shed a tear when the Tswassen retires

[clay]

It will be a sad day indeed when the Queen of Tswassen is retired. I remember seeing the Sidney parked in New West for almost 2 years and thinking how nice it was to be able to walk along New West Quay right beside her and see her up close. I always thought it was so neat how she had such beautiful wooden handrails on her outer decks (I used to sail on her between Comox-Powell River fairly often). But the Tswassen has a special place in my heart. I remember sailing on her many times when she was on Departure Bay-Horseshoe Bay in the 70's. She's an original, she's beautiful, I love her, and I tip my hat to her. Whatever happens to her, long may she sail. Long live the Q.of T.

[Low Light Mike]

I too like the simple originality of the Sidney/Tsawwassen (ooops, wait: they were copied from the Coho, so not too original perhaps?). In any case, yes the to BC Originals have/had a charm about them. My favourite spot on both ships was the top-deck seating lounge, that was midship above the main passenger lounge. Not too many people knew about it, and so it was quiet most of the time.

Wooden handrails had nice charm......I think Queen of the North has them too.

I think it's similar to leaving an old house or car that you loved: It has a charm, but the new replacement has much more amenities and comfort.....but maybe missing some of that old charm. Sort of similar to the BC Lions moving from Empire Stadium to BC Place......there's always some charm & history & presence in the old facility that can't be duplicated in the new modern facility. Another example: going from a '74 VW Beetle to a modern '90's car....... I could go on & on, but time's up.

[Curtis]

What if they put the Tsawwassen on display at Tsawwassen terminal it could be a floating museum of BCF's progress whith pictures and everything what do ya think of that the BCF Museum history of the ferries somewhere besides the maritime museum

[Ferryman]

Great Idea! That would be really cool if they did that, so everyone can see what happened over the years with BCF

[Curtis]

It would be cool alright they could have videos one would be the welcome video it could go somthing like this Welcome to the BC Ferries museum here we show our progress so far. it may not look like it now but you're standing on a peice of history this ship is one of the two first ferries to run on the inagural day June 15, 1960. we hope you enjoy your visit.(end) Another thing they could do is run a trip between Tsawwassen and Swartz Bay once a year

[Balfour]

That is the kind of thing you should recommend to BCF to keep the Tsawwassen. Someone should write to them about the idea.

[Curtis]

Or maybe somebody who works for BCF's on this board

[kylefossett]

maybe somebosy can raise the money to purchase her and dock her somewhere. make up a non profit society and fundraise. like the artificial reef societies that are around

[Koastal Karl]

I think a floating museum would be a great idea. It dosent have to be at Tsawwassen permenently, they could move her around to different areas. But if she was at Tsawwassen and used a museum, where would they put her, in berth 1 or 2. That would be a wicked idea. I would even come over to see her. The sold the Sidney so I think they should keep at least one piece of history, the Tsawwassen.

[Ferryman]

I wish there was a way to bring Sidney back too and then use her as a Museum too along with the Tsawwassen.

[Ian]

Where is the sidney located currently. Is she on the pit river or something?

[NMcKay]

i think the ship should be Refitted and entered back into service with a larger capacity

[kylefossett]

the queen of sidney is in the fraser at silverdale just west of mission. has been there for a couple of years now. owned by rainy day logging company last i heard.

[Ferryman]

Yeah and probably if she stays there doing nothing her hull will rot and form a whole and sinking causing the company to bring her back up and then scrap her

[Cascade]

OK a quesation for you all - what is the "light weight" of the Q of Tswassen ? as that is the price that BCF would sell her out at.
As for the idea of docking her, then - out fit, her as a museum. That is not a bad idea at all - and I think has a bit of milage in it. What are the tax breaks / credits for a company buying it - then running it as "not for profit" type of buiness ? plus there is this thing called 2010 coming to town. So where would you base her - so as to achive max exp? Victoria Harbour - Sidney - Vancouver (some where) or even at theTswassen dock - terminal - but then again where are there the most tourist and school kids - so as to know about the history of BCFS ?
It needs to be make acessable to all people - local's, kid's and the tourist who would pay for the up keep of it. Would "old" crew members be prepared to help out as "Guides" - staff ?

[NMcKay]

i dunno. i wish i could support this project. but i dont see it being feasable

[Engineer]

It all comes down to money.
Who pays to keep the old girl afloat ?

Now if a guy had money I would buy it, sell the fuel
onboard ,sell the generators, and the old mirrlees.
Just like the guy did with the sidney.....

[Ferryman]

Yeah there would probably have to be alot of maintenance on it. Like keeping a nice clean coat of paint on her superstructure, or keeping her hull clear of sea life and all that

[Balfour]

The museum idea is great, but the only problem is that this might turn into another North Vancouver Ferry #5 problem. It was the Seven Seas Restaurant for years docked at the Lonsdale Quay, and 3 years ago she was scraped because it cost too much to keep her afloat.

[cascade]

I think it is feasible - as I have seen it done over here. A floating history - museum of BCF. But where would you base it / dock it?

The big quesation is what would BCF want for it and what sort of tax breaks could a company get in running it. You would very surprised. I have looked at the accounts for 3 vessels parked here on the Thames - they do make a lot.

Looking at past postings - I see a number of you talk about the loss of ships and no history ect. so when this idea / concept comes up for discussion - we seem to have a lot of negative thoughs - nothing positive except from a few people. Why?

[Curtis]

Here's a new idea. ground her on dry land at Tsawwassen causeway

[NMcKay]

i think shed make a cool underwater reef

[Fenklebaum]

NO. Not another artificial reef. Please!

This ship should be preserved for ALL to enjoy, not a select group of people who have the money and training to scuba dive down to her.
This recent trend of sinking old ships and turning them into reefs... it makes my head spin.

It's elitism, pure and simple.

[Balfour]

I agree with Fenklebaum on this. I think the Queen of Tsawassen should be used a maritime museum focussed on BC Ferries. It should either be docked at Tsawassen, Lonsdale Quay, or down by Granville Island. The Tsawassen is an important part of BC's history and should be preserved for future generations of this great province.

[Doug]

The government won't do anything about it. People will whine because they'd be "spending too much money on something useless." People would start rioting for all we know.