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Post by roeco on Jan 5, 2016 14:29:35 GMT -8
I believe that this is a crew required 'rest' issue. There is not enough crew to operate the vessel for a period of more than 12 hours. The larger northern vessels have for all intents & purposes two crews on board all the time, one working the other one sleeping/ resting. I don't suppose a note to Minister Stone, regarding the layover/crewing situation you outline in your post would generate any improvements to this situation? Second thought.....what more could 'Nimpkish' passengers require, after all, no one has turned off the potable water taps have they? What an abysmal manner of treating folks who rely on that service. Yeah you would think their may be some kind of solution to the layover...! Or at least to shorten it.
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Post by hwy19man on Jan 8, 2016 18:59:07 GMT -8
And of course this coming weekend there is no extra sailings at all on route 1 which I dont get. It seems this way every year. Two coastal's on route 1 is gonna suck especially with the Coho and Sidney to Anacortes being out of service route 1 I assume will be more busier than normal. I think they should always have at least one Spirit on route 1 at all times. I believe that, statistically, the weekend following the New Year is the lightest traffic weekend of the year. Everyone is back at work, and there are virtually no tourists. But you're probably right... if we monitor the sailings, I bet there will be overloads. Maybe just not enough that they can be shamed into changing things for next year.
There has been one sailing wait since 1300h at both route 1 terminals. The 1900h sailings are full on both sides.
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Post by hwy19man on Jan 8, 2016 21:01:23 GMT -8
The 2100h sailings on route 1: 57% from TSA and 31% from SWB.
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Post by Deleted on May 26, 2016 8:21:46 GMT -8
More improvements are coming for route 3. Thanks to increased traffic this year, some sailings have been added during the shoulder season. BC Ferries is also now practicing good common sense by starting the summer schedule around the actual start of summer (June 21st this year). Hopefully this spills over to other routes as well. PS: It looks like route 2 will also have its summer schedule started on June 21st.
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Post by Deleted on May 26, 2016 15:35:42 GMT -8
Quick addendum: the summer Sunday 19:55 on route 3 has been eliminated. All it does is saves a half hour's OT I think, as the Coquitlam always went straight into berth 2, since traffic was usually quiet...
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Post by WettCoast on Jun 1, 2016 15:45:23 GMT -8
Not sure if this is the right place to put this but ...
It appears that the Coastal Celebration is #1 today on Route 1 out of Tsawwassen. I assume that it is a Tsawwassen based crew aboard her. Can anyone confirm?
Questions: - What is up with the SoBC? - I don't believe the CCel has ever been based at Tsawwassen? Has it ever been based at a terminal other than Swartz Bay, or served on a run other than route 1?
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Post by Dane on Jun 1, 2016 16:08:52 GMT -8
It did run out of Tsawwassen within her first year (ish) of service when the SoBC went down. I don't remember the exact details unfortunately. Curious it's happening again, though.
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Post by WettCoast on Jun 1, 2016 16:42:43 GMT -8
It did run out of Tsawwassen within her first year (ish) of service when the SoBC went down. I don't remember the exact details unfortunately. Curious it's happening again, though. Dane, I thought that no Tsawassen based crews were 'fammed' on the Coastal class vessels until they started running the Renaissance from there during the slow season a few years back? Perhaps the C. Celebration is to be 'based' at Tsawwassen during the SoBC's lengthy Polish sojourn?
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Koastal Karl
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Post by Koastal Karl on Jun 1, 2016 17:10:18 GMT -8
I think they are probably doing last min maintenance on the SOBC before the summer season. I noticed this yesterday too was the first day. They did that a few weeks ago on the SOVI that is the only thing I can think of. There are numerous extra sailings tommorrow with the Celebration and New West so the C Cel has to be back tomorrow which means the SOBC will be back. I believe when the SOVI was out she was replaced by the Renaissance which was odd for the Rennie to be number 1 out of Swartz Bay, but the Renaissance is on route 30 right now replacing the Inspiration which is probably why she is not on route 1 replacing the SOBC. This is the first time I seen the C Cel based out of Tsawwassen too!
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Post by Dane on Jun 1, 2016 19:34:20 GMT -8
It did run out of Tsawwassen within her first year (ish) of service when the SoBC went down. I don't remember the exact details unfortunately. Curious it's happening again, though. Dane, I thought that no Tsawassen based crews were 'fammed' on the Coastal class vessels until they started running the Renaissance from there during the slow season a few years back? Perhaps the C. Celebration is to be 'based' at Tsawwassen during the SoBC's lengthy Polish sojourn? My timeline may be off. Honestly I only remember because it had an impact on the buffet scheduling. Which is ridiculous as that sounds I remember more clearly than the ships. I wouldn't be shocked if the info is in the CCel thread, but to be honest I dont have the interest to check.
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Nick
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Post by Nick on Jun 2, 2016 12:49:14 GMT -8
Not sure if this is the right place to put this but ... It appears that the Coastal Celebration is #1 today on Route 1 out of Tsawwassen. I assume that it is a Tsawwassen based crew aboard her. Can anyone confirm? Questions: - What is up with the SoBC? - I don't believe the CCel has ever been based at Tsawwassen? Has it ever been based at a terminal other than Swartz Bay, or served on a run other than route 1? SoBC is/was undergoing main engine repairs/maintenance Tuesday, Wednesday and Thursday of this week. During this time the CC was running out of Tsawwassen with Tsawwassen based deck and catering crews and her normal Swartz Bay ER crew. The work is semi-urgent, and was planned for the low traffic time of the week to minimize its impact on the public. I'm pretty sure the CC has done refit relief for the SoBC before, when the New West was covering on route 30. Couldn't say when though.
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Post by Low Light Mike on Jun 5, 2016 17:44:10 GMT -8
Tsawwassen to SGI: Throughfare pilot-project - starts June 6, 2016: - the main change is the sign that you hang from your car's mirror to identify you at Tsawwassen as a ThroughFare user. This will allow Tsawwassen loading staff to direct you to a lane on the ship that likely offloads early at Swartz. from HERE
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Neil
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Post by Neil on Jun 5, 2016 21:32:02 GMT -8
...so, the main takeaway from that big long notice that Mr Horn linked to, above, is that BC Ferries is giving out flags that maybe/possibly/if you're lucky will get you unloaded more quickly at Swartz Bay if you're travelling through to the Gulf Islands.
I'll admit I'm pretty cynical, so what comes to mind is that they want people to depend less on route nine, and more on route five, which frequently sails with a lot of empty deck space. When they get rid of the 'Nanaimo, it is going to be replaced for at least half the year by a single vessel with 45 fewer vehicle spaces. They want to funnel more traffic through a much longer Swartz Bay connection to take the pressure off. They want people to go racing off down the highway from Swartz Bay, do a u'ey and hopefully arrive back in time for a Gulf Island sailing... but, no guarantees, not even that your car flag will do what it's intended to.
Well, at least it provided some gainful employment for the person writing the service notice.
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Post by Cascadian Transport on Jun 11, 2016 16:12:32 GMT -8
I just noticed something fishy. The reservation page for Route 1 on July 16 has the QoNW doing a 6:00 and an 8:00 sailing out of Tsawwassen. This is obviously an error. My questions: When would this issue be resolved, and when there is a 6:00 out of Tsawwassen, is it usually made by QoNW, CCel, or another boat?
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Post by WettCoast on Jun 11, 2016 18:03:35 GMT -8
I just noticed something fishy. The reservation page for Route 1 on July 16 has the QoNW doing a 6:00 and an 8:00 sailing out of Tsawwassen. This is obviously an error. My questions: When would this issue be resolved, and when there is a 6:00 out of Tsawwassen, is it usually made by QoNW, CCel, or another boat? That reservation page is screwed up. The QNW will start its day from Tsawwassen at 6 AM, and the C.Cel will start its day from Swartz Bay also at 6 AM. So the C.Cel will leave Tsawwassen at 8 AM, & so on for the rest of the day. The service day on route 1 will start at 6 AM on Saturdays & Mondays this summer, except where holiday weekends disrupt the pattern. The Route 1 '#2' vessels ( QNW & C.Cel) will be doing those 6 AM sailings, meaning that their normal routine is moved ahead by two hours.
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Neil
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Post by Neil on Nov 12, 2016 23:13:45 GMT -8
If we still had printed schedules, I could get the answer to this question easily... but we don't, and the BC Ferries website doesn't archive past schedules.
I noticed today that the Saturday winter schedule for route 30 has departures from 5:15am through 5:45pm. I seem to remember (or perhaps, 'rememble', as my younger daughter disparagingly refers to my memory faculties) that last winter, and in recent years, the Saturday schedule only ran from 7:45 through 3:15pm. So, either they've expanded service, or I'm just, you know, getting old, with all that entails. Help?
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Post by Low Light Mike on Nov 12, 2016 23:39:51 GMT -8
If we still had printed schedules, I could get the answer to this question easily... but we don't, and the BC Ferries website doesn't archive past schedules.
I noticed today that the Saturday winter schedule for route 30 has departures from 5:15am through 5:45pm. I seem to remember (or perhaps, 'rememble', as my younger daughter disparagingly refers to my memory faculties) that last winter, and in recent years, the Saturday schedule only ran from 7:45 through 3:15pm. So, either they've expanded service, or I'm just, you know, getting old, with all that entails. Help? I noticed that too. Last winter, they did have the "wrong direction Saturday" schedule. Not so this year. ...perhaps there was enough traffic to justify the extra trips this year?
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Neil
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Post by Neil on Mar 25, 2017 21:16:42 GMT -8
I may have mentioned this before, but one thing I like about the upcoming summer schedule for the Gulf Islands is the opportunity- for the first time ever, I believe- to actually do a day trip from the mainland to Saturna. I would hope the Saturna business community has thought to market this.
On Saturdays, you leave Tsawwassen at 10:50am, arriving at Lyall Harbour after a transfer at 1:05. You have almost seven hours to explore the island before leaving at 8:00pm. Sundays, you leave Tsawwassen at 9:15am, arriving at 11:45, heading back at 7:30pm.
The downside: the fares. $193.30, for two people and a car, with the cheapest reservation fee, made more than a week in advance.
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Ferryman
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Post by Ferryman on Mar 25, 2017 22:42:38 GMT -8
Neil, Believe it or not, reservations are free of charge on Route 9, and they have been for quite some time. This was done in an effort to encourage people to book a spot to not only guarantee their spot on board, but also for the Chief Officer to build a stowage plan in advance for the multi-port loading with knowing what to expect will be coming at each port. www.bcferries.com/res/visgi_faq.html#costPlus, you get to ride on two ferries for $10 cheaper than a round trip on Route 1 (sans reservation)
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Neil
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Post by Neil on Mar 25, 2017 23:20:49 GMT -8
Neil, Believe it or not, reservations are free of charge on Route 9, and they have been for quite some time. This was done in an effort to encourage people to book a spot to not only guarantee their spot on board, but also for the Chief Officer to build a stowage plan in advance for the multi-port loading with knowing what to expect will be coming at each port. www.bcferries.com/res/visgi_faq.html#costPlus, you get to ride on two ferries for $10 cheaper than a round trip on Route 1 (sans reservation) So the return fare for two in a car to Saturna is only $173.30, not $193.30, as I stated. Thirty lashes with a wet noodle for under-estimating a bargain.
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Ferryman
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Post by Ferryman on Mar 26, 2017 13:09:24 GMT -8
Neil, Believe it or not, reservations are free of charge on Route 9, and they have been for quite some time. This was done in an effort to encourage people to book a spot to not only guarantee their spot on board, but also for the Chief Officer to build a stowage plan in advance for the multi-port loading with knowing what to expect will be coming at each port. www.bcferries.com/res/visgi_faq.html#costPlus, you get to ride on two ferries for $10 cheaper than a round trip on Route 1 (sans reservation) So the return fare for two in a car to Saturna is only $173.30, not $193.30, as I stated. Thirty lashes with a wet noodle for under-estimating a bargain. Plus, I forgot to mention the 2.9% fuel rebate
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Post by chinook2 on May 18, 2017 23:03:07 GMT -8
Neil, Believe it or not, reservations are free of charge on Route 9, and they have been for quite some time. This was done in an effort to encourage people to book a spot to not only guarantee their spot on board, but also for the Chief Officer to build a stowage plan in advance for the multi-port loading with knowing what to expect will be coming at each port. There has been a reservation system on route 9 at least since I learned to read in 1969, and possibly since beginning of service in 1963. With the smaller ships doing more round trips got the cars to the sailings at the right times as well. Limited supplementary service options back then; Queen of Sidney made scheduled calls at OB and VB in her summer schedule; have seen a late 60s schedule that had a Sunday evening route 1 sailing calling at Village Bay; remember being on of those trips. All Tsawwassen-Saturna trips involved a transfer at VB to Mayne Queen, which ran a fixed route--Swartz, OB, Lyall, VB, Montague and return.
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Post by WettCoast on May 19, 2017 8:47:45 GMT -8
Neil, Believe it or not, reservations are free of charge on Route 9, and they have been for quite some time. This was done in an effort to encourage people to book a spot to not only guarantee their spot on board, but also for the Chief Officer to build a stowage plan in advance for the multi-port loading with knowing what to expect will be coming at each port. There has been a reservation system on route 9 at least since I learned to read in 1969, and possibly since beginning of service in 1963. With the smaller ships doing more round trips got the cars to the sailings at the right times as well. Limited supplementary service options back then; Queen of Sidney made scheduled calls at OB and VB in her summer schedule; have seen a late 60s schedule that had a Sunday evening route 1 sailing calling at Village Bay; remember being on of those trips. All Tsawwassen-Saturna trips involved a transfer at VB to Mayne Queen, which ran a fixed route--Swartz, OB, Lyall, VB, Montague and return. Route 9 was the only 'southern' route with reservations way back when. Route 10, the Inside Passage, has also had reservations since ~1970, or earlier. I am not sure which of the two routes was the first ro have a reservation system. Reservations on the main Georgia Strait routes are a 'relatively recent' development.
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Neil
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Post by Neil on May 19, 2017 9:57:43 GMT -8
There has been a reservation system on route 9 at least since I learned to read in 1969, and possibly since beginning of service in 1963. With the smaller ships doing more round trips got the cars to the sailings at the right times as well. Limited supplementary service options back then; Queen of Sidney made scheduled calls at OB and VB in her summer schedule; have seen a late 60s schedule that had a Sunday evening route 1 sailing calling at Village Bay; remember being on of those trips. All Tsawwassen-Saturna trips involved a transfer at VB to Mayne Queen, which ran a fixed route--Swartz, OB, Lyall, VB, Montague and return. Route 9 was the only 'southern' route with reservations way back when. Route 10, the Inside Passage, has also had reservations since ~1970, or earlier. I am not sure which of the two routes was the first ro have a reservation system. Reservations on the main Georgia Strait routes are a 'relatively recent' development. Couple of corrections to chinook's post... the Mayne Queen didn't always do the calls in the same order, and there were times, summer of '92 for one, where there were a few Saturna-Tsawwassen sailings where one didn't have to transfer. My oldest schedule is summer '66, and both routes nine and ten had reservations then.
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Neil
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Post by Neil on May 29, 2017 22:20:51 GMT -8
No service notice or news release that I can see, but as of the fall schedule, BC Ferries has restored year round hourly daytime service to Denman, with a 2:35 sailing from Buckley Bay. Outside of summer, there's been a gap from 1:15 to 3:15, leading to overloads on the latter sailing even in the dead of winter. Today, I noticed they left a lot of cars behind... on a Monday in May.
The new schedule isn't hourly, strictly speaking, but when you average the sailings out, it is.
No restoration of the sailing to Hornby, and the early afternoon schedule doesn't connect properly, but the admission that traffic warranted the old service level to Denman will hopefully prompt some tweaking. Even more hopeful given the impending change in government, and the base strength of the NDP-Green alliance on the coast.
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