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Post by plansea on Feb 22, 2010 8:13:26 GMT -8
Hi, northwesterner
The Matanuska was only going to Prince Rupert and then back to Ketchikan. I ended up flying to Seattle and then taking the Amtrak Cascades back to Vancouver. The new airport shuttle light train makes it easy to get from the airport to downtown Seattle. $2.50 and a bit of walking makes this connection one I will use in the future. The Amtrak train stops in Bellingham right across from the AMHS terminal on the way to Vancouver.
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M/V LeConte
Chief Steward
~ I believe in Ferries! ~
Posts: 147
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Post by M/V LeConte on Mar 13, 2010 3:11:11 GMT -8
I find it interesting that they have just now installed controllable pitch propellers. I'm sure the Matanuska's engineers are going through a steep learning curve with this change to their ship. The MAT has had CPP's for quite a while now. The had to install a new system to control the CPP's. When they installed the new fuel management system (that is going to save the state beau-coup $$'s) some of the powers that be didn't understand that the old analog system used to control the CPP's wasn't compatible with the shiny new digital fuel management system. So, the new system would send a very decimal heavy signal to the analog controls and instead of decreasing the engines RPM slightly, it would instead jam an engine hard astern. So... the MAT got a new CPP control system, which is very nice. Unfortunately as with any new system they have been working the bugs out. Until they get past that phase, the fuel management system has been shut off. I wonder if new control systems were figured into the big savings we are supposed to see? Northwesterner, the MAT used to do the Bellingham run frequently. I worked on her the summer of '02 and she was the main vessel on the run until the Columbia came on line. It was after one of the Columbia's fires. Then the MAT shifted to the Tuesday in Bellingham schedule. Back when they ran 2 ships a week into B'ham.
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Post by plansea on Mar 22, 2010 8:05:40 GMT -8
Source:marinelink.com
Beginning May 26th, Alaska’s newest passenger ferry will commence service between the popular end-of-the-road destination of Homer and the secluded village of Seldovia, located on a roadless area of Alaska’s Kenai Peninsula. “Often when people hear the word ‘ferry’ they think basic transportation,” said Sarah Richardson, Director of Public Relations for the Seldovia Village Tribe, the owners of the new vessel. “Our service operates in spectacular Kachemak Bay, so we wanted to offer an experience that would be unique and memorable. Since this ferry was custom-built for us, we took every opportunity to create an innovative vessel that would showcase this wilderness destination… I think guests travelling in Alaska will be impressed,” added Richardson.
The m/v Kachemak Voyager features innovations such as a stable, twin-hull catamaran design, flat panel LCD displays with real-time route information, a shallow draft allowing for up-close scenic cruising, specially engineered double-paned view windows to reduce condensation and fogging, aircraft-style seating, a wrap-around exterior viewing deck, and a forward solarium. Onboard, amenities include a full galley, coffee and beverage service, loaner binoculars, a gift case, and an array of seating options. The ADA compliant vessel features two passenger levels, plus additional outside seating offering unobstructed panoramic views of the glacial peaks and still-active volcano, Mt. Redoubt.
“Since the vessel operates in a National Estuarine Research Reserve, early on in the planning process it was decided that we would lessen our environmental footprint whenever possible,” said Richardson. Innovations continue where the guest may not necessarily notice, including an advanced hull design requiring less fuel to operate; high efficiency engines that meet EPA’s latest stringent low emission standards; and strict adherence to company Best Management Practices for waste reduction, recycling, and pollution prevention.
The ferry operates May 26th into September and offers three round-trip sailings daily from Homer to Seldovia. En route, travelers pass Gull Island rookery for up-close bird viewing and sail Eldridge Passage for a chance to spot sea otters, whales, and marine life that inhabit these waters. Cost for round-trip sailing is $59 for adults, $29.50 for children. Reservations can be made online at seldoviabayferry.com or by calling 877-703-3779.
(www.svt.org)
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Post by fargowolf on Mar 22, 2010 13:21:38 GMT -8
I'm curious about the following paragraph in the Sit News article on the MV Wickersham:
"Up until the late summer of 1967, the British Columbia ferry system had operated ferries from Seattle to Prince Rupert, feeding traffic for the Alaska ferries up the inside passage," Stan Cohen wrote in his 1994 book 'Highway on the Sea.' "But in August, the MV Queen of Prince Rupert ran aground, leaving only one active ferry between the two ports. Shortly afterwards, a rock slide blocked the Alaska Highway, stranding passengers along the route."
I didn't know that BC ferries operated out of Seattle, or Washington State for that matter. Was that a misprint? Did he mean Vancouver Island to Prince Rupert? I know that the QPR has come to the aid of the Taku when she went aground, but that's the only time a BC Ferries vessel operated in US waters that I know of.
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Quatchi
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Post by Quatchi on Mar 22, 2010 17:10:08 GMT -8
He must be oversimplifying the situation. The QPR did run out of Tsawwassen once in awhile in the winter. I'm assuming he just left out the part where the passengers had to drive up to Tsawwassen from Seattle.
Cheers,
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Post by WettCoast on Mar 22, 2010 17:17:32 GMT -8
BC Ferries never operated any route from Seattle to anywhere. Beginning in 1966, the QPR operated from Kelsey Bay on Vancouver Island to Prince Rupert. In 1979, with the completion of the Vancouver Island Highway 19 extension north, the southern base moved to Bear Cove (Port Hardy). In addition, for a few years in the late 1970's & early 1980's there was once a week service as far south as Tsawwassen. That is as close as the QPR has ever got to Seattle, except during the summer of 1980 when she pretended to be the Princess Marguerite replacement (aka the Victoria Princess).
This is true in that the QPR did go aground on Haddington Reef near Alert Bay. However, I do not know what the second active ferry between the two ports might have been. At the time the QPR was on its own, although then BC Premier WAC Bennett was planning a QPR twin (the Queen of Kelsey Bay?) to allow daily service in each direction on the Inside Passage.
BTW, the grounding of the M/V Taku happened just north of Prince Rupert in Canadian waters. The QPR did not have to enter US waters to effect the rescue.
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Mill Bay
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Long Suffering Bosun
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Post by Mill Bay on Mar 23, 2010 21:33:25 GMT -8
This is true in that the QPR did go aground on Haddington Reef near Alert Bay. However, I do not know what the second active ferry between the two ports might have been. At the time the QPR was on its own, although then BC Premier WAC Bennett was planning a QPR twin (the Queen of Kelsey Bay?) to allow daily service in each direction on the Inside Passage. Might not the reference to a second ferry be a passing acknowledgment of the Island Princess (later North Island Princess), which did duty connecting Kelsey Bay to Port Hardy? Though this still does not explain the reference to a second ship on the Inside Passage. That would likely have been the Taku herself, or one of the other blue canoes.
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M/V LeConte
Chief Steward
~ I believe in Ferries! ~
Posts: 147
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Post by M/V LeConte on Mar 24, 2010 5:08:45 GMT -8
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M/V LeConte
Chief Steward
~ I believe in Ferries! ~
Posts: 147
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Post by M/V LeConte on Mar 24, 2010 5:20:46 GMT -8
There has been a revision to the AMHS Operating Plan for the current Fiscal Year (ending June). Here is the plan: www.dot.state.ak.us/amhs/documents/reports/0910OpPlanRev10_12.pdfThis is the 12th revision for this year. The most notable change is the Columbia won't be coming on-line until early/mid June. So, the Malaspina will remain on the Bellingham run, delaying her return to the Lynn Canal Dayboat run. My guess then, is other ships like the Prince Rupert runs (Taku and Matanuska) and the LeConte will be forced to alter their schedules to try and cover the demand on the North End. We shall see... I have been told that the Columbia has had her shafts pulled for inspection, and problems have arisen. ~LeC
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Post by plansea on May 18, 2010 10:07:31 GMT -8
Source: Marinelink.com Alaska’s newest passenger ferry announced its 2010 sailing schedule between the communities of Homer and Seldovia, located on Alaska’s Kenai Peninsula. The M/V Kachemak Voyager will offer three round-trip sailings daily beginning on May 26, 2010. The vessel will depart from Seldovia at: 8:00 a.m., 11:00 a.m. and 5:00 p.m. and depart Homer at: 9:15 a.m., 12:15 p.m. and 6:15 p.m. www.seldoviabayferry.com “The mission of the Seldovia Bay Ferry is to facilitate economic development opportunities in Seldovia. The schedule was designed to give residents and travelers the most convenient access to both sides of the bay as possible,” said Sarah Richardson, Director of Marketing and Public Relations for the Seldovia Village Tribe. The crossing will take 45 minutes with the first two sailings of the day out of Homer extended to one hour and 15 minutes. These extended sailings allow travelers the chance to see Gull Island rookery and the scenic Eldridge Passage, where they will catch a glimpse of the sea otters, whales and marine life that inhabit these waters.
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Post by alaskanmohican on Jun 27, 2010 20:18:08 GMT -8
A few photos from the Auke Bay terminal in Junea today. On Sundays we usually have the Matanuska and Malaspina in port at the same time. As most on this forum probably know they are sister ships, although over the years they have developed a few differences. The Mal is in Juneau on her dayboat run that takes her to Haines and Skagway while the Mat will depart the Auke Bay Terminal bound for Sitka and eventually Prince Rupert after a few more stops. The Matanuska at the East Berth. The Malaspina backing out of the West Berth which lies in front of the East Berth. The Mat is on the left with the Mal on the right backing out of her berth. Two sisters side by side, again the Mat is on the left with the Mal on the right.
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Mill Bay
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Long Suffering Bosun
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Post by Mill Bay on Jun 29, 2010 11:08:13 GMT -8
Two sisters side by side, again the Mat is on the left with the Mal on the right. Wow! These photos are really impressive. These two ships, (along with Taku) are probably some of the best looking Spaulding designed ships, even more than the Coho and the BCFerries family. Although they quite obviously have the Coho in their appearance anyway. Despite their different modifications, they still look so classic and original, with a lot of teak doors still in place, their nice sharp bows, curved forward faces and sterns. A very lovely set of sisters.
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Post by Northern Exploration on Jun 29, 2010 11:19:03 GMT -8
Two sisters side by side, again the Mat is on the left with the Mal on the right. Wow! These photos are really impressive. These two ships, (along with Taku) are probably some of the best looking Spaulding designed ships, even more than the Coho and the BCFerries family. Although they quite obviously have the Coho in their appearance anyway. Despite their different modifications, they still look so classic and original, with a lot of teak doors still in place, their nice sharp bows, curved forward faces and sterns. A very lovely set of sisters. I like how the Mal has the wheelhouse eyebrow design of the Sidney and first versions of sisters (I left off the B/V so we don't start that debate yet again ) and the Mat has the later and upgraded design of the younger sisters.
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Post by alaskanmohican on Jul 12, 2010 19:11:41 GMT -8
Since BC Ferries has got thier Fleet House, AMHS wants one now. Well I don't know if the comparison is accurate, but AMHS is planning on building a new Admin building, as well as consolidating a few other spaces. www.dot.state.ak.us/amhs/documents/press_box/pr_10_2542.pdfCurrently while the Marine Highway Administration is located in Ketchikan, the Central Reservations Office is in Juneau. There is some speculation in Juneau that this new headquarters building will involve moving Central Reservations to Ketchikan.
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Post by WettCoast on Jul 12, 2010 19:50:55 GMT -8
I guess the reason to have these functions in different places is to spread the government gravy around. That seems reasonable to me. Consolidating everything in Ketchikan will no doubt cause upset in other localities where AMHS has major operations.
I have noticed that AMHS has their vessels registered in many places. BCF has their vessels, by way of contrast, every single one of their vessels; registered in Victoria. WSF vessels are all registered in Seattle, I think. Do you have any insight into why AMHS spreads the registrations around?
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Post by alaskanmohican on Jul 12, 2010 20:12:03 GMT -8
Well orgininally all AMHS vessels were registered in Juneau, up until around 2004 give or take a year. From what I remember the decision was to make the Marine Highway more representative of Alaska. By giving each ferry it's own port of registration it would give a community a sense of ownership or pride in "their" ferry. Marine Highway vessels are all named after glaciers in Alaska, this had already given some communities a sense of "ownership" if the glacier was nearby. And of course many communities felt "ownership" based on the ferry that was either homeported or visited thier community regularly. So while it wasn't necesarily a controversial decision to change the port of registries, it wasn't felt as really necessay either. Here are the ferries with their port of registration: Columbia, Ketchikan Kennicott, Valdez Matanuska, Haines Malaspina, Skagway Taku, Wrangell Tustumena, Kodiak LeConte, Petersburg Aurora, Hoonah Fairweather, Juneau Chenega, Cordova Lituya, Metlakatla EDITED to add the following article: www.juneauempire.com/stories/041104/loc_ferry.shtml
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Post by lmtengs on Jul 13, 2010 14:12:11 GMT -8
What is a Port of Registry's purpose, other than that's the city that the ship was registered in? Does the ship need to fulfill a certain duty to the registered city if the city comes upon times of trouble or something?
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Post by alaskanmohican on Jul 13, 2010 17:51:38 GMT -8
Port of Registry determines what laws, taxes, labor laws, etc a ship must abide by.
As far as what effect the different ports have on AMHS vessels, it is very little. The vessels have no obligation to the community and visa versa.
Originally the idea was to have the Port of Registry be the homeport or a port along the route the vessel regularly served. Since then some of the routes have changed and some ferries almost never see the port they are registered in.
Examples would be; the Kennicott, which hardly ever sees Valdez, the Aurora never really served Hoonah, that was the LeConte's area. Aurora will see Hoonah this winter when she covers for LeConte. And speaking of LeConte, she doesn't see Petersburg anymore now that she is a dayboat.
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Post by alaskanmohican on Jul 15, 2010 21:47:53 GMT -8
AMHS winter 2010-2011 schedules are now online and available for bookings. The printed schedules are not expected until September. Link: www.dot.state.ak.us/amhs/schedules.shtmlThe schedule will follow the general pattern of the past winter, some items to note: - LeConte and Taku will be going into the shipyard for most of the winter for CIPs. -Aurora will cover for LeConte along the Northern Panhandle with the Chenega covering for the Aurora in Prince William Sound. -One vessel will serve the Prince Rupert run and one vessel will be on the Bellingham run. The Rupert run will vary mostly between the Matanuska and Kennicott, depending on what part of the winter you are traveling. The Bellingham run will vary between the Malaspina and Kennicott. -The Fairweather will run mainly between November and the first part of January, then start again in April. This is similar to last winter's schedule. -Columbia will be in layup for most of the winter as before as well. - The Aurora will start service to Gustavus, near Glacier Bay in November. This will actually be the LeConte's route, but as mentioned above the Aurora is covering for LeConte. So, a few of the "highlights" of the schedule, overall nothing really different from last winter, different ships in layup or going through thier CIP. The big "items" of this years schedule is the service to Gustavus and the LeConte being in the shipyard for most of the winter. The LeConte is our main boat for connecting the smaller communities to Juneau in the northern panhandle, so this is why her being in the yard seems like a big deal many people up here.
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Post by fargowolf on Jul 21, 2010 13:40:48 GMT -8
I have a question about the Aurora... In addition to the side doors and stern door, s she capable of bow loading? I remember seeing a pic in an old Alaska ferry timetable booklet, which had a small pic of a ferry ( I think it was the Aurora) in AMHS colors, with her bow visor up. The timetable was from the early to mid 90's as I got it from one of my high school teachers.
Also of interest, on Google Earth, you can see the old AMHS terminal at Stewart BC. The dock, loading bridge and terminal building were still present when the satellite image was taken.
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Post by alaskanmohican on Jul 21, 2010 18:37:35 GMT -8
The Aurora only has the two side doors and the stern door.
The ferry you probably saw was the Bartlett, she had a stern door and a bow visor. The Bartlett served the Prince William Sound Area which is what Aurora now serves. Bartlett was one of only two AMHS vessels to have a bow visor, the other being the Wickersham. Interestingly these two are also the only two AMHS vessels to have NOT been named after a glacier. Both were named after political figures in Alaska.
The Bartlett was retired around 2004, and last I knew was down around Ballard, WA.
Regarding Stewart, BC, not sure if what you see is actually the terminal. AMHS had service there with the Aurora, however I do not think we had a terminal building. With our smaller ports, we don't actually have a terminal building, the vessel's crew collect and sell tickets at the head of the ramp or on the dock if there is no vehicle ramp. The LeConte serves many communities like this.
Now you might be seeing the vehicle ramp at Stewart that was used, again I am not sure if the ramp was actually owned by AMHS, or the community of Stewart. The Aurora only called at Stewart about once a week typically.
At our other Canadian port of call, Prince Rupert, AMHS does not actually own the terminal or docking structure there, it is owned by the city of Prince Rupert.
I will double check on my Stewart,BC info though to be sure.
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Post by fargowolf on Jul 21, 2010 19:45:09 GMT -8
Then it was probably the Bartlett. She was/is moored on the east side of the Ballard Bridge, at it's north end. At least when the Google Streetview car went by.
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Post by Low Light Mike on Jul 21, 2010 22:08:10 GMT -8
Regarding Stewart, BC, not sure if what you see is actually the terminal. AMHS had service there with the Aurora, however I do not think we had a terminal building. With our smaller ports, we don't actually have a terminal building, the vessel's crew collect and sell tickets at the head of the ramp or on the dock if there is no vehicle ramp. The LeConte serves many communities like this.
Now you might be seeing the vehicle ramp at Stewart that was used, again I am not sure if the ramp was actually owned by AMHS, or the community of Stewart. The Aurora only called at Stewart about once a week typically.
At our other Canadian port of call, Prince Rupert, AMHS does not actually own the terminal or docking structure there, it is owned by the city of Prince Rupert.
I will double check on my Stewart,BC info though to be sure.[/ I was in Stewart / Hyder last weekend. At the museum, I took this photo of a photo: - It suggests that Alaska ferries would have used the dock that was used by Northland Navigation (who had purchased Union Steamship Company). If there was a dock on the Hyder side of the border, it might have been part of this jetty, accessed from the Hyder side of the Portland Canal.
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Post by fargowolf on Jul 22, 2010 6:47:43 GMT -8
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Post by Low Light Mike on Jul 22, 2010 7:43:38 GMT -8
ok, so this suggests the south-west corner of the waterfront. Here is a photo of mine of that area, from last weekend. The area in question currently has an industrial operator called "Aero" which does transportation of ore from mines in the interior. There are old wood pilings shown; but there are old wood pilings everywhere along the head of the Portland Canal.
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