Night sailing on Hecate Strait

[swellmaster]

I boarded the Queen of Prince Rupert after a weekend in Prince Rupert heading home to Queen Charlottes on November 4, 2007, at about 10 pm for the 11pm sailing. As usual I checked the weather posting at the pursers office. Storm warning continued winds 45 to 55 knots ,seas building to 2-3 meters.

I thought, it looks like we're waking up tied up in Rupert again. WRONG.

"This is your captain speaking, we're expecting heavy seas and poor sailing conditions, please use extreme caution moving about the ship."

Lovely, another pounding across Hecate Strait in the middle of the night (If you havn't tried it, you should, especially on the floor in a sleeping bag.)

The first hour was uneventful being in the protected waters leaving Prince Rupert. The next 2 were straight into 2-3 meter seas. At about 2 am the real fun started, the wind started to rattle the metal plates covering the windows in the front lounge (the metal plates were installed to prevent blowing out the front windows which they have done in the past!) The seas were now a regular 3 meters with some 4-7 thrown in just for fun, the telltale howl of the wind when it blows over 100 km. About 2:30 we went over the big one coming from the port side and came down hard, rolling on the starboard side, you could hear chairs tumbling in the cafeteria upstairs and more than one person let out a scream. I slid about 2 feet out of my sleeping bag on the floor. I'm not prone to seasickness but everywhere around me you could hear people throwing up, babies were crying, it was actually very surreal scene and I no longer wanted to be there. A few years ago (it is rumoured, I believe it, because I have talked to people on that sailing) they had actually rolled the QPR to within a few degrees of the point of no return while turning back because of weather and that kept running through my head. I looked out the side windows and all you could see were foam streaked waves and spray in the blackness.

At about 4 am things calmed (we were close enough to the islands to be protected) enough for me to have a look around, 2 crew members had a lady in a wheel chair extremely sick, I saw at least 5 people with their heads buried in motion sickness bags, cleaners were all over trying to get rid of the vomit. An eldery man in an electric wheelchair was covered in vomit. I peeked throught the cafeteria doors which were locked, chairs and tables tipped over, bottled water and juice all over the floors from their display cases, all the heavy wood trash cans were tipped over. Most of the people I saw had that shell-shocked look.

No breakfast in the morning as the galley must have been a mess.

I was never so glad to be on shore, this was my worst ride in my 12 years on the island. I fail to see why the captain chose to sail with a forecast for 55 knots. We had stayed tied up on the trip over to Rupert on the Thursday for weather that was far milder than that.

Needless to say, there are some calls and letters going out to BC Ferries asking for answers as to why we sailed, we'll see what kind of response we get.

My first post, sorry about the length

[Scott]

Welcome to the forum! That's quite a story... in one sense it sounds like fun, but on the other hand it's probably not the greatest experience. Too bad it was midnight and no one could get photos!!

[DENelson83]

Wow! A very vivid reminder that route 11 (Prince Rupert-Skidegate) crosses the most open waters of any route in the BC Ferry system.

[Northern Exploration]

I am aure you will not be anxious to repeat that any time soon if ever! Thanks for telling us about it. As much as I like a fun trip and had a few heavy rollers in the QoftN crossing Queen Charlotte Sound, I don't think I would like to add that trip to my wish list.

[Balfour]

A very interesting read. If it was during the day I would have had some fun jumping up and down in the forward lounge going weightless. I did that on the NorAd back in May while sailing though Queen Charlotte Sound.

[Low Light Mike]

swellmaster said:

My first post, sorry about the length

Thanks so very much for all your detail, and your easy-to-read style. I really enjoyed reading your piece, like a Stephen King novel. ;D

[Ferryman]

swellmaster,

You have now been successful at overwhelming my mind of how bad of a situation that would have been for you, and the other passengers travelling aboard the QPR that evening. I can't say I've ever witnessed heavy seas like that before, nor would I be very tolerant of them for very long. I've had some smaller crazy incedents in our little 16 foot boat in the Strait of Georgia before, when we burried the bow into a wave, which made a huge plume of water come up over the windshield and into my face. But that was with 2 - 5 foot waves. Being on the Queen of New Westminster a month ago in the wind at Tsawwassen was almost too much for me as it was. Again, that would have been waves in a bathtub, compared to your situation. Funny how I'm finding a weaker stomach for these types of things as I grow older, even though I'm still very young!

Also....assuming you live on the Queen Charlottes? Were you able to ride the "new" Northern Adventure when she was on the run to the Charlottes this Spring? The Northern Expedition won't be up there for a year and a half from now. So once she does arrive, the Northern Adventure will be deligated to Haida Gwaii Service for the Summer, and winter perhaps, as the Norad is really the QPRs replacement. The Northern Expedition will essentially be the Queen of the Norths replacement as the main Inside Passage vessel. Which leads me to, would you be happy with having to take the Norad over the QPR in a similar situation to the other night? I've heard mixed reactions as to how she handles in the waves.

Looking forward to your response. Welcome aboard the forum, we hope to see you continue to contribute whichever you may have. Whether it will be photos, more stories, or being part of the intense debates we seem to have on here. It will all be very much appreciated.

[WettCoast]

It would be interesting to get the observations of a Haida Gwaii resident on how the NorAd compares with the QPR in handling Hecate Strait under difficult conditions. I did experience a very rough crossing on the NorAd this past April. I have also crossed Hecate St. on board the QPR many times, but only under relatively peaceful summer conditions.

It would also be interesting to hear from anyone who has experience with heavy seas on this route while on board the QotN.

[swellmaster]

Thank you all for your kind welcomes.



I'll try to answer your questions to the best of my abilities.

John H: I usually dont mind a rough sailing, heavy seas and the like are sort of my thing(I love watching youtube vids of vessels in heavy seas). Its the nightime thing with no visibility of whats ahead that gets me nervous, that and the smell. Photos were pretty much impossible, next trip (December 20 on the NorAd, another overnight sailing, me and the family have a cabin)I plan on bringing my video camera, maybe get some shots with the night-shot . It'll probably be as flat as a pancake on the Hecate ;D.

Chris and Wet Coast Kid: I have only ridden the NorAd on the Rupert-Hardy run once this summer, it was calm all the way. I like the boat, she is very well appointed and the cabins are beautiful and quiet in comparison to the QPR or the North.

In our locale newspaper, The Observer, there is an article about the ferrries today.

"The NorAd will be returning to Hecate Strait as of Nov 21, says BC ferries spokesperson Deborah Marshall.
The NorAd will be serving the Skidegate-Prince Rupert route as well as the Rupert-Port Hardy route for the entire winter and into the spring, as the QPR heads down to Deas Pacific Marine in Richmond for refit and maintenance.
Ms Marshall said the QPR wont return until sometime in April. At that point, The Norad will go to Richmond for a refit before starting the busy summer season.
The Norad is bigger and newer than the 41 year old QPR, but some islanders have complained that it handles the waves of Hecate Strait much differently with a nausea-inducing side-to-side motion. It also takes longer to load and unload."

We should get a real good indication of the Norad's capabilities over the next few months as we will be at the height of storm season. I can keep you posted from my own travels and word of mouth.

I talked to a crew member on the last trip and he expects a lot more tie-ups for weather with the Norad. And from talking to locals who rode this spring, the rolling motion is far different than the QPR or the North and will take some getting used to I'm sure. Saftey-wise I dont know the extend of the rolling or if it is to a point of being dangerous

I think for heavy weather I would rather have the QPR as she has proved herself over the years when the sailing guidlines were more lax and the boat usually just sailed no matter what the weather, occaisionally turning back when it was to severe. For creature comforts and availability of cabins, the Norad is hands down the best boat out of the 3 I have sailed on.

I've been told that there is some work going into the stabilizer system on the NorAd on its current refit, so it should be interesting to see what results.

In their defense, with heavy weather the crew and captain are in a real catch-22 because I'm know there would be just as many complaints had we overnighted in Rupert and everyone was delayed. But I personally think it is better to err on the side of caution.

I'll keep you posted on my sailing experiences as they happen and any word I hear, good or bad, about the Norad this winter.

Thanks again for your kind responses

Swellmaster

[Retrovision]

Welcome, Swellmaster. Thanks for your accounts and contributions so far; lengthy posts are never minded and even encouraged when as well thought out as yours.

Graham

[Neil]

Nice to have another northern contributor. And I hope for your sake that they are indeed improving the Northern Adventure's ride, as that's the boat you're going to be having over the long term.

[queenofcowichan]

Every year when the QPR sails south she is always in need of a new paint job. She looked realy rusted in Esquimalt when newspapers put her in the paper while reporting on the Sinking of the North. I wonder How the Northern Exp will handle the Storms?

Do they have Tie downs for the Vehicles on the NorAds Cardeck?

[Hardy]

Ship safety and pax safety are two different things. Pax are a lot more susceptible (in general) to "high seas" (no, no cannibis reference!) than the actual ship. There has to be a tradeoff though, as you don't want to have the moniker of "vomit comet" on a constant basis. I have no doubt that the NA handled the rough seas poorly - she was not designed for them in her "previous" lives. If they have indeed added some stabs to her, then I am sure that this will help abate some of the unintended motion that has caused problems, although I don't think it will be a complete panacea.

Swellmaster - as the others have said, welcome aboard - it is great to have another contributor with a unique point of view. I too am thankful for your descriptive narrative. Please feel free to share more of your stories, current and past.

[Gunny]

Re: Tie Downs on the NORAD.

When I was on her this summer (yes I have been withholding pictures from you... I will add them eventually, 7 months later) I noted that on the deck there were "cleats" of sorts that could have cable or rope hooked into them. I assume these are used as tie-downs (I can't recall if I saw them used, but I believe they did)

Gunny

[Nick]

Re: tie downs on NorAd.

As gunny said above, there are cleats on the deck that would be used to tie down cars. I saw them in use on the motorcycles this past summer. There's a flat mushroom kind of thing that slides in and is attached to a chain that is attached to the car. I'll see if I can dig up a picture.

[Retrovision]

Re: Tie downs
Do those of the NorAd look similar to these standard ones that can be seen on the QPR and even the Nimpkish?

Queen of Prince Rupert
www.ferrypicsbygraham.fotopic.net/p39926528.html

[Scott (Former Account)]

tsawwassenterminal said:

Re: Tie down
Do those of the NorAd look similar to these standard ones that can even be seen on the Nimpkish?

They are identical.

[Neil]

The end of this story is an update on the uncomfortable crossing swellmaster told us about...

from the Queen Charlotte Islands Observer, Nov. 23rd

Northern Adventure delayed a week

The Queen of Prince Rupert will have to keep on sailing for an extra week before going south for its refit, because the Northern Adventure isn't yet ready to fill in.
BC Ferries spokesperson Deborah Marshall said the Northern Adventure's return to service has been delayed for one week while it waits for two parts for its bow thruster to arrive from Europe.
The newer ship had been scheduled to take over both northern routes for the winter on Nov. 21, but now it will start Nov. 28, with its first appearance at the Skidegate terminal scheduled for Nov. 29, Ms Marshall said.
The Northern Adventure has had lots of work done during its latest refit, she said, including cabin floor replacements, emergency lighting, plumbing, and generators. A third radar system was added to the ship for redundancy, and the refit crew has reconditioned the gyroscope on one of the ship's stabilizers.
Ms Marshall said the gyroscope controls the ship's "stability response". The Northern Adventure, which is only a few years old, meets a higher stability standard than the 41-year-old QPR, Ms Marshall added. Some passengers have complained of a rolling motion on the Northern Adventure, and Ms Marshall said that what they are noticing is a different response to ocean conditions.
"It reacts quicker to waves," she said. "The ship may roll in more wave conditions."
Meanwhile, the QPR got caught in the tail end of a very rough storm last week, and when it arrived in Prince Rupert the off-duty crew left the ship, but Ms Marshall said this was simply so that they could get some much-needed sleep.
"They had been up all night," she said. "They needed to get a proper sleep."
BC Ferries also received some complaints from customers about an earlier rough sailing, between Prince Rupert and Skidegate the night of Nov. 4. Marine superintendent Steve Poole talked to the northern Ferry Advisory Committee last week about the process Ferries staff go through before deciding whether to sail or stay tied up, Ms Marshall said. In this case, staff had checked and double-checked the marine forecast, but the forecast proved wrong and the ship encountered severe weather conditions in Hecate Strait, which led to some passenger discomfort.

[CN2972South]

tsawwassenterminal said:

Re: Tie downs
Do those of the NorAd look similar to these standard ones that can be seen on the QPR and even the Nimpkish?

So that's what those things are for. I couldn't figure out what they were when I was on the Queen of Chilliwack last year.