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Post by hwy19man on Dec 21, 2011 15:56:13 GMT -8
BCFS must have been pretty confident that whatever caused CI's hard landing at DUK has been corrected and that the risk of bashing up DPB #2 (again) was minimal. There must have been a lot praying as well.
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Post by hwy19man on Dec 21, 2011 16:16:42 GMT -8
Isn't this great? Right at the start of the holiday season, too. I think we may have to go the Sunshine Coast route up to Comox this Christmas, unless they can completely fix the terminal in the next week. doubtful she can be repaired that quick, my guess is if its a door on the CI that needs work, count on it being out for at least a month Too bad they never built the second berth. Silver lining aspect, I guess, is the fact that Departure Bay was upgraded a while back- it will be a busy spot for the next while. A busy time for travel so Murphy's Law strikes again! [/size] [/b]
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Post by hwy19man on Dec 21, 2011 16:18:42 GMT -8
On a brighter note, it'll be good to see the New West operating out of Departure Bay again like she did with the Nanaimo and Burnaby back in the 70's. The NW was on route 2 for a short stint a few years ago.
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Post by hwy19man on Dec 21, 2011 16:25:42 GMT -8
Too bad they never built the second berth. Silver lining aspect, I guess, is the fact that Departure Bay was upgraded a while back- it will be a busy spot for the next while. Happy times for the folks up Brechin Road, with ferries loading at 5am and unloading at a quarter to one at night. Turn back the clock to before June 1997.
I remember many people wondering why BC Ferries did not want to build the second berth. Those same people did say that it would be beneficial to have it constructed if there were a problem at Duke Point for an extended period of time. Those concerns have unfortunately come true.
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Post by hwy19man on Dec 21, 2011 16:30:35 GMT -8
I wonder if the Nanaimo Regional Transit system will improve bus service to and from the Departure Bay ferry terminal with more foot passengers coming through the terminal?
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Neil
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Posts: 7,150
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Post by Neil on Dec 21, 2011 16:31:27 GMT -8
Too bad they never built the second berth. Silver lining aspect, I guess, is the fact that Departure Bay was upgraded a while back- it will be a busy spot for the next while. A busy time for travel so Murphy's Law strikes again! [/size] [/b][/quote] Emphatic emphasis wasn't in my post. My remark was only an observation; they've rarely had need of a second berth at Duke Point, although it is the only one of their six major south coast terminals that has only one. "Murphy's Law"? I don't think so. There's no particular history of collisions or breakdowns before major holidays; people just tend to remember the ones that do happen. You traffic reporters have a flare for the dramatic.
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Post by Scott (Former Account) on Dec 21, 2011 16:46:42 GMT -8
BC Ferries News Release:
Sounds like the Queen of New Westminster may delay her refit and remain Tsawwassen's Route 30 vessel during the holiday season. If this is the case, the Queen of Alberni will likely be run by the Duke Point crew through Departure Bay and the Queen of Coquitlam will move back to being the number two from Departure Bay on Route 2.
According to the Travel Centre, the Coastal Renaissance will be run by the Duke Point crew through Departure Bay starting with the 5:15 AM sailing tomorrow morning. This will allow the Queen of Coquitlam to move back to being the number two from Departure Bay on Route 2. The Queen of New Westminster will be Tsawwassen's number two for Route 1 during the holidays.
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Post by hwy19man on Dec 21, 2011 16:58:06 GMT -8
A busy time for travel so Murphy's Law strikes again! [/size] [/b][/quote] Emphatic emphasis wasn't in my post. My remark was only an observation; they've rarely had need of a second berth at Duke Point, although it is the only one of their six major south coast terminals that has only one. "Murphy's Law"? I don't think so. There's no particular history of collisions or breakdowns before major holidays; people just tend to remember the ones that do happen. You traffic reporters have a flare for the dramatic. [/quote] There have been mechanical breakdowns of vessels just before weekends (regular, summer, and long ones) in the past. Nothing serious, but we hear about it on the radio and read it here too.
I agree with your silver lining comment. BCFerries must be glad they did the upgrades to Dep. Bay. The Duke Point terminal has functioned very well prior to this incident. It was six to eight years ago I recall that the berth ramp malfunctioned at Duke Point and for half a day, ferries went to Dep. Bay. Other than that, it has been smooth sailing.
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Post by Scott on Dec 21, 2011 17:09:44 GMT -8
How long did Route 30 operate out of Departure Bay before Duke Point was built?
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Post by Low Light Mike on Dec 21, 2011 17:15:23 GMT -8
How long did Route 30 operate out of Departure Bay before Duke Point was built? 1991 - 1997
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Post by hwy19man on Dec 21, 2011 17:19:03 GMT -8
How long did Route 30 operate out of Departure Bay before Duke Point was built? A quick look at my notes on the Vancouver Island Highway project (Hwy 19) says seven years. May 1990 to June 1997
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Post by gordon on Dec 21, 2011 17:51:16 GMT -8
Would it makes ense for Duke Point to have a 2nd berth so that if the main one was out of service that one could be used?
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Post by lmtengs on Dec 21, 2011 17:55:23 GMT -8
Well the way these events have unfolded, I guess my original travel plans have been changed from the following, to the following of the following:
Original: Rt. 30 WB, Dec. 27th. Rt. 2 EB, Dec. 28/29th.
Rescheduled: Rt. 30 WB, Dec. 26/27th. Rt. 17 EB, Rt. 7 EB, Rt. 3 EB, Dec. 28/29th.
It's more fun, and I don't need to spend hours stuck outside of DPB's compound before my sailing back home!
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Post by shipyard on Dec 21, 2011 18:18:51 GMT -8
If I were the betting type, I'd wager that the terminal won't really take several months to repair, rather it's a convenient excuse to close the terminal during the slowest time of the year, resulting in significant savings. They ordinarily couldn't afford to do this politically, but the timing of this unfortunate incident has given them the opening. This is all speculation, but I'm quite sure if they were motivated, that terminal would be repaired sooner.
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Post by Scott (Former Account) on Dec 21, 2011 18:35:39 GMT -8
...rather it's a convenient excuse to close the terminal during the slowest time of the year, resulting in significant savings. There are no savings... The crews from Duke Point (both terminal and shipboard) are now at Departure Bay. BC Ferries are likely to require Island Traffic Services to help with staging of vehicle traffic for Routes 2 and 30. Smith Transportation is currently providing bus service to Duke Point for those passengers who have vehicles parked at the terminal.
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Post by Dane on Dec 21, 2011 18:48:55 GMT -8
I wonder if the Nanaimo Regional Transit system will improve bus service to and from the Departure Bay ferry terminal with more foot passengers coming through the terminal? BC Transit doesn't serve Duke Point do they? I doubt there will be a rush to serve something that wasn't served before - partiuclarly on a fairly foot traffic lite route. Time will tell though. Maybe having 30 out of Departure Bay may re-adjust some travel habits for some?
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Post by glasseye on Dec 21, 2011 20:19:24 GMT -8
Reservations and booking is showing the CR subbing-in for the CI until 4 January.
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Post by WettCoast on Dec 21, 2011 21:22:55 GMT -8
Each of the Coastal class vessels has now had what I would call very significant incidents involving collisions during berthing. Okay, in the case of the C-Cel it was actually leaving the berth.
Are these entirely coincidental or is there some kind of serious problem that all these vessels share? Do we know why the C-Cel suddenly changed direction while departing Swartz Bay? Presumably BCFS did a thorough investigation. Were results of this shared with their owners?
Re the C-Ren accident that took out an overhead walkway at Departure Bay about 2 years ago - was this human/operator error entirely or was the cause at least partially mechanical or electronic?
They are lucky so far that there has not been serious injuries or worse.
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Post by hullnumbers on Dec 21, 2011 21:42:44 GMT -8
Please, dock crashes are nothing, It happens. but thank goodness we got experienced captain of the fleet and crew that make sure everyone is safe.
The Queen of the Norths was much worst.
All captain slip up on docking. They always have to do the samething everyday for almost 24/7.
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mrdot
Voyager
Mr. DOT
Posts: 1,252
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Post by mrdot on Dec 21, 2011 21:49:54 GMT -8
:)I wonder if the new German wonder craft with a pinchent for hard landings, will become known as marine tanks of the Pacific northwest coast! ???mrdot.
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Post by glasseye on Dec 21, 2011 22:13:13 GMT -8
Please, dock crashes are nothing, It happens. "Ship happens" is an only acceptable answer to incidents that cost money and don't cause injuries. CI's run-in with Duke Point injured 12. The last serious allision sent one person to hospital. BCFS has had four hard landings this year. First-world ferry operators are not supposed to have this kind of record. Something, somewhere, is wrong with BCFS training, procedures, or equipment. It's time for the company and/or Transport Canada to find out what the problem is and fix it before somebody gets killed.
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Neil
Voyager
Posts: 7,150
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Post by Neil on Dec 21, 2011 22:24:07 GMT -8
. All captain slip up on docking. They always have to do the samething everyday for almost 24/7. There are no grounds for pointing a finger at the captain or anyone else on board. This has been called an equipment failure, and until evidence shows otherwise, lets not make assumptions. I wonder if there is any warranty in effect that might make Flensburger liable for accidents as a result of navigation equipment they installed, if in fact that was the reason for this mishap.
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Neil
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Posts: 7,150
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Post by Neil on Dec 22, 2011 10:23:51 GMT -8
...and if you want your daily dose of ultra-dumb journalism, check out the 'backchat' column in today's Province, where the paper prints a selection of anonymous little thought-burps from its more insightful readers. Eleven moronic comments on the incident which apparently qualify as editorial page content in today's 140 character, instant reaction world.
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Post by Low Light Mike on Dec 22, 2011 11:31:44 GMT -8
...and if you want your daily dose of ultra-dumb journalism, check out the 'backchat' column in today's Province, where the paper prints a selection of anonymous little thought-burps from its more insightful readers. Eleven moronic comments on the incident which apparently qualify as editorial page content in today's 140 character, instant reaction world. If there's a comment that speculates that the spirit of Captain Lou Albano was on the bridge of the Coastal Inspiration, trying to get the ferry to do a suplex on the dock, that was probably me....
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Neil
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Posts: 7,150
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Post by Neil on Dec 22, 2011 11:48:40 GMT -8
...and if you want your daily dose of ultra-dumb journalism, check out the 'backchat' column in today's Province, where the paper prints a selection of anonymous little thought-burps from its more insightful readers. Eleven moronic comments on the incident which apparently qualify as editorial page content in today's 140 character, instant reaction world. If there's a comment that speculates that the spirit of Captain Lou Albano was on the bridge of the Coastal Inspiration, trying to get the ferry to do a suplex on the dock, that was probably me.... I'm afraid the average Province email comment isn't that witty. Just your usual "They need to go back to school/crew romances/Hahn makes too much money" nonsense. Anyway. Captain Lou still adorns the door of my spare fridge, which I just fired up in advance of buying all the Christmas dinner stuff.
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