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Post by Mac Write on Jun 19, 2009 11:33:35 GMT -8
Maybe the crews will go home on the next ferry?
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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 Jun 19, 2009 11:36:00 GMT -8
ok my bad, I just looked on the printed schedule and there is no 10am sailings either which means they will start at noon from both sides. Kind of confusing cause RBI says there are 10am sailings. They shouldent be confusing people like that.
RBI, Travel Centre and the schedules online all show 10am sailings. The printed schedule shows there are no 10am sailings. So you tell me which one is correct???
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Post by ferryfanyvr on Jun 19, 2009 18:36:20 GMT -8
I noticed the same thing a couple days ago. According to the online schedule and RBI, the CC and NW both start their day from their home terminals at 10AM putting them on deparures opposite to the ones they're usually on. This wouldn't be an issue if they did an even number of sailings ie: full round trips, but the 8PM sailings that would get them back home again aren't shown. So are they deadheading back? I'm going to e-mail BCF and ask them...I'll keep you posted.
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Post by gordon on Jun 19, 2009 19:05:23 GMT -8
I noticed that too yet June 30th has hourly sailings from 7 AM
note: for some reason no 3rd vessel on route #2 June 30 or Canada Day, that seems a bit strange to me.
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Post by ferryfanyvr on Jun 24, 2009 18:25:45 GMT -8
Here's the email I sent to the BCF customer relations department: "I have a question regarding the July 1st schudule on route 1 concerning the even-hour sailings. Both the online schedule and RBI show the Coastal Celebration and Queen of New Westminster starting their service day leaving their home ports of Swartz Bay and Tsawwassen respectively at 10AM. They then depart the opposite side at 12noon, then from their base again at 2PM returning at 4PM, and finally sailing a 3rd departure from their base terminals at 6PM. But their are no 8PM sailings shown to get them "home" again. So are they both deadheading back or have the 8PM sailings been omitted from the schedules? Thanks for you time." And here is the response I received today: Thank you for taking the time contacting us. The schedule for Swartz Bay - Tsawwassen valid from June 30 - July 26 does list a 8:00 pm sailing for certain dates, it further shows a 9:00 pm sailing daily and a 10:00 pm sailing on certain dates again. Please also note that there are 3 vessels servicing this route. I hope that this helps, please let me know if you do have further questions. ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------- As you can see, I don't think they had a clue what I was asking And apparently the employee who responded doesn't know that rte 1 is a 4-ship operation from now right through the summer. I have just emailed them again!
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Post by ferryfan on Jun 25, 2009 9:08:30 GMT -8
i have a feeling that there is an error with the schedule because there is a crew coming on at 4pm and they're only doing one round trip....what makes sense to me is that the 2pm is to be cancelled, so that both crews do one round trip each...that way they end up at their home port and then they can do a crew change....
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Post by ferryfanyvr on Jun 25, 2009 20:44:42 GMT -8
I just noticed on RBI that commencing with the 1430 sailing from Langdale this Saturday the 27th, and continuing until at least the end of July (as far ahead as I've checked so far) that the Coquitlam is number 1 vessel, and the Surrey is number 2!
So what are everyone's thoughts on this? If I get a chance to go for a rte 3 ride this weekend I'll see what the crew has to say.
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Post by gordon on Jun 25, 2009 21:15:30 GMT -8
It seems that according to RBI The Coquitlam is the primary vessel on Rt# 3 until the end of August.
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Post by Balfour on Jun 25, 2009 21:16:03 GMT -8
Oh the route 3 passengers will be thrilled I'm sure!
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Post by ferryfanyvr on Jun 26, 2009 18:49:55 GMT -8
Well, there must have been a glitch on RBI and the BCF Travel Centre....the Surrey is now being shown as #1 vessel, and the Coquitlam #2
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Post by Mike C on Jun 26, 2009 20:47:07 GMT -8
Well, there must have been a glitch on RBI and the BCF Travel Centre....the Surrey is now being shown as #1 vessel, and the Coquitlam #2 lol good riddance... the Coquitlam can't handle traffic very well. And besides the state she's in, she deserves #2 spot.
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Post by ferryfanyvr on Jun 27, 2009 6:44:07 GMT -8
Perhaps if she was given #1 spot more often she would be in better shape As for handling traffic better, there is no difference in vehicle capacity or passenger capacity for that matter. Yes, the Coquitlam's lounge areas are a bit smaller but in my 28+ years of riding both ships (and others of course) a crowded sailing is a crowded sailing no matter what. And last summer, the Surrey's extra washrooms on deck 6 were closed most days anyway. Well, I'm afraid I've let my intolerance for the Surrey show through . I've disliked her ever since she started as #1 ship out of Departure Bay in 1981.
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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 Jun 27, 2009 8:17:21 GMT -8
Hey watch what you say about the Coquitlam. I think the Coquitlam and Cowichan are way better than the Surrey and Oak Bay. They look better too. Who cares if there passenger areas are smaller. They are not that much smaller when you think about it. Same with the Alberni! I agree with ferryfanyvr maybe if they used her more she would be in better shape if she had a specific crew assigned to her.
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Post by ferryfanyvr on Jun 27, 2009 17:53:24 GMT -8
Thank you Karl...now I don't feel so very alone
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FNS
Voyager
The Empire Builder train of yesteryear in HO scale
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Post by FNS on Jun 27, 2009 18:00:39 GMT -8
Hey watch what you say about the Coquitlam. I think the Coquitlam and Cowichan are way better than the Surrey and Oak Bay. They look better too. Who cares if there passenger areas are smaller. They are not that much smaller when you think about it. Same with the Alberni! I agree with ferryfanyvr maybe if they used her more she would be in better shape if she had a specific crew assigned to her. Anything derogatory said about the QUEEN OF COQUITLAM hurts me too! She's my favourite BCF!!
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Post by Nickfro on Jun 27, 2009 18:05:06 GMT -8
It's not just how they look, nor is it the frequency of being in service, it's practicality. It has to be simply that the Coquitlam didn't receive as significant of a MLU like the other C's did. That's why she is the 'mule' of the C Class ferry fleet.
I like all the C Class ferries. It just so happens that one (or sometimes two) must be left out of full time service. If it wasn't for the extra overheight space on the Alberni, the Coquitlam would have a more full time deployment.
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Post by ferryfanyvr on Jun 27, 2009 19:03:37 GMT -8
That's true...we need at least one C-class vessel to be used only part time so there is flexibility should there be a major breakdown......not that I'm wishing clutch problems or anything upon the Queen of Surrey this summer
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Post by gordon on Jun 27, 2009 19:45:23 GMT -8
Would it have made sense to have 1 of the Cs having hoistable ramps instead of fixed gallery decks to give the vessel (Coquitlam) more flexability and give the Alberni a good replacement when she goes in for re-fit?
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Post by ferryfan on Jun 30, 2009 12:04:15 GMT -8
just had another look at the schedule and the 10am sailing from both sides is cancelled....so the new west and the coastal will sail at 12pm, then do a crew change at 4pm....
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Post by ferryfanyvr on Jun 30, 2009 18:24:24 GMT -8
Yes....when I finished work today I had a message on my cell phone. It was a lady from BCF Customer Relations responding to my e-mail (I think she said her name was Elke...anyway she was very pleasant). She said that there was indeed an error on the schedule and thanked me for bringing it to their attention. She said that the on-line schedule and RBI would be updated ASAP and obviously that has now been done.
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Post by Ferryman on Jul 4, 2009 12:38:23 GMT -8
The Route 3 summer schedule seems quite odd to me right now. I'm sitting in Horseshoe Bay at the moment, watching the Queen of Coquitlam load for the 1:35pm sailing. At first I was thinking that the Coquitlam and Surrey did in fact switch spots. But I checked the actual Departures Page to figure things out. So if one were to pull the Queen of Coquitlam from the schedule, to say, Route 2 to fill in for a broken down vessel, notice the fairly substantial departure time gaps.
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Post by ferryfanyvr on Jul 4, 2009 17:42:10 GMT -8
There was the same 3 hour gap between sailings Saturday afternoons last year too. I remember thinking then that there must have been an error in the schedule. The Surrey only does 7 round trips Saturdays instead of her usual 8. I guess if one ship was pulled from the route, the Surrey would sail the round trip she misses on Saturdays.
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Post by lmtengs on Jul 4, 2009 18:48:47 GMT -8
Was the Coqui in the news a lot about 5 years ago??
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Post by ferryfanyvr on Jul 4, 2009 20:58:25 GMT -8
Maybe 6 years ago when she became the first c-class vessel to have a mid-life upgrade and be "coastalized". BCF promoted the upgrades in the media quite a bit. Then she was in the news again when the new life saving equipment that was installed wasn't suitable for the disabled, and changes had to be made.
It's interesting that with the rte. 3 summer schedule, the Coquitlam ends up carrying more traffic on her sailings the days she's in service than some of the Surrey's sailings. It's just because the Coquitlam sails after a bit of a "gap" in service, then the Surrey follows less than an hour later picking up what's left over and anything that's arrived since the Coq departed. My BCF friend says that the Coq will sail with 800 or 900 passengers, then the next sailing of the Surrey only has 200 or 300. The Cowichan has the same effect on the Oak Bay's traffic on rte 2, unless there's a 1 or 2 sailing wait.
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Post by hwy19man on Jul 9, 2009 18:24:21 GMT -8
Anyone know what happened to the Coquitlam today? Its 1230h and 1335h trips were cancelled but the later commuter sailing went on time. The Surrey is now running behind schedule because of this.
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