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Post by landlocked on Jul 8, 2007 10:36:14 GMT -8
I find your comments and observations interesting Past Commuter. I forgot that I had heard Ed wasn't paying moorage for all that time! That's right too. So, in the end, who got played? Certainly the civic leaders and the NPA. Well, to put it bluntly, they deserve it. When the company was begging for an infusion of cash from the community, Gary Korpan stormed out of the meeting. When HL went to the CTA, along with Seair and Kenmore concerning the unjust and discriminatory passenger fee structure, the NPA fought it tooth and nail to the end, including appealing the CTA's decision. Has anyone thought to ask Rick Thorpe...did BCFS pay PST on the Kuper project on the entire amount, like they demanded of HL? One piece of poetic justice this last week is the attempted manipulation of the ICE-T money in Nanaimo. The economic trust tried to suggest they'd give the Port of Nanaimo Centre $5M if the Province and the Feds matched it. Ron Cantelon said, "Wait a minute, the ICE-T money IS Provincial money" Why would we match our own money? ?" Should be interesting to see what happens now with the airport and the Nanaimo cruise ship terminal. What a strange place this is!
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Neil
Voyager
Posts: 7,175
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Post by Neil on Jul 16, 2007 21:48:27 GMT -8
Ferry plies historically rough waters
Nanaimo News Bulletin
By Mitch Wright Assistant Editor
Jul 14 2007
When did the first passenger ferry service run between Nanaimo and Vancouver? If you answered the early 1990s, you’d be wrong by nearly 25 years. Royal Sealink Express operated for 11 summer-to-summer months in 1992-93 and is generally regarded as the first to try running a high-speed, passenger only route between the harbour cities’ downtowns. Not so, I discovered doing a bit of research recently. A passenger service ran briefly back in 1969. Running twice a day with a three-year-old hovercraft that saw earlier service in the English Channel, the ferry across Georgia Strait lasted barely three months. The vessel went on to seismic survey work in the Beaufort Sea. That attempt was the first of four that have failed to establish a reliable run on the route, which some say has a ridership just waiting for someone to get a service up and running. History says otherwise. At least by my reading of it. The failed hovercraft experiment in the days of free love and the Vietnam war would stand more than two decades, until Kvaerner Fjellstrand put the Royal Sealink into service. And things looked oh so promising for awhile. The ferry carried some 220,000 people across the water over its 11 months, beating the company’s targets. But that wasn’t enough to keep the ferry afloat. A decade later the HarbourLynx launched. Its first year was far more modest than its predecessor, with nearly 100,000 fewer passengers, and below the company’s targets. Yet the service survived nearly 2 1/2 years before a massive engine failure sank it. Ed Life wasn’t even able to get the boat away from the dock after he bought it out of bankruptcy last year. His high hopes were dashed by delays getting a new engine and ridiculous costs – particularly gas for a vessel he referred to last week as a “fuel hog” – to run the thing. Despite the new motor, Life put his baby on life support in May, when he called a press conference to say new investment was needed. With no new cash flow to float the boat, Life sold it back to Fjellstrand, the firm that built it. Can a commuter ferry work? Life thinks so. “There is a demand, but to meet that demand, a lot of other demands have to be met as well,” he said. He isn’t giving up, but says any new attempt will require a careful and meticulously prepared business plan. Even Life, an experienced and successful entrepreneur who went in with what he thought was a solid business plan, said he was surprised by the exorbitant costs involved. Despite what the proponents claim about the need, given the four previous failed attempts, I’d also be looking for detailed market studies that show the service can overcome its history of ending up on the rocks.
Nanaimo foot ferry history u February 1969 – Pacific Hovercraft starts passenger service from Vancouver to Nanaimo, with service twice a day. By June the service stops. The company goes bankrupt in 1971.
u July 1992 to June 1993 – Norwegian company Kvaerner Fjellstrand operates Royal Sealink Express, carrying 35,000 passengers a month between Nanaimo and Vancouver.
u October 2003 – HarbourLynx begins offering downtown Nanaimo to downtown Vancouver service, carrying about 130,000 passengers in its first year.
u February 2006 – HarbourLynx service is pulled due to engine failure. Service does not resume and the company ultimately goes bankrupt.
u October 2006 – Victoria businessman Ed Life is revealed as the new owner of HarbourLynx, which he renames Island Sealink. He hopes to get a new engine and restart service in early 2007.
u May 2007 – Despite a new engine, operations do not resume as planned. Life says he needs investors to help cover rising and unforeseen costs.
u July 2007 – With no new investors coming forward, Life sells the ferry.
news@nanaimobulletin.com
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Neil
Voyager
Posts: 7,175
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Post by Neil on Aug 10, 2007 15:31:25 GMT -8
Hey, how about a ferries soap opera.... "The Dead and the Deluded", all about Island Sealink, and this character in Victoria touting his ninety minute jetboat to Vancouver...
Victoria fast ferry plans good news for Nanaimo
By Jenn Marshall the news bulletin
Aug 09 2007
A passenger ferry service from downtown Victoria to downtown Vancouver will help Nanaimo get a similar service running, says the man trying to do just that. “It creates market awareness and that’s all good for the industry,” said Ed Life, owner of Island SeaLink passenger-only ferry. The service, from downtown Nanaimo to downtown Vancouver, was scheduled to open in May, but Life was unable to secure enough money from investors and would have started operating at a loss. Don Stein, of Nautical Solutions, wants to start a hybrid catamaran service taking passengers from the foot of Broughton Street in Victoria to downtown Vancouver in about an hour and a half. While the project is still in the planning stages, Stein said the region’s rapid growth means the service is badly needed. He expects a one-way trip to cost about $40 and he said he should be in business by 2009. Life said a successful Victoria service would likely to help him get his own business running faster. “It certainly would create awareness of the service, both his and mine,” he said. “The more the merrier. I think they’re quite different markets. Both routes are quite separate from one another.” Life said he’s dealing with a number of financial issues and plans for the Nanaimo passenger ferry service are preliminary. Life bought the 300-passenger vessel after Harbour Link Corpation went bankrupt and fitted it with a new engine, but sold the ship this summer and wants to move ahead with a new plan. Rising fuel costs were a major hurdle and in a previous interview, Life said to move ahead with a new service would require two ships with lower fuel consumption. “I’m working on another business plan and all I need is a bunch of money and I think I’ve got that too,” he said. “It isn’t far enough along to become a public issue.” Marilyn Hutchinson, the city’s economic development officer, said if two services from Victoria and Nanaimo operated at the same time, they would both sustain themselves. “We knew the target audience that used HarbourLynx were basically from Ladysmith up,” she said.
-with files from Black Press
reporter@nanaimobulletin.com
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Post by Retrovision on Aug 10, 2007 15:38:49 GMT -8
hmm... interesting wording to say the least.
Thanks for posting that, Neil.
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Post by boat watcher on Aug 22, 2007 11:48:23 GMT -8
We turn a page.... I wonder when she's leaving? Fjellstrand News - Bad Arann Teo t/a Arandirect, Ireland, has purchased the Flying Cat III. The vessel will commence service in Galway after a up-grading. The buyer has long experience in operating fast ferries and we are very pleased to see the first Fjellstrand built in their operation. Picture attatched is the "Island Sealink". It would appear that the name Flying Cat 1, 2, 3, are used by Fjellstrand when selling previously purchased used catamarans.
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Post by Viking on Aug 24, 2007 14:47:23 GMT -8
Not being from there, but reading the post as a curiosity, I conclude that there must be a bunch of whiners there. So, now you don have a fast service, everybody satisfied. I feel sorry for anyone trying to make put a service together in your marketplace!
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Post by landlocked on Dec 23, 2007 23:13:45 GMT -8
Say Goodbye to the "HarbourLynx"
I am told that one of the Dockwise ships will be in Nanaimo on Dec 28/29. The 28th will be offloading day, while the 29th they will load up with outbound freight.
I am told the the Island Sealink, ex HarbourLynx will be loaded for the first part of her journey to Europe and her new home. Better bring your cams with you for one last look. Call the NPA for details.
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Post by queenofcowichan on Dec 31, 2007 21:21:40 GMT -8
A Channel News reported she will be departing Jan 2, for overseas, I think she is headed for Holland?.
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Post by landlocked on Jan 1, 2008 13:49:42 GMT -8
Is anyone down there taking pix? Kam, perhaps? According to Fjellstrand, who bought her from her previous owners, she's been re-sold to Bad Arann, in Ireland for service from Galway to the Arann Islands. Whether she goes directly to Ireland or is yet to be determined. The Arann group are silent about her on their website, with no announcements concerning per pending arrival. I had understood that one of the Captains from Nanaimo had been asked by the Irish company to go over there for 6 months to familiarize their crews on her operation. Don't know if he accepted or not. What a sad day for Nanaimo.....
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Post by Retrovision on Jan 2, 2008 20:01:44 GMT -8
What a sad day for Nanaimo..... Skapegoat or not, Ed Life must answer for much of this blame, especially for playing the people of Nanaimo for fools. It should be noted, finally, that Fjellstrand essentially bought back their own designed ship that originated in the Pilippines.
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Post by landlocked on Jan 3, 2008 12:22:02 GMT -8
I wouldn't necessarily say that. Ed's a businessman that essentially concluded that he can't make a decent business plan work on his proposed project, so why try. I constantly look at public transportation business cases and see the bureaucrats marvel, and recommend proceeding with business plans that recover as little as 15% of the cost of operation. However, when you are a private entity and want to lease (ie terminal space)from a public body, LOOK OUT, you better be prepared to give the sun, moon and starts for that option.
When HarbourLynx were granted the right to use the Seabus Terminal for example, Doug McCallum, the Chair of Translink made no mention in his press releases about what a wonderful economic generator, tourism driver, or even how wonderful it would be to have upwards of 500,000 pax per year dumped on the doorstep of their bus and train operations, all he referred to was the amount of revenue expected from the rent of the terminals. It was no different in Nanaimo. How much can we, the public body, bleed from a ferry operator, and what a cash cow for US! (the public body). Meantime, the ferry operator goes broke trying to pay the rent, and his boat, and his crew and the fuel company, etc, etc.
There have been two recent failures in Puget Sound with private operators trying to compete directly with their highly subsidized public operations. Everyone loves the idea of having high speed passenger only service, but once the price exceeds that of the public service, the market for passengers decreases significantly, to the point of not making it worthwhile for a businessman to proceed with his business plan. Like Ed said, "I'm not a not-for-profit organization you know"
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Post by queenofcowichan on Jan 3, 2008 12:39:53 GMT -8
I do not realy know what to think, weather to say "Island Sealink" (The Company) is History or not. Thier website still says they want to purchase two smaller vessles. But personally I got to ask myself a Question, Would I realy want to cross the Georgia Straight in a vessle smaller than the Harbourlynx especially during rough seas? It was bouncing enough out there when I rode the Harbourlynx my one and only time.
I still believe as stated before that in order for a Fast Ferry service to "Make it" the fares must be near the same as BC Ferries. The Cheaper the Fares, the more potential to get more passengers onboard and it has to make more frequent service. Having you last sailing of the day leaving Vancouver arond 5 or 6pm does not cut it. Thier last sailing should be about 11pm which is what passengers want. To be able to go out for a show, Dinner, Football or Hockey Game, or perhaps a Concert and still make it home the same night Is what Ilanders want at a decent fare.
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Post by cohocatcher on Jan 13, 2008 10:30:26 GMT -8
My dad and brother both live in Nanoose. I visit them quite often. I find going by BC ferries a real pain as compared to my experiences with Harbourlynx. I would gladly pay a ten to fifteen dollar premium for the convenience and saving of time (at least an hour each way). I would have no qualms about a new foot passenger system using the same time table as did Harbourlynx.
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Post by NMcKay on Jan 15, 2008 17:14:48 GMT -8
im glad someone was able to come up with some positive things to say
Contrary to Popular belief. the year the lynx went bankrupt, the plan was to make money. in fact, if i remember correctly, we were breaking even at the end of the fiscal year.
we were NOT Competing with BC Ferries (the public subsidized entity), in fact we pulled from a completely new pool of people. those who would not normally visit nanaimo, but instead were visiting vancouver, and wanting a "Day Trip" to nanaimo, with all the details handled.
Things like our Jump and stay were incredibly popular (Go bungee jumping, then either return to vancouver, or stay in nanaimo overnight)
our Sail Pass was HUGELY popular (one way Harbourlynx, the Other Baxter Air), with people who would NEVER usually take the plane, were doing so because harbourlynx made it affordable.
those visiting tofino had a new option, with our direct connection with tofino bus
those wanting to go to victoria were able to meet up with island bus, and get to victoria.
and harbourlynx had the only Minor Pass, which allowed a minor to travel by himself on the fery, with the parents not having to worry about his kid getting hurt (the crew took care of them)
we also had a dedicated group of commuters (i think it was 25 - 50 regulars) that took the first ride every morning, and the last ride home every night.
we even caused BCF to look at us, as they suddenly had to take notice at the number of people we were taking to the BC Lions games and the Canucks games. we also had specialty trips that included events like Motley Crue and the Vancouver Auto Show.
and who could forget the unique opportunity to watch the Celebration of lights from the Boat. my 2 cents
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Post by Barnacle on Jan 15, 2008 17:41:36 GMT -8
and harbourlynx had the only Minor Pass, which allowed a minor to travel by himself on the fery, with the parents not having to worry about his kid getting hurt (the crew took care of them) Most operations wouldn't want to accept the liability if something happened. I know we have parents who put their kids on the boat to go to the other parent's house in a visitation thing, and ask WSF crew to look after them... we basically tell them that we can't accept liability for their child or the correct hand-off. That having been said, it's cool that Harbourlynx found a ay to do it.
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Post by cohocatcher on Jan 18, 2008 13:12:09 GMT -8
Their web page is no longer available. Is this "it" for this service?
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Post by Dane on Jan 18, 2008 18:09:55 GMT -8
and harbourlynx had the only Minor Pass, which allowed a minor to travel by himself on the fery, with the parents not having to worry about his kid getting hurt (the crew took care of them) Most operations wouldn't want to accept the liability if something happened. I know we have parents who put their kids on the boat to go to the other parent's house in a visitation thing, and ask WSF crew to look after them... we basically tell them that we can't accept liability for their child or the correct hand-off. That having been said, it's cool that Harbourlynx found a ay to do it. That is true of amny operations in Canada too, that they will not accept a minor due to liability issues however civil liability in the United States is also so much higher I can imagine why no organization in their right mind would take over such responsibility unless they absolutely had too!
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Post by hutch85 on Jan 29, 2008 9:23:11 GMT -8
I was one of the regulars from Sep. 05 to Feb 06, and used HL almost every day - drove from Victoria to Nanaimo in the AM and worked in downtown Van. Yes, I was nuts... but I was transitioning to work in Victoria and didn't want to be away from my family too much. The Sail Pass & gas was actually cheaper than renting & commuting in Van for 5 days/week, and I got to catch a snooze on the HL :-) Luckily I worked only a couple of blocks away from the dock in Van!
It was a decent service with a friendly crew, and it was a shame to see it end the way it did.
I keep thinking that it would be nice to see some sort of passenger service between the island and downtown Van, but it appears that the costs are simply too much. I don't have any insight, maybe it's viable as a seasonal thing during summer; but a regular schedule seems to be a bit much. It's a shame the potential can't be leveraged somehow (ie. someone posted earlier the appeal of a downtown Van terminal that puts people right at the nexus of rail/Skytrain/Seabus connections).
Ah well, time will tell... :-)
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Post by Oisin Roantree on Feb 19, 2008 6:23:57 GMT -8
The Harbour Lynx Will Now Be Operating Out Of Galway Docks on the West coast Of Ireland To The Island Of Inis Mór An The Arasn islands under The New name "Island Princess" She Was bought By Recently founded Company aran Islands Direct Who Currently Run Two French built Monohull Feryys From Ros A Mhil Which Is Nearer To The island But Requires An Hour's Bus/car Journey From Galway City Which Is One Of The Largest City's in Ireland. The New Company's Website Is www.arandirect.com/She Will Be Going into Competition Vs A Long Established Ferry Company Which Currently Runs Six MonoHull Ferry's To The Same island.http://www.aranislandferries.com/index.php She Also Got A new Paint Job!! www.arandirect.com/aranprincess.phpThis Is the First Multi Hull To Go into Service To The island And I Would be interested To Know your Opinion's On How She performs. Comfort And Sea Handling??? Grateful For Any Information Oisín Roantree Oroantree@gmail.com
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Post by Retrovision on Feb 19, 2008 7:13:46 GMT -8
Thanks for the postscript to add a positive note to our shortlived service. It seems that BC has another connection to an Island Princess (Although I suspect, between the web address that you fowarded and what looks to be a name on the side of the paint scheme in the photo on the same webpage towards the stern that she's actually now named Aran Princess). I hope they get the paint job right before she goes into service as the photo provided on their website is unfortunately simply a photoshop job done to a picture of your Island Princess taken at Nanaimo.
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Post by NMcKay on Feb 21, 2008 7:35:46 GMT -8
they cannot take the reflection away
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Post by Sastra on Mar 24, 2008 11:49:39 GMT -8
Here are my thoughts on pax-only fast ferry service...
To be successful, any foot-passenger service must offer frequent service like BC Ferries (every two hours) and offer convenient terminal locations on both sides. No previous service has offered this.
On the Nanaimo side, a frequent service operating out of Nanaimo Harbour would quickly become a victim of its own success. Imagine 300-500 people getting pickups/dropoffs downtown Nanaimo every two hours? Residents would be furious, and it would be a detriment to the further improvement to downtown Nanaimo.
The most logical place for a terminal in Nanaimo is the existing Departure Bay terminal. It is already being rebuilt to provide better foot-passenger amenities and it would not require a change in habit for the public - they would continue to go to the same place to pickup and drop off passengers, and there are already park and ride facilities. The sailing time would probably be 5 minutes less due to a shorter distance at harbour speed.
The potential downside is that historically, the BCFMWU has insisted that their members operate any service using BC Ferries facilities. That could mean higher-than-marketable wage and benefit costs, and reduced operating flexibility - both of which are killers of innovation and new entreprise.
So, either the union gets innovative itself and sees an opportunity in a new entreprise or BC Ferry Services operates it with a provincial subsidy.
Fortunately, the Vancouver side (the CAW union) does not have this issue. Many other operators have used the Seabus terminal over the years. There are of course many advantages to using Waterfront station as the Vancouver terminal.
1) Reduced transportation (highway and village traffic) needs to Horseshoe Bay (no bus service, no passenger pickups/drop-offs). 2) Mass transit options available at Waterfront Station taking passengers even closer to their final destination.
Personally, I think the provincial government and BC Ferries need to bite the bullet and offer the service themselves.
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Post by Scott on Mar 24, 2008 15:28:08 GMT -8
Why would 300-500 pickup and dropoffs in downtown have a detrimental impact on downtown improvement? And which residents of downtown would be furious? I would think that the residents of Departure Bay would be more concerned about additional traffic in their neighbourhood and that downtown Nanaimo would welcome the additional "traffic" to help bring life back into the area.
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Post by Sastra on Mar 25, 2008 18:50:35 GMT -8
Why would 300-500 pickup and dropoffs in downtown have a detrimental impact on downtown improvement? And which residents of downtown would be furious? I would think that the residents of Departure Bay would be more concerned about additional traffic in their neighbourhood and that downtown Nanaimo would welcome the additional "traffic" to help bring life back into the area. If 300-500 passengers were disembarking a ferry at 8 am, and 300-500 more passengers were being dropped off for a 9 am sailing, wouldn't you expect the harbourfront area to be besieged with traffic. Absolutely. That area of downtown Nanaimo would hardly be a desirable place to hang around - or even live for that matter. In fact, I don't even think that harbour parkade could even handle that kind of traffic. We wouldn't know because no fast ferry service has been successful enough to test it. As for Departure bay, there would be no additional traffic. That's the whole point - those cars are already going there. The only difference is that the passengers are getting on a different ferry. So, change-neutral for that neighbourhood. In fact, there could even be a reduction in vehicle traffic to Departure Bay if fewer people chose to take there car.
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Post by Northern Exploration on Mar 25, 2008 20:29:37 GMT -8
If you have ever been to NYC the water taxis and foot passenger ferries drop off people on a very steady basis at their terminals in various locations. I would be surprized if they don't greatly exceed the volume being talked about here. People at the dock near the World Financial Centre (across from WTC) all walk from there. There is no traffic except for the odd person who hops a cab. Some people walk to the subway under the WTC site and go elsewhere in Manhattan. Remember these ferries also evacuated a lot of people on 9/11.
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