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D'Elete BC in NJ
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Post by D'Elete BC in NJ on Jun 24, 2008 10:40:57 GMT -8
I usually find Wanda Sykes very funny. She is usually an equal opportunity smartass. If you saw Wanda Sykes on Leno the other night you would have had a good laugh. She is doing a lot of travel and went off o n a bit about airtravel. She had a good run at the security people. Then she started on the airlines about charging for checked bags. She vowed she was going to just carry all her clothes in a big armful and plunk them down on the security. belt. lol, and for some additional entertainment, make sure to include several items that will raise eyebrows!
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Neil
Voyager
Posts: 7,175
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Post by Neil on Jun 24, 2008 14:48:46 GMT -8
Okay... the shot everyone's been waiting for.... The return of the lovely Quinitsa, all spiffied up with new engines, wheelhouse, and whatever else they did to her. Looks pretty much like the old Q-barge, minus the rust. Sunday, on trials in Baynes Sound. Two of the Tachek... not a ferry. At a long abandoned homestead on the trail up Mt Geoffrey on Hornby. And finally... no picture, but... My daughters and I were at the beach near our place Saturday night, toasting marshmallows. We're on the north-east side of Hornby, overlooking Texada and Lasqueti. Some time after 10, with four cruise ships, three large and one small, sliding past on their way to Alaska. Out of the dark, around the north end of the island, comes what I initially thought was a small freighter, but which the binocs showed was actually the Tachek, just illuminated with running lights. I was pretty excited, because in the twenty five years we've been there, I've never seen a ferry come around the north side of the island. She was obviously headed down strait to Deas; but why she wasn't heading directly south down Lambert Channel or Baynes Sound, I can't imagine. Perhaps she'd made a stop at Little River? In any event, it made my evening. My girls, for some reason, didn't get the significance of the moment. Obviously, I still have some parenting to do.
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