The Differences between SOBC and the SOVI

[Northern Exploration]

Yeah before it was a SeaWest Lounge I remember stopping in my tracks when I entered what I thought would be the Lantern Cafe only to find regular seating. It was kind of neat how the seating curved around by the windows. So I trecked downstairs but bailed on getting my Latte because the line up was too long. I "sware". So I braved the cold on the outside deck without my warm up. My return trip was on the SoVI and it had the Lantern Cafe.

[Koastal Karl]

Yeah the SOBC never had a Lantern Coffee Bar. One thing I noticed about the SOVI is she had more seats around by the Chief Stewards Office. Or maybe it was the SOBC but I remember one of the Spirits had those extra seats and one dident.

[Low Light Mike]

Here's a different type of question about the 2 Spirit ships:

Was the naming-scheme meant to honour the 2 Crown-Colonies that now form our Province of BC?

With the attention to BC-150 in 2008 (contrasted against the quiet over the 150th anniversary of Vancouver Island's crown colony in 1999), I'm now more aware of our pre-confederation history.

So are the 2 spirit ship's somewhat colonial?

[Scott]

I think the NDP was excited to draw attention to our proud Imperial British heritage;) I love BC history - I know a lot of people find it boring and it's not really taught much in school. Probably the highlight of my 5 years at university was related to the research and projects I did on BC and western Canadian history.

Most people I talk to don't know a lot about BC's history. I love their reaction when I tell the that the Hudson's Bay Company (hbc.ca) used to be our government;) And how there was almost a war between Britain and the USA over a pig on the San Juan Islands. Interesting that Victoria used to be home to the British Empire's Pacific Fleet, largely in part to the good supply of coal in Nanaimo and other locations on the Island. Also interesting to note the towns that used to exist that were "the largest north of San Francisco" or had the "largest theater west of Winnipeg" and now they're nothing.

[Mill Bay]

flugelhorn said:

Here's a different type of question about the 2 Spirit ships:

Was the naming-scheme meant to honour the 2 Crown-Colonies that now form our Province of BC?

With the attention to BC-150 in 2008 (contrasted against the quiet over the 150th anniversary of Vancouver Island's crown colony in 1999), I'm now more aware of our pre-confederation history.

So are the 2 spirit ship's somewhat colonial?

They could have gone even farther back in history, as the first official name for B.C. as a political entity in the sense of exploration and settlement was New Caledonia. The name was established with the consolidation of all the British fur trading terriitory west of the Rocky Mountains by Simon Fraser and his fellows, while they were explorating and charting B.C. between 1805-08. Apparently the hills and valleys of the Peace River district reminded Simon Fraser of the Scottish Highlands.

The name British Columbia didn't come along until August 2, 1858 when we were officially designated a crown colony, but that only included the mainland. Vancouver Island was a separate individual crown colony, hence the fact that there were two capital cities: Victoria and New Westminster, both of which also found their way into ferry names. Wouldn't it be neat if they were still separate provinces, and taking a ferry trip meant going to a completely different jurisdiction?

[Taxman]

Vive la Vancouver Island libre!

[Low Light Mike]

gunther said:

Vive la Vancouver Island libre!

[guest]

millbay said:

flugelhorn said:

Here's a different type of question about the 2 Spirit ships:

Was the naming-scheme meant to honour the 2 Crown-Colonies that now form our Province of BC?

I was also wondering about that. Does anyone know why they chose Spirits? I at first thought they would have been Queens, but I've actually grown to like the Spirit names.

[ferryrider42]

Recall that these boats finished construction just before the Commonwealth games. And, during this time the organizers wanted to include as much local Native culture as possible (you even see it today with the Olympic Games, though I would argue to a lesser extent).

It goes without saying that ‘Spirits’ are an important part of indigenous culture and so, it might be fitting to apply that prefix to a number of items. For example, each Victoria transit bus was assigned a Commonwealth country, along with the ‘Spirit’ prefix.

For example, the ‘Spirit of Nigeria’ was one such bus

So, I see the Spirit boats as a continuation of this theme. Most guests and athletes of the games would arrive via ferry. And some might even remember the boat’s name the following day. Once in Victoria they would continue to see this theme with other public transportation infrastructure; specifically buses.

So the boats where given ‘Sprit’ prefixes so everything was consistent. If I’m right, and the ‘Spirit’ prefix was inevitable, can anyone really find better regional names? Remember, the names have to celebrate the Commonwealth games, and be equally suitable after the games. The only alternatives I can come up with are ‘Spirit of Canada’ and ‘Sprit of the Commonwealth’. As I recall, there was plenty of pride for ‘Canada’ as a whole during this time, but even a larger desire to highlight West Coast culture. So, we ended up with the more specific west coast names, Spirit of BC, and Spirit of Vancouver Island.

I should place a disclaimer here. Above I speak with a certain amount of confidence, but honestly, what I have laid is nothing more then what I can remember the general atmosphere of BC being some 15 years ago.

[Scott]

I believe the original skytrain cars carry "Spirit" titles followed by various British Columbia towns and cities. And that would be from 1986.

[Taxman]

And they are now being painted over sadly... (the Mk I Skytrain Cars, when yellow and blue, no longer have "spirit" on them. Mk IIs never did.)

Disclaimer I am 99% sure, I will have to go to my local skytrain station and double check that though.

[Scott]

That's too bad. I can't confirm or deny it. It's been a few years since I used Skytrain daily. I remember Number 1 or 2 or 7? has a plaque because Princess Diana (I think.. maybe it was the Queen??) rode on it.

[D'Elete BC in NJ]

John and gunther,

You are correct. The original cars were named "Spirit of ______" , though I seem to remember that they were not limited to BC local names.

[Curtis]

I remember ages ago someone posted a link to a page that listed the names of the Skytrain Cars.
Makes me wonder where they got the idea for naming the Spirits of BC and VI.

[Hardy]

admin said:

I believe the original skytrain cars carry "Spirit" titles followed by various British Columbia towns and cities. And that would be from 1986.

Some of these (the ones that did carry the titles) have had them removed when they were repainted. New cars do not have the "Spirit of" motto anymore ... shame. They are just numbered.