Post by Retrovision on Jun 1, 2007 17:27:44 GMT -8
From: www.mrtimes.com/issues07/061107/community.html
From: www.translink.bc.ca
Fifty years on the river
By Laura Kelsey
The Albion Ferry celebrates its 50th anniversary on Sunday. Opening ceremonies begin at 11 a.m., with vessel tours from 1 to 3 p.m.
It was the late 1970s and Albert Gibson was the captain of the Albion Ferry.
During a seemingly peaceful midnight shift, Gibson sailed the ferry toward Langley. But looking out on the land through the dark, he caught sight of a vehicle speeding down the ramp.
"I see a Volkswagen van come down before anyone else who was in the line-up, and he comes shooting around the corner and through a red light."
Gibson watched the van fly off the ramp and straight into the water in front of the ferry.
"I held off and saw the van float a little bit. The guy jumped out and started swimming toward the pontoon. Once he got to the pontoon, the car was gone, so I got onto the dock and sent one of the crew to pull him out of the water."
Gibson noticed the man carrying something in his hand as he swam toward safety.
"He had a bottle of beer in his hand, and the first thing he did was set the bottle on the pontoon before they pulled him out of the water. Then he just started walking up the dock."
Gibson had his crew chase the man down and hold him until the authorities arrived. But then, with police, divers and workers trying to fish out the sunken van, Gibson and his ferry weren't going anywhere anytime soon.
With traffic backing up, Gibson told a crew member to tell the waiting passengers what had happened.
"You know, out of all those cars, only one person asked if there was anybody hurt. All the other drivers only worried about when they would get across on the ferry."
Gibson a ferry captain from 1975 to 1990. He worked on five of the ferries, including the T'Lugunna and a replacement ship, the Vesuvius Queen.
The replacement ship was a "real pig to run." He said it wasn't made for the short run, "but we got by."
Born in Abbotsford 77 years ago where he has lived much of his life, Gibson reflects fondly on his time with the Albion Ferries.
"There was really nothing to worry about down on the Albion, compared to the other ships I had been on."
But that doesn't mean that the short sailing trip was boring. Gibson would work at least eight midnight shifts a month and that, he said, is when things got more interesting.
"You talk to any nurse in a hospital or any policeman, and they'll agree - the full moon brings them out. Every full moon down on the ferry, if you were on midnight shift, there was something queer going on."
One particular night forced Gibson to get involved in a strange incident.
"I was on deck, and this car came on from Fort Langley. This girl got out and got over the handrail. She was standing on the guard on the outside, and she was going to walk across the water to Albion.
"She had been out in Glen Valley eating those magic mushrooms, and her boyfriend was standing right there, and he didn't do anything. So, I grabbed a hold of her, pulled her in, and I said, 'If you wanna walk across the river you go up on the dock and jump off from there, but not on the ferry!"
Gibson then helped her to the car, and the night returned to normal.
Another midnight shift found him overseeing another rescue.
Two men got out of their cars and started fighting on the boat.
"One guy got knocked over the bow and here he is hanging by his fingertips over the side. I ran down there, but he was too big to pull up. One of the other passengers came over and gave him a heave up, and got him back on deck. Then, we put him in his car, and away he went."
But even with stories like these, Gibson never tired of ferrying passengers across the Fraser.
"Not after what I'd been through. It was like floating in your backyard. It was the family life. Sometimes on the other ships, like the tugs, the coast guard and the police boats, we'd be out for five weeks and be home for five weeks."
Over his 43-year career on the water, Gibson worked on 30 ships, and captained 16. He even claims that he is the last surviving person that skippered a paddle wheeler.
After retiring from the ferries in 1990, it took a while for Gibson to regain his land legs.
"It took me about a year and a half where I missed it, but, no more."
Now, Gibson says, it would be tough for him to captain again.
"I couldn't even step aboard one of those ships with all the electronics in them. We never had radar, and the first one I was on didn't even have radio."
published on 06/01/2007
Copyright by Maple Ridge Times
By Laura Kelsey
The Albion Ferry celebrates its 50th anniversary on Sunday. Opening ceremonies begin at 11 a.m., with vessel tours from 1 to 3 p.m.
It was the late 1970s and Albert Gibson was the captain of the Albion Ferry.
During a seemingly peaceful midnight shift, Gibson sailed the ferry toward Langley. But looking out on the land through the dark, he caught sight of a vehicle speeding down the ramp.
"I see a Volkswagen van come down before anyone else who was in the line-up, and he comes shooting around the corner and through a red light."
Gibson watched the van fly off the ramp and straight into the water in front of the ferry.
"I held off and saw the van float a little bit. The guy jumped out and started swimming toward the pontoon. Once he got to the pontoon, the car was gone, so I got onto the dock and sent one of the crew to pull him out of the water."
Gibson noticed the man carrying something in his hand as he swam toward safety.
"He had a bottle of beer in his hand, and the first thing he did was set the bottle on the pontoon before they pulled him out of the water. Then he just started walking up the dock."
Gibson had his crew chase the man down and hold him until the authorities arrived. But then, with police, divers and workers trying to fish out the sunken van, Gibson and his ferry weren't going anywhere anytime soon.
With traffic backing up, Gibson told a crew member to tell the waiting passengers what had happened.
"You know, out of all those cars, only one person asked if there was anybody hurt. All the other drivers only worried about when they would get across on the ferry."
Gibson a ferry captain from 1975 to 1990. He worked on five of the ferries, including the T'Lugunna and a replacement ship, the Vesuvius Queen.
The replacement ship was a "real pig to run." He said it wasn't made for the short run, "but we got by."
Born in Abbotsford 77 years ago where he has lived much of his life, Gibson reflects fondly on his time with the Albion Ferries.
"There was really nothing to worry about down on the Albion, compared to the other ships I had been on."
But that doesn't mean that the short sailing trip was boring. Gibson would work at least eight midnight shifts a month and that, he said, is when things got more interesting.
"You talk to any nurse in a hospital or any policeman, and they'll agree - the full moon brings them out. Every full moon down on the ferry, if you were on midnight shift, there was something queer going on."
One particular night forced Gibson to get involved in a strange incident.
"I was on deck, and this car came on from Fort Langley. This girl got out and got over the handrail. She was standing on the guard on the outside, and she was going to walk across the water to Albion.
"She had been out in Glen Valley eating those magic mushrooms, and her boyfriend was standing right there, and he didn't do anything. So, I grabbed a hold of her, pulled her in, and I said, 'If you wanna walk across the river you go up on the dock and jump off from there, but not on the ferry!"
Gibson then helped her to the car, and the night returned to normal.
Another midnight shift found him overseeing another rescue.
Two men got out of their cars and started fighting on the boat.
"One guy got knocked over the bow and here he is hanging by his fingertips over the side. I ran down there, but he was too big to pull up. One of the other passengers came over and gave him a heave up, and got him back on deck. Then, we put him in his car, and away he went."
But even with stories like these, Gibson never tired of ferrying passengers across the Fraser.
"Not after what I'd been through. It was like floating in your backyard. It was the family life. Sometimes on the other ships, like the tugs, the coast guard and the police boats, we'd be out for five weeks and be home for five weeks."
Over his 43-year career on the water, Gibson worked on 30 ships, and captained 16. He even claims that he is the last surviving person that skippered a paddle wheeler.
After retiring from the ferries in 1990, it took a while for Gibson to regain his land legs.
"It took me about a year and a half where I missed it, but, no more."
Now, Gibson says, it would be tough for him to captain again.
"I couldn't even step aboard one of those ships with all the electronics in them. We never had radar, and the first one I was on didn't even have radio."
published on 06/01/2007
Copyright by Maple Ridge Times
From: www.translink.bc.ca
May 31, 2007
Albion Ferry Service Notification for Sunday, June 3, 2007
Due to the 50th Anniversary celebrations of the Albion Ferry on Sunday, June 3, the ferry service will be reduced to one vessel only, from 11:00 am until approximately 3:30 pm. This is to allow the MV Klatawa to provide public tours during the celebrations.
Albion Ferry customers, therefore, should expect longer than usual waits between sailings during that time, and also congestion at the terminal on the Maple Ridge side.
Because this is a family event, motorists should please remember to watch out for pedestrians, particularly children.
Thanks very much!
Albion Ferry Service Notification for Sunday, June 3, 2007
Due to the 50th Anniversary celebrations of the Albion Ferry on Sunday, June 3, the ferry service will be reduced to one vessel only, from 11:00 am until approximately 3:30 pm. This is to allow the MV Klatawa to provide public tours during the celebrations.
Albion Ferry customers, therefore, should expect longer than usual waits between sailings during that time, and also congestion at the terminal on the Maple Ridge side.
Because this is a family event, motorists should please remember to watch out for pedestrians, particularly children.
Thanks very much!
