Koastal Karl
Voyager 
Been on every BC Ferry now!!!!!
Posts: 7,747
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Post by Koastal Karl on Jul 13, 2006 21:37:16 GMT -8
I am leaving tommorrow morning to head up to Port Hardy. I will be gone till at least Friday the 21st so I wont be online until then unless I can find internet access somewhere. I am taking the Queen of Chilliwack on Saturday from Port Hardy to Bella Coola and will also be riding the inland ferries including the Galena Bay ferry, the Osprey 2000, MV Balfour, maybe the Harrop and Needles ferry! So I should have tons of photos when I get back! Everyone have a good week and I will talk to everyone when I get back!
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Post by WettCoast on Jul 13, 2006 21:57:43 GMT -8
Bon voyage!
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Post by Scott (Former Account) on Jul 13, 2006 22:29:17 GMT -8
Have a good time, Karl..! ;D
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Post by Balfour on Jul 13, 2006 22:37:46 GMT -8
Sounds like you're gonna have lots of fun! Remember to take alot of photos
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Koastal Karl
Voyager
Been on every BC Ferry now!!!!!
Posts: 7,747
|
Post by Koastal Karl on Jul 15, 2006 21:10:24 GMT -8
Suprise, Surprise to be hearing from me. I am in Bella Coola right now at an internet cafe and just wanted to check in. We got off the ferry about an hour or two ago. It was an awesome trip. We left Port Hardy on time and arrived in Bella Coola on time at 8pm. The Chilliwack sure does roll alot while in open waters. That was one of the best parts of the trip. Rained a bit coming out of Port Hardy but farther north it cleared up. The Queen of Chilliwack is a neat ship and I can see the one flaw in that design is the bridge wings being in the way but other than that she is a neat ship. I got quite a few photos of her and a few in Port Hardy so I will post those photos when I get home. But anyways I am off for now so unless I can find another internet cafe I will talk to you guys on Friday when I get home.
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Post by BrianWilliams on Jul 16, 2006 0:43:42 GMT -8
I hope you have enjoyed every minute of the trip - by the time you read this.
Something you might report: foreign travellers' comments on the voyage, if you talked with any, and I'll bet you did.
Safe trip home, Karl!
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Post by Mike C on Jul 16, 2006 14:52:51 GMT -8
Spectacular scenery, a great trip to do, enjoy the remainder of the trip, Karl  ! |
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Koastal Karl
Voyager
Been on every BC Ferry now!!!!!
Posts: 7,747
|
Post by Koastal Karl on Jul 16, 2006 20:03:58 GMT -8
Just an update, I am in Williams Lake tonight! We have another hotel with internet acess so I am checking in. One thing I am wondering about is there is no terminal by the dock at Bella Coola. The ticketing and check in are in town which I am wondering how that works?? People check in for the ferry in town then they do they send them down to the ship?? cause I saw no holding area by the dock. So I am kinda curious as two how that works.
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Post by WettCoast on Jul 16, 2006 22:01:29 GMT -8
I understand that the travel agent in Bella Coola does the check-in on behalf of BCF at the Co-op, or another location in Bella Coola. Cars and passengers are marshaled there, and then drive down to the ferry a certain number of minutes prior to ferry departure. I assume that boarding passes are issued to drivers and passengers and these must be handed to ship's crew in order to board the ferry.
By going this route BCF's avoids the expense of building terminal facilities that would not get a lot of use over the course of the year, while at the same time giving a helping hand to some local businesses.
I believe that similar arrangements are in place at other mid-coast ports.
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Post by Low Light Mike on Jul 17, 2006 6:55:50 GMT -8
I wonder if the union has grieved the procedue of using contractors to do the Bella Coola check-in ?
I'm guessing that they would have had to formally grieve it, just as a matter of principle, even though they might agree off-the-record that it makes sense for Bella Coola.
That's just my uneducated guess, so I'll leave it for our more knowledgable union comrades to give their opinions......
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Post by BrianWilliams on Jul 17, 2006 21:14:54 GMT -8
If this was your first visit to Bella Coola (as was mine 2 years ago), you may have been surprised by the inland location of the town.
We expected a seaside village, but no. Bella Coola town is above the Bella Coola River estuary. Seaside, there's the BCF dock, a couple of abandoned fish plants, a well-used commercial wharf, ice plant and fuel dock. No town in sight.
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Post by Low Light Mike on Jul 18, 2006 6:40:16 GMT -8
It's also interesting to note that the original town was located on the other-side of the river......and was moved sometime in the 20th century, back & forth. In 1904 the settlers began to build a town on the north side of the Bella Coola River. Many businesses began here and some were moved over from the south side. A mile long wharf and bridges across the Bella Coola River were also erected for this community. Most of the Native community at Q’umk’uts also decided to move over to the area. Although the location was ideal for receiving goods brought by ship, it was also subject to severe flooding. In the 1930's Nuxalk and Norwegian residents were forced to move back to the south side of the river. www.bellacoolamuseum.ca/en/digital_heritage/norwegian/settlement.php |
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Koastal Karl
Voyager
Been on every BC Ferry now!!!!!
Posts: 7,747
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Post by Koastal Karl on Jul 18, 2006 18:00:45 GMT -8
Hello again, just an update I am in Castlegar tonight and I was on the Galena Bay Ferry today which was pretty cool and nice little trip across the lake. Tommorrow we are going to be taking the MV Balfour and Osprey which should be cool then we are heading up to Kelowna and we will also take the Needle Ferry again. I have some photos of the Galena Bay ferry and will be taking more of the ferries tommorrow. We are spending the last two nights in Kelowna and will be home Friday night! Just thought I would give you an update!
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Post by Mike C on Jul 18, 2006 18:14:05 GMT -8
Thanks Karl, looking forward to your photos! |
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Koastal Karl
Voyager
Been on every BC Ferry now!!!!!
Posts: 7,747
|
Post by Koastal Karl on Jul 21, 2006 22:28:41 GMT -8
Well I am back from my Discovery Coast Trip. It was an awesome trip and the Queen of Chilliwack is a neat ship. But I dont see what everyone is saying about the Chilliwack and her narrow passage ways and so on. I agree she is a smaller ship and can get cramped sometimes but she isent that bad. The car deck is really warped though and the only other thing I could think of was the Bridge Wings blocking the view from the upper deck and having to go down a deck then back up to get to the other side. But anyways we departed Port Hardy a few mins before 8am and arrived in Bella Coola at 8pm. It rained a bit just north of Port Hardy in the open water that in which she rolled a bit in the open water which that was kinda cool. The captain slowed down and took the ship close into Namu which was kinda neat and coming into Bella Coola down the channel the water colour is so neat. We also saw Dolphins for a while who kept swiming by the ship on our way into Bella Coola. The ship really wasent full up. I just cant believe how some people take these trips and they dont even move out of the lounge areas to take in the scenery. That to me would be a waste of money. So yeah it was a cool trip!
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Post by Curtis on Jul 22, 2006 11:03:38 GMT -8
Sounds like you had a great Time
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