Nick
Voyager
Chief Engineer - Queen of Richmond
Posts: 2,080
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Post by Nick on Nov 8, 2010 15:55:40 GMT -8
esthetician services? Never heard of any such thing. The same crew that waves you on and off the boat, cleans the cabins, steers the ship, etc. Flugel was referencing the new C-Spa spa services now available on the major BCF routes.
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Post by Low Light Mike on Nov 8, 2010 16:11:22 GMT -8
esthetician services? Never heard of any such thing. The same crew that waves you on and off the boat, cleans the cabins, steers the ship, etc. Flugel was referencing the new C-Spa spa services now available on the major BCF routes. Barnacle: I was trying to make a joke about the "stripping and waxing" part of your reply. Canadians are silly that way. ;D
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Post by EGfleet on Nov 8, 2010 16:22:04 GMT -8
Considering the current funding issues, why is WSF running the MV Elwa on the International Route rather than the MV Chelan? You dropped your H in Elwha. Originally the Chelan was going to be out of service for a good chunk of the fall schedule to finish up the painting and get some long overdue maintenance done...then the Kittitas tossed her cookies and that was the end of that. The planned maintenance has been booted until winter schedule which the Chelan will spend a good portion of her time out on before returning to Sidney in the spring.
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Post by Barnacle on Nov 8, 2010 16:53:51 GMT -8
Oh. I thought it was a reference to some traveling crew that actually did the 'heavy' maint on the interiors. My bad.
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Post by Barnacle on Nov 8, 2010 17:02:19 GMT -8
I did notice one odd thing about the way [the Elwha] handles, and that is whenever any rudder input is given she has a habit of heeling over, even at fairly slow manoeuvring speeds. All the Supers do that. It's just more noticeable on the Elwha due to the location of her emergency generator ('way up high) and the various other mods. Yes, I do. OH! You want an explanation! Right... well, back in the dark days before the boats had radar, AC current, or sewage holding tanks, the old-timers would navigate by compass course and stopwatch. Run the boat at a certain speed (full ahead) and turn on time. For additional safety, they would use a ranging whistle (that little one on the picklefork) for echo-navigation. Sound travels at 1080 feet/sec, so round down to 1000 feet/sec, time the gap between whistle and return; figure it had to go two ways, one second meant whatever you got the return from was 500 feet away. The specific whistle is a higher pitch which gives a much more defined and crisp echo than the traditional 'Moo' of the larger whistles. I believe the Issaquahs were the last to receive the range whistles.
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Kam
Voyager
Posts: 926
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Post by Kam on Nov 8, 2010 17:46:46 GMT -8
The blocked-off area was where the crew was rectifying your grumbles about the decks... it was blocked off for stripping and waxing. giggle...
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Post by Low Light Mike on Dec 15, 2010 18:46:44 GMT -8
Some photos of Elwha as she departs Sidney at noon on Dec.14, 2010. - these photos were taken during a cold downpour of rain, which later turned to wet snow for a while. I'm really happy with the dreary-day effect on the background, especially with the 3rd photo of this set. - photos shot in "P"mode with ISO-100. --------------- And photos earlier, of her in the berth:
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Koastal Karl
Voyager
Been on every BC Ferry now!!!!!
Posts: 7,747
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Post by Koastal Karl on Dec 15, 2010 22:40:30 GMT -8
Out of all the WSF I have been on I like the Super's the best. They look great! Be nice if they would keep the Elwha on the Sidney run.
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Post by Low Light Mike on Dec 15, 2010 22:45:55 GMT -8
Out of all the WSF I have been on I like the Super's the best. They look great! Be nice if they would keep the Elwha on the Sidney run. I forgot to mention that the Elwha only took 10 vehicles from Sidney, on her International route sailing yesterday. That's pretty poor traffic for tying-up a needed ship for a good part of the service day (well, really just 4 hours each day). However, it is the last couple of weeks of the season. I think it would make sense to shut-down this run after US Thanksgiving.
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Post by Kahloke on Dec 15, 2010 22:49:56 GMT -8
Out of all the WSF I have been on I like the Super's the best. They look great! Be nice if they would keep the Elwha on the Sidney run. I believe after the winter break, Chelan is scheduled to be back on the run in the spring.
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Post by Kahloke on Dec 15, 2010 22:52:26 GMT -8
I forgot to mention that the Elwha only took 10 vehicles from Sidney, on her International route sailing yesterday. That's pretty poor traffic for tying-up a needed ship for a good part of the service day (well, really just 4 hours each day). However, it is the last couple of weeks of the season. I think it would make sense to shut-down this run after US Thanksgiving. I think they should only be operating the Sidney route 6 months out of the year, maximum, say from the beginning of May through the beginning of November.
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Post by EGfleet on Dec 16, 2010 9:20:29 GMT -8
Out of all the WSF I have been on I like the Super's the best. They look great! Be nice if they would keep the Elwha on the Sidney run. I believe after the winter break, Chelan is scheduled to be back on the run in the spring. She is. The rumor mill has being saying that the only reason the Elwha ended up on the Sidney run this fall was because it received federal funds for the repairs to make her SOLAS certified and she had to go to Sidney at least once in order to not have to pay those funds back. In any event, through the grapevine I've also been hearing that this is likely the Elwha's last run to Sidney for a very long time. That being said...things can and will change. And they've been averaging about ten cars to and from Sidney for weeks now.
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Post by steamfan on Dec 16, 2010 10:30:22 GMT -8
EGFleet, Does the rumor mill suggest that Elwha would be the de-crewed Super mentioned in the draft plan from last month?
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Post by EGfleet on Dec 16, 2010 11:39:42 GMT -8
EGFleet, Does the rumor mill suggest that Elwha would be the de-crewed Super mentioned in the draft plan from last month? Actually, no. That particular target seems to be the Kaleetan.
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Post by chokai on Dec 16, 2010 22:44:50 GMT -8
I think they should only be operating the Sidney route 6 months out of the year, maximum, say from the beginning of May through the beginning of November. Would it be feasible to only operate the international run during major holidays (Thanksgiving, Christmas) or even weekends instead of operating it all the way through. Or every other day? Or would that simply make the boat shuffling to complex? After all it wouldn't make sense to have Chelan or Elwha died up for weeks on end.
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Post by EGfleet on Dec 17, 2010 6:40:47 GMT -8
I think they should only be operating the Sidney route 6 months out of the year, maximum, say from the beginning of May through the beginning of November. Would it be feasible to only operate the international run during major holidays (Thanksgiving, Christmas) or even weekends instead of operating it all the way through. Or every other day? Or would that simply make the boat shuffling to complex? After all it wouldn't make sense to have Chelan or Elwha died up for weeks on end. Yowsa! That's a bit extreme! Just kidding, I know you meant tied. ;D And if you did that, that would reduce service by two boats. The inter-island ties up on weekends for winter schedule, and the proposal also includes provisions to extend that as well. And given that the island would also lose a Super, that would mean two Issaquah class ferries would be left to handle the traffic, one of them likely being the Sealth. Not a pretty picture.
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Post by Barnacle on Dec 18, 2010 9:42:42 GMT -8
Would it be feasible to only operate the international run during major holidays (Thanksgiving, Christmas) or even weekends instead of operating it all the way through. Or every other day? Or would that simply make the boat shuffling to complex? After all it wouldn't make sense to have Chelan or Elwha died up for weeks on end. WAAAAAAAAY too complex. It would quickly turn into a game of, to steal from Jimmy Buffett, 'No boat on Sunday; maybe one come Monday.' Too many people would be showing up wanting to take the boat to Sidney only to find out that they're on the wrong day, or would take the smart approach and abandon the Sidney run altogether in favor of the daily, multiple-sailing Tsawwassen boat.
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Post by Kahloke on Dec 18, 2010 13:13:35 GMT -8
In the official WSF drydock (or so it seems) at Todd, I was pleased to find the Elwha getting some attention. Again, horribly backlit, but not much I could do about that. As an aside, I took a few pics of the Chetzemoka's progress. They are in the Kwa-di TubToy Construction Photos thread... Enjoy!
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Post by Kahloke on Dec 18, 2010 14:21:00 GMT -8
Kam's photos of Elwha from his recent trip. Hello everyone! We had our first trip on the WSF run from Sidney to Friday Harbour and over to Orcas Island this weekend. The trip from Sidney to Friday Harbour was foggy and wet, but it was a great opportunity to explore the Elwha. My overall impression is she is not a bad looking ship from the outside, but her interior and amenities leave much to be desired.. Certainly not very encouraging or enticing for tourism... Over all, the biggest problem appeared to be upkeep of the passenger spaces. The floors where worn and dirt was accumulating along corners and edges. The outside decks had a layer of grime on them and looks like they hadn't been hosed down, well, ever. The snack bar had only one person working, so once it ran out of hot dogs and pretzels, that was it until the casher could make it in to the back and put out some more. And one positive aspect of the passenger space is the indoor bench style seating is perfect for sprawling out on :-) I did notice one odd thing about the way she handles, and that is whenever any rudder input is given she has a habit of heeling over, even at fairly slow manoeuvring speeds. Here she is on approach to Sidney MV Elwha IMG_2197 by Kam's World, on Flickr MV Elwha IMG_2206 by Kam's World, on Flickr MV Elwha IMG_2208 by Kam's World, on Flickr MV Elwha IMG_2213 by Kam's World, on Flickr And a few shots of her while under way MV Elwha IMG_2224 by Kam's World, on Flickr MV Elwha IMG_2225 by Kam's World, on Flickr MV Elwha IMG_2229 by Kam's World, on Flickr MV Elwha IMG_2230 by Kam's World, on Flickr MV Elwha IMG_2233 by Kam's World, on Flickr MV Elwha IMG_2236 by Kam's World, on Flickr MV Elwha IMG_2237 by Kam's World, on Flickr Not sure what was up with the blocked off area... MV Elwha IMG_2240 by Kam's World, on Flickr MV Elwha IMG_2243 by Kam's World, on Flickr I was one of two vehicles going to Friday Harbour that day! To load, we where directed up the left hand ramp deck, down the other side and and around to the other ramp deck so we ended up facing the Sidney side. MV Elwha IMG_2246 by Kam's World, on Flickr I've always wondered about the wisdom of having life rafts and evacuation equipment on the car decks... on a RO/RO ferry, most situations that call for the use of life boats, etc, are fires on the car deck.... MV Elwha IMG_2248 by Kam's World, on Flickr MV Elwha IMG_2249 by Kam's World, on Flickr MV Elwha IMG_2253 by Kam's World, on Flickr MV Elwha IMG_2255 by Kam's World, on Flickr MV Elwha IMG_2256 by Kam's World, on Flickr MV Elwha IMG_2263 by Kam's World, on Flickr I noticed that she not only has a horn on top of her bridge, but on one of her pickle forks as well. Anyone know why this is? MV Elwha IMG_2265 by Kam's World, on Flickr
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Post by Dane on Dec 28, 2010 23:49:00 GMT -8
First, RE: Flashbangs.... all I can say is really...Anyways, today I learned you can see the run from Sidney while traveling to Swartz Bay. Never had any idea that was possible. Excuse the image quality, it stretched the zoom of my handheld to the max. Photos from the Skeena Queen. 28 Dec 10
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Post by Low Light Mike on Dec 29, 2010 9:19:06 GMT -8
Anyways, today I learned you can see the run from Sidney while traveling to Swartz Bay. Never had any idea that was possible. Excuse the image quality, it stretched the zoom of my handheld to the max. Photos from the Skeena Queen. 28 Dec 10 Considering that the Sidney route ends for the season on Dec.31st, and the liklihood of Chelan being the route's ship when it resumes in Spring 2011, this might be the last photo of Elwha on the International-route, for some time.
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Koastal Karl
Voyager
Been on every BC Ferry now!!!!!
Posts: 7,747
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Post by Koastal Karl on Dec 29, 2010 10:15:51 GMT -8
The Elwha is so much better on the Sidney run. Just like the Nor Ad on the Inside Passage it's like they put a ship with horrible viewing areas on a touristy run like the Inside Passage and the Chelan on the Sidney to Anacortes run.
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Post by Barnacle on Dec 29, 2010 10:22:57 GMT -8
The Elwha is so much better on the Sidney run. Just like the Nor Ad on the Inside Passage it's like they put a ship with horrible viewing areas on a touristy run like the Inside Passage and the Chelan on the Sidney to Anacortes run. Except that the Chelan is much less expensive to operate on that run and is a much better sea boat. Practicality trumped style on this one.
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Post by Kahloke on Dec 29, 2010 10:27:05 GMT -8
The Elwha is so much better on the Sidney run. Just like the Nor Ad on the Inside Passage it's like they put a ship with horrible viewing areas on a touristy run like the Inside Passage and the Chelan on the Sidney to Anacortes run. It costs more to run Elwha to Sidney versus Chelan, and the traffic volume, or lack-thereof, does not warrant the use of a larger vessel. Yes, Elwha has a better passenger cabin layout than Chelan with more outside deck areas, but WSF is facing some serious budget shortfalls, and I guess we should be lucky that they are keeping the run at all.
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Koastal Karl
Voyager
Been on every BC Ferry now!!!!!
Posts: 7,747
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Post by Koastal Karl on Dec 29, 2010 10:40:51 GMT -8
Yeah I guess that is true. Although I shouldent be the one to judge seeing I have never even been on the Chelan before, lol! I bet WSF could get away with the Evergreen State on the Sidney run. Those were the days when I used to see that ship in Sidney!
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