|
|
Post by kylefossett on Nov 4, 2004 17:58:48 GMT -8
they sliced either the vesuvius queen or salspring queen(not sure which one but it was one of these) into parts and brought it down from okanagan lake in the 60's. there is probably better ways to do this now if you wanna put the fastcats up there. but lets remember the fastcasts are now part of washington marine group not bc ferries. www.saveourferries.com |
|
Koastal Karl
Voyager 
Been on every BC Ferry now!!!!!
Posts: 7,747
|
Post by Koastal Karl on Nov 4, 2004 21:52:31 GMT -8
ok, here is cool idea. If we had a fast cat to use, we could lower it to have only one car deck as the route from Kelowna to Penticton would be an ALTERNATE route so they probably wouldent need two vehicle decks. They wouldent need all the amenities they had before. Maybe just a cafeteria, vending machines and a gift shop. Make them more comfortable as far as seating and lounges. Maybe make the outside deck a bit larger as in the summer alot of people would be outside as it gets really hot up there in the summer.
I even came up with a name for it, what do you guys think of, Okanagan Lake Express???
Does anyone know what 80 km/h is in knots??? If it takes just under 1 hour to drive the highway between Kelowna and Penticton I wonder how long it would take on the fast cats at 37 knots??? If they could go at full speed?
Also does anyone know if Okanagan Lake freezes in the winter???
Now as far as terminals go I would say the terminal would have to be on the other side of the lake, maybe down past where all the resorts are along the water front on the Penticton side of the floating bridge. They would have to probably have unused land to build a terminal, same with in Penticton I dont know if they could have a terminal right in Penticton as there are lots of resorts along the shore. Maybe out by Summerland down towards Penticton in that area maybe. It would take alot of work to make this all work. Could be done. Or use it as a tour cruise or something.
Advertise it so people know
The Okanagan's Alternate link to driving highway 97 between Kelowna and Pentiction, High Speed car/passenger ferry. No long waits for contruction, accident delays, driving the highway in poor conditions, snow, ect.. A nice relaxing cruise aboard the Okanagan Lake Express. The other way to go! Something like that!
IF this was at all POSSIBLE to do! You can always dream though! Would be a cool idea!
Anyone else have any ideas???
|
|
|
|
Post by Ferryman on Nov 5, 2004 8:03:18 GMT -8
I like that idea ;D but i always but i heard that lake really does freeze up in the winter and people can walk across it. and 37 knots in kph is about 70 km/h so it could maybe do that route in just a little bit over an hour.
|
|
|
|
Post by BrianWilliams on Nov 7, 2004 1:35:41 GMT -8
Old solutions to new problems: Okanagan Lake was thick with ferries a couple of generations ago.
When CPR opened the Kettle Valley RR route to the coast in 1912, they built several big boats to carry freight and passengers from Vernon to Penticton. Many boats were already running on the lake, but Canadian Pacific was a bit desperate. CPR built and ran floating palaces.
CPR needed to build traffic on the new RR line; and they had both Canadian Northern (now CN) and Great Northern RR's invading the valley. From 1910 to 1933, Okanagan Lake was a ferry enthusiast's paradise.
Now that Highway 97 is so congested in places, widening is needed -- but at what cost? Obliterate more lakeside towns; cut down the benches for interchanges; destroy the piney uplands that make the Okanagan Valley so special?
Nope. Boats. Barges for trucks from the TransCanada Highway to to the south Okanagan. On the return, these barges can carry US/Mexican products from Oroville to the hiway connection at Peachland .. or the RR at Vernon.
Best of all would be a passenger service linking all the lake communities - maybe a twice-daily auto carrier (slow, but preferable to traffic jams on 97); supplemented by frequent and speedier passenger-only runs that would take folks from Kelowna to Peachland, Naramata, and up to OK Landing and Vernon.
I can see it, in the pages of a glossy NY wine magazine: "Water Tour Of BC's Undiscovered Vineyards"
Guess what? They're already doing this on the Rhine. Their prices are phenomenal, their wines are poorer, the weather is dreary, the scenery -- umm, sucks -- in comparison.
This is not a BC Ferries issue, of course .. but an appeal for some imaginative use of water transport here in BC.
|
|
|
|
Post by Ian on Nov 13, 2004 8:28:05 GMT -8
Someone in another post spark an idea, Swartz Bay to Seattle
|
|
Koastal Karl
Voyager
Been on every BC Ferry now!!!!!
Posts: 7,747
|
Post by Koastal Karl on Nov 13, 2004 9:03:22 GMT -8
That would be neat route Swartz Bay to Seattle, but I dont know if BC Ferries would do an international route. Also ten minutes away from Swartz Bay in Sidney is the Elwha and the Sidney to Anacortes international run. What about Sidney to Seattle?? From the Sidney ferry terminal right to Seattle?? Might take away a bit of traffic off the Anacortes run which I dont think they would like because they dont have alot of traffic on that run anyway especially in winter. The Princess Margurite was cancelled cause the run wasent making any money and it only was in service in the summer. I dont think they would need a third international run all year round as there is the Coho and the Elwha.
|
|
|
|
Post by Balfour on Nov 13, 2004 9:19:18 GMT -8
Depending on if they decide to establish a quick rail service between Squamish and Whistler, I would like to see a passenger only catamaran ferry service between HB and Squamish. It would come in handy for hard core skiers who like travelling on ferries like myself, and it's convenient for North Shore residents and for those who are freaked out by the Sea-to-Sky highway. I once heard about something like this for the 2010 Olympics 2 years ago, and it will certainly come in handy if the West Vancouverites get their way and the new highway doesn't get built.
|
|
Doug
Voyager
Lurking within...the car deck.
Posts: 2,213
|
Post by Doug on Nov 13, 2004 16:42:07 GMT -8
I was kind of thinking about a FAST passenger-only service between Vancouver Airport and Squamish before the idea even came out anywhere. I seen on a website that specializes on building catamaran ferries that they could build one that travels at 120 km/h. That was a while ago, so I don't remember the link, but they could use that, if some company intrested in the idea could afford it.  |
|
|
|
Post by Ferryman on Nov 15, 2004 15:04:51 GMT -8
The Sea to Sky Highway has a 7km construction zone between Horseshoe Bay and Lions Bay. It is the start of the construction on the highway between Squamish and Horseshoe Bay. Eventually when the construction gets to Porteau Cove the plan was to take out the railway there and put another lane for the highway over it and the original plan was to take the whole railway out. But that can't happen. So I don't know what they're going to do there but the Fast Ferry between Squamish and Vancouver is already in the making for plans. Although I don't know if anything has been done yet. But the Queen of the Islands or I should say St Johns Fishing Lodge is parked up here in Squamish right around where they want to put the new dock for the Fast Ferry. But the only rail service I've heard of is the Royal Hudson doing that route again after she is fixed. But I may be wrong on all of this so Im gonna have to keep reading the Squamish paper a bit more and correct myself if I'm wrong or tell you all what more future plans there are.
|
|
|
|
Post by NMcKay on Nov 17, 2004 11:46:37 GMT -8
the catamarans your thinking about are the Ships built by austal. they include a skirt and air injestion system, which allows them to operating up to 14m waves, and at a speed of up to 125 Km/h
|
|
|
|
Post by Ian on Nov 21, 2004 19:18:06 GMT -8
Ok, on the s gulf islands connecting between to islands is a pain, put service between montague harbour ( old galiano terminal) and long harbour then to otter bay then back to montague, a ferry such as the nimpkish would suffice.
|
|
|
|
Post by kylefossett on Nov 23, 2004 15:12:57 GMT -8
montague does not exist in the same way it once did. there is no capable ferry dock left here. it has been a few years since i have been to montague but i remember a structure that could definaltey not have a ferry dock at it. you will not see this place used unless it is contracted out. when the tsawwassen used to go in here when the dock was upto snuff they could only pump with one engine running to not wreck the dock
|
|
|
|
Post by Ian on Nov 23, 2004 20:08:07 GMT -8
I can hardley remember because the last time i was in montague was about 4 years ago, i thought that teh dock itself was fine. other topic someone shold email mr hammersmark about the people in the albion ferry post.
|
|
|
|
Post by Killy on Nov 24, 2004 4:38:57 GMT -8
The dock at Montague is gone now. It was totally demolished and removed about 4 years ago.
|
|
|
|
Post by lcg on Nov 29, 2004 10:15:21 GMT -8
Service to downtown Nanaimo and Victoria from Vancouver Airport is planned. hey i am new to this forum and i am currently working on a report for school(ubc) on this possibility. does anyone know where to find out more about it? i am only able to find the harbourlynx site. it seems like service like that could be adapted to serve a downtown vancouver-victoria run, or an airport-innerharbour run. i read about this sort of proposal a while back, but i cant find anything now. what do you all, the experts and aficianados think? |
|
|
|
Post by NMcKay on Nov 29, 2004 17:53:36 GMT -8
ill let you guys in on something as long as you tell NO ONE....The Harbour Linx Inc. Is planning to buy another boat. this boat is a 125+ Passenger Cat/Hydrofoil Hybrid from the "All American Marine Company" Info can be found @ www.allamericanmarine.com/cats/72_condorexpress.html |
|
|
|
Post by Curtis on Jan 20, 2005 21:47:52 GMT -8
From looks on maps it almost looks like you could run a ferry from a area of Galiano Island to Gabriola Island
|
|
|
|
Post by Balfour on Jan 20, 2005 22:03:10 GMT -8
It sounds like a good route, but only when the population of the Gulf Islands goes up. A route from Saltspring to Gabriola might be better because it is the most populated of the Gulf Islands and is going to become more populated in a few years with development at the northern end of the Island.
|
|
|
|
Post by cascade on Feb 8, 2005 12:47:05 GMT -8
Harbour Lynx Kid,
What is up with the "Breeze" or it's offical name "Sprit of Ontario" - why not purchase it and do a run from Nanaimo to Seattle? it takes cars & pass.
Are there any laws on the wake / wash - speed going into the "States" doing this type of route?
You know that WSF have ans that the Sidney terminal is to close in 2009 - the license is currently up in 2006 - june - so I wonder will they renew it.
WSF have a mass of data and the last Q4 for 2004 - showed 15,000 people using that route. Nothing on rev - but the figures on usage look interesting.
|
|
|
|
Post by NMcKay on Feb 8, 2005 16:03:51 GMT -8
the spirit of ontario or w.e its called is recovering from banckruptcy protection or something. they probably wont renew the route. and it would cost too much to move her here. if you feel like doing something. invest in HL and then you can speak up @ a shareholders meeting
|
|
|
|
Post by cascade on Feb 9, 2005 5:10:29 GMT -8
HarbourLynx -
I didn't know that your company - sorry corp was open to outside share holders- they don't promot it that way?
So is it ? and what price per share - who trades them?
|
|
|
|
Post by cascade on Feb 10, 2005 8:54:32 GMT -8
Keep me posted - as we are coming from a strong £ to a weak CAN $.
From what I have seen & heard - plus I have travelled on your vessel - not a bad little buiness you have there. Worth a look & punt.
|
|
