Q of the Islands

[WettCoast]

I am trying to determine exactly where this photo was taken. My guess is at Village People Bay, Mayne Island. Any other suggestions?


D O Thorne photo

[Balfour]

hmmm... I don't see the Village People singing "YMCA!" If anything it looks more like Swartz Bay.

The water just looks too "open" to be Village Bay, as Active Pass comes right after Village Bay.

oh yes, and that is a very awesome photo! It looks like it was taken with a modern camera!

[Retrovision]

absolutlely breathtaking. thank you muchly, JST for posting that great unseen pic of the QotI.

[Neil]

Probably not Swartz, as the QOTI sailed out of Tsawwassen... Otter Bay, perhaps? Very nice shot, indeed.

Strong Skier- amazingly, we did have fairly modern cameras, waaay back in the '60s...

[Balfour]

oh I know that. It's just not often when you seen pictures of such good quality from that era.

[Curtis]

(Mr. Burns Voice)Eexcellent!! That Picture is one of the Best of the QotI

[Koastal Karl]

Did the Queen of the Island go to Saturna?? or was it like the Nanaimo and skipped Saturna!

[Mike C]

(Mr. Burns Voice)Eexcellent!! That Picture is one of the Best of the QotI

Fun on the Queen of the Islands.

I say Village Bay.

Why?

Because I've been there.

[bcfcbccsscollector]

Jim,

Man, you have access to some very sweet historical photos!!!

I have looked very closely at your photo and I would have to say that you have a shot of the Queen of the Islands at Swartz Bay.

It appears to be the tip of Piers Island at the left and at the right looks like Knapp Island. It is possible that she may have been running from Fulford to Swartz Bay, as there is an ambulance at the bow of the car deck and off island ambulance transfers are commonplace from Saltspring to Victoria (To this day in fact)

Also, if you look in the bottom right corner, you have (Now, I am not sure what you call it) a "Dock support", the type that are round and very large, with a cement deck and creosote saturated planks on the exterior to sea level, with a walkway attached from land to the end. Look at any aerial views of SB or TSA and you will see what I mean. Now, I have only seen these at Swartz Bay and Tsawwassen, the smaller island docks do not have these (Mayne, Pender, Galiano or Saturna). Rule out Long Harbor just by looking at the surrounding view. Given the picture provided, you're looking at Swartz Bay, likely taken from Berth 2.

Of course I could be wrong......... but I doubt it

Darren

[kylefossett]

looks like the channel in the background that the spirits come through as they come into swartz bay

[WettCoast]

Darren,

Once again I think you are right. That round structure [its called a dolphin, I think] is probably what is seen in this photo of the Q of Esquimalt at Swartz Bay [located between berth 2 & 3, and probably gone now with the berth 2 rebuild].


DOT collection

I thought Village Bay at first because of the appearance of the island in the right distance looks a bit like Collinson Pt on Galiano Is., and because I was under the impression that the Q o t Islands never ran to Swartz Bay. However, the photo above [from 'B Class Teen'] of Village bay does not show any large round concrete dolphin, nor do I recall there ever being such a structure there. Those structures can be found at Tsawwassen, but this is NOT Tsawwassen. The point in the right distance is maybe Fir Cone Pt on Coal Island.


DOT collection

Perhaps the QotI ran the outer Gulf Is. route at one time

[Low Light Mike]

re the age / era of this photograph: consider the style of the ambulance on the bow-end of the ship. That looks like a 1980's model of an ambulance.

The 70's had the van style ambulance....and the station-wagon style was in the 60's & early 70's.

That's my sleuthing on the era of the photo.

[bcfcbccsscollector]

You are right,

You are looking at an ambulance between 1980 and 1986, as the Provincial Ambulance switched to "Ford" van style units in 1987.

[Mike C]

I've got my postcard, I can scan that, I suppose. Nice pics, all of you.

[WettCoast]

The picture of the Q of the Islands above was shot at Westview terminal, according to what I wrote on the slide border a mere 34 years ago. So, Westview [Powell River] takes it.

I recall that the trip over and back across the open waters of
Georgia Strait was a pleasent one on that long ago summer's day.

[Curtis]

The pic above that is definatly Westview Terminal in Powell River I recognize the look and notice the Ministrey of Highways colour on the funnel

[Mike C]

She's at Deas every year, if I can recall, until next summer I believe. That I'm unsure about, but she'll be there for quite some time.

[Ferryman]

She's not at Deas. Last I heard, was that she was sitting somewhere along the Fraser River, by New Westminster.

[Mike C]

Oh, very well, I think I know the place you're talking about.

You can see it from the Skytrain, near Sapperton Station on the Millenium Line.

The nearest street, I beleive is either Columbia Street, or Brunette Ave (I think it's near the intersection there).

She does sometimes pop up at Deas though, as I did see her the first time I went to the marine facility in Spring of this year.

[Queen of Nanaimo Teen]

So which one is it? the fraser river, or Deas?

[Neil]

As of a couple of weeks ago, the QOTI was still in the same place she's been for months, moored along River Road in Delta, near Vito Shipbuilding, west of the Alex Fraser Bridge. Not very good visibility from the road.
See it from Sapperton Station? With the eyes of Superman, maybe.

(just to confirm: checked it out today, Dec. 14: QOTI still there, about 9000 block of River Road.)

[Retrovision]

It sounds to me like Deas doesn't have the room to handle her lay-up this off-season, as they have in the past. The trend has been that once she's moored for the slow season she stays there until she's towed back up north.