Ferries' Horns

[Ferryman]

Your welcome, yeah those are about all of the ones I have with the 3 tone blow. I think I might have like 1 more of Oak Bay and Coquitlam at full 3 tone but thats it. But I already have an Oak Bay and Coquilam horn posted.

[Ferryman]

Ohh I think I have Queen of Saanich's horn too, I'll post her up later if I find it.

[Ferryman]

Ok I now have Queen of Saanich's horn recorded. It was taken the same day in 2002 that I recorded Queen of Newwestminsters horn at Tsawwassen. So this is the Queen of Saanich horn leaving Tsawwassen, I didn't record it in time to get the first short blast out of the 3 short blasts it does to signal backing up.
www.geocities.com/ferryman162000/QueenofSaanichHorn.wav

[Ferryman]

Now I have Queen of Esquimalts Horn Posted. It's only a one tone though But it was recorded as we were leaving Horseshoe Bay on Monday. I was all ready to record another Queen of Coquitlam horn sound today but they ripped me off and didn't even sound the horn
www.geocities.com/ferryman162000/QueenofEsquimaltHorn.wav

[newwest]

- got this screen when I tried to access.

[Balfour]

That is why I moved my website to Sitesled. Geocities sucks!
Sitesled offers 100 MB of space and much more. It's also free

www.sitesled.com/

[Ferryman]

Hmm that's weird, that's the second time that's happened. It doesn't say anything when I log in to that site that theres anything wrong with it. But the last time it happened it all worked within an hour like it said. So try it again at :
www.geocities.com/ferryman162000/QueenofEsquimaltHorn.wav

Maybe I will try that site. Thanks for posting about that site

[Curtis]

I have Musicmatch Jukebox it shows up there on my computer

[newwest]

It's working now. "Dopesauce"!

[CN2972South]

Sometimes how the whistle is sounded could depend on the crew that is operating the ferry. Crews may blow the whistle differently than other crews, Railroad crews are the same way, you will rarely hear two engineers blow the horn the same way. As for referring to it as a whistle, railroads also refer to the horns as whistles, just left over from the early days probably.

[Dane]

When I was about 7-8 they told me to blow the ship's horn on the Spirit of BC for 5 seconds when we entered active pass. I was so nervous (I used to hate loud things) I count to 5 in about 1 second. Then they told me to do it slower the second time and I blew for like 10 seconds LOL.

[Balfour]

I used to hate loud sounds as well. I wouldn't go onto the outside decks untill they had sounded the whistle for departure. A friend of mine used to cover his ears every time he was on the outside deck on a ferry.

[Curtis]

I didn't really like it either but that time a few years ago I went to the bridge of the Chilliwack I was wondering what the pull cord handle was turns out it was the horn so the captain blew it ooh that was loud but it probably is like at the Halifax Cididel in Halifax when they blast the cannon at noon I was there but not for the cannon blasting thats a thing I missed when me and my family were there in 2001

[Ferryman]

Oh god I hated everything that was loud too. I hated almost everything to do with a ferry or train when i was younger. I hated going on the bottom car deck because I thought the noise was uncomfortably loud, never could really figure out why I didn't like it because when I go down there now on any ferry, it's not even loud. But I remember when i was young chap and it was hard to hear my parents voices over the racket. Then we would go on the outer deck and get really startled by the horn as we would leave. When I lived on the Island I still didn't even like the horn of the E&N. But now of course I love all of these things like horns and all that. Strange..

[Balfour]

I used to not like the bottom car deck either because of the noise and the fact that I was lazy back then, and I didn't like to climb 3 flights of stairs to get to the passenger deck.

[Curtis]

Didn't like the lower car deck deck noise too much either it was pretty loud but im used to it I go on single car deck ships all the time

[Quinsam]

on the 25th/26th of March, I was on the outside deck and I was recording with my camcorder, they issued a warning (passengers on the outside decks the horn's about to sound) then it went and I stopped recording instantly! and covered my ears, TOO LOUD!!!

[Curtis]

Just don't be where they blow the horn it's better if you stay behind the place where the horn is blowing than it dosen't be as loud. Ya know what i've heard the NIP's horn lots of times and I find that they blow one short blast just pointing that out. Plus I think the announcements spook me more than the horns

[Koastal Karl]

oh man, I still get startled by the horns on the V class. It's better at least when they tell you the horn will be sounding through active pass then you know after they first announce it it's coming a few seconds later, but then again when the ferries pass they dont announce it and that startles the hell out of ya. I used to cover my ears when I was younger when they would sound the horn, but I dont now.

I got to blow the horn on the ol Queen of Victoria which in fact as I remember was like in 97 which was the very last time I was on her. I remember she had the old yellow carpetss back then. What they looked like before what the Queen of Vancouver looks like now. I remember blowing the horn while we entered active pass just by Sturdies Bay. Even the smaller ferries horns still startle you if you are not prepared. But it's not the first two tones of the horn but it's the last one the big blast that is loud.

Spirits horns, arent that loud really.

[Curtis]

I remember I was on the Surrey in HSB one time and the Cap was leaving I was on the car deck getting on or off and the Cap blew its horn made me jump a little

[CN2972South]

Ferryman said:

When I lived on the Island I still didn't even like the horn of the E&N. But now of course I love all of these things like horns and all that. Strange..

I was the same way when I was little. I still get nervous when I'm standing too close to a grade crossing when there's a train coming, or standing on the outer deck of a C or V class ferry. If you ever listen to the E&N freight engines(not the VIA Budd Cars) they have horrible sounding horns, the locomotives came from the USA and they never got the Canadian horns that you hear on CN and CP trains.

[Doug]

We went to Long Beach (first time) when I was only three (I'm not that old so it wasn't all that long ago, the Surrey & Oak Bay were in the fleet), and wierdly, out of five or six things I remember, three of them were on the ferry. I was crying everytime. We were going through Horseshoe Bay and returning through Departure Bay and I am assuming we were on the Surrey or Oak Bay (or both). One thing I remember was one of the funnels. Another was just walking up the stairs to the top deck and crying (I didn't like the wind like I do now apparently) and the other was on the passenger deck, lost. I remember that green, dogwood carpet too. After that I thought nothing about ferries until 2002 when I started to like them. I had no idea what they even looked like, they just never came to mind. A few years back we might of been going to Long Beach (was still young) but I didn't really want to...because of the ferry. I didn't know any better. I thought it was going to be hit by a tidal wave and sink. Not anymore. ;D

[Balfour]

Of all the horns, the Skeena Queen and the Queen of Nanaimo's horns still startle me, but I like the horns of Queen of Saanich, Vancouver, and even the Nanaimo (with warning)

[Ferryman]

I've finally got a site going to support my recordings of some of the ferries' horns. Check it out at:
www.geocities.com/chris_iscool2001/Ferry_Horns_Website.html

[Balfour]

It's unavailable!