Coastal Link Ferries

[Ferryman]

Here's a new Ferry service, that a friend of mine sent me a link to today. This Ferry will be a high speed passenger only commuter route from Vancouver to Gibsons. The Fares are highly competitive with BC Ferries, and it looks like the service will take you straight into Downtown Vancouver. It looks like the website is still being built, and the Ferries are still being constructed at the moment. That's all the info I have to offer right now, I'm sure it will grow in the coming weeks.

coastallinkferries.com/

[Low Light Mike]

A few questions, for which there are likely no answers yet:

1) When is this supposed to start? The website mentions summer fares, but is July 2008 realistic to start, if vessels still aren't ready?

2) Is forum member "Cascade" involved in this?

3) What would the Vancouver terminal location be?

Stay tuned for answers, I suppose...

[Nick]

No kidding "competitive fares". That is cheaper if it is coming from downtown, considering to use BCF you still have to get to HSB. I did notice the phrasing "Introductory Rates", with an asterisk which I couldn't find a corresponding footnote for.

Interesting to see what becomes of this.

I hope for competition's sake that this is the real thing.

[Neil]

Google this name and you get nothing but their website. No notice of incorporation, no application or licenses, for terminals... and no phone number on their website, even though it talks about operating May long weekend.
Something smells fishy, and I don't think it's fish.

[Mill Bay]

This may just be a hoax website too... wasn't there something once about how the BCFS website got duplicated in a similar way.

Even the image of the passenger ferry that's on the site seems oddly familiar, and if something like this was going on, it most likely would have hit the papers by now. This kind of thing doesn't stay secret very long in BC.

[Scott]

Same here.. came up with absolutely nothing and parts of their website make it sound like it's already operating. There are several clues that it's a hoax...

Having only one vessel and doing scheduled trips as well as conflicting tour trips at the same time.

Having a morning crew begin their shift in Gibsons and end their shift in Vancouver and vice versa for the afternoon.

Having a coastallink.com contact e-mail on their front page and a hotmail.com contact e-mail on another page.

And the webpage looks like it was thrown together using a website building template - not a company website.

[Ferryman]

Hmmm, I'd hope it's not a hoax. This website and ferry service was advertised in the latest issue of Western Mariner. Although there's a possibilty it was an April Fools joke, as it would have been the April issue..

[BreannaF]

WHOIS infromation on coastallinkferries.com is hidden, but it appears the domain was registered on 21 March 2008.

Phone: (604)xxx-xxxx
Fax: (604)xxx-xxxx
Mailing Address:

Uh huh. Even a company hiding from the media but getting started would have a phone with a "not here" message or a PO Box for enquiries. Wouldn't it?

Boat capacity is 75. Crossing time is approximately 45 minutes.

75 passenger boat at $10 per head. That thing had better be overflowing every trip.

There’s no better way to celebrate your Wedding, Birthday, Anniversary or Reunion. Showcase the finest experiences and spectacular scenery to your guests. Ideal for Conferences, Conventions, Corporate & Incentive Activities.

Obviously the seating plan is not set up like a SeaBus.

Just trying to get a picture in my mind of this boat.

Edit: I've never been to the Sunshine coast, but I've seen pictures and maps....... So, where do we park 200-300 cars near the harbour in Gibsons? It seems to be such a pretty place......

[Dane]

I e-mailed them this morning, just got a reply and said query had been forwarded on - will update as more is known.

[BreannaF]

Apr 12, 2008 6:26:06 GMT -8 Ferryman said:

Hmmm, I'd hope it's not a hoax. This website and ferry service was advertised in the latest issue of Western Mariner. Although there's a possibilty it was an April Fools joke, as it would have been the April issue..

I've been thinking about this just because the whole "mystery" here fascinates me.

I presume Western Mariner is a trade journal for those who work in the marine industry in Western Canada. So the readers will be boat captains and hands, owners of maritime related businesses, dockside service providers, and so on. If that is the case, I fail to see any advantage to advertising the service to this group of people.

Potential customers and interested parties (the demographic group that the website is aimed at) would be more likely found in a local business publication or in local newspapers io the Sunshine Coast.

If it is a hoax, I wonder how much (or little) the ad cost in this publication.

[Neil]

I sent them an e-mail, and received a reply, which didn't really allay my skepticism...

----- Original Message -----
From: neil ___
To: [e-mail]
Sent: Saturday, April 12, 2008 7:12 PM
Subject: Questions

Hello;
Not wanting to be rude, but is this operation actually for real? Your website makes it sound like you're almost in business, yet you seem to be virtually unheard of. Why no phone numbers? When are operations supposed to begin? From where in Vancouver?

Neil ___
Delta
---------------------------------------------------------------------
From: Coastal Link Ferries ([e-mail])
Sent: April 12, 2008 8:45:10 PM
To: neil ___

Hi Neil:

The business is for real. Our web site is still under construction. I'll direct your questions to someone else and please be patient with us.

Are you a commuter? If yes, do you live in Delta or Gibsons? If no, what's your interest to know more about CLF?

Regards,

Anne
Coastal Link Ferries
Marketing Manager
------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Like Bryan, I have no idea why they would advertise in Western Mariner magazine, when you would think they would be aiming at the commuting public, rather than the boating and shipping community. Still doesn't add up.

[cohocatcher]

After reading their web site, I get the feeling that they will be at Waterfront Station, perhaps in the former location of HarbourLynx.

[Hardy]

Quick phone calls to both city of Vancouver and Town of Gibsons to the Bylaws and Licensing departments should confirm valid business licenses ...

As for not finding anything by searching, new information often takes time to hit the search engines. If they are indeed a new upstart company, then one would imagine that their information may not have yet infiltrated all the search engines.

Another place to check for the legitimacy of this operation would be Transport Canada ...

It makes it hard if they are using a dba name, and the real thing is a numbered company or something, but a few calls and inquiries should be able to sort out fact from fiction.

[Neil]

Hardy, you read my mind. Sort of.

I already checked the Town of Gibsons website; there is no listing for Coastal Link Ferries in their business directory, and a quick check of council and various committee minutes and agendas for recent months reveals no mention of this operation.

I'll leave the phone calls up to you.

[Hardy]

If I get a little spare time at the beginning of the week, I shall see what I can do on that front. Let us know how the replies come to your email. BTW:Does your email software allow you to look at the 'raw source' of the email reply that was sent to you by 'Anne'? It should have the true path, and email server address that she replied from - may shed some light on the legitimacy issue to look at that.

I'll echo the other sentiments here -- it would be nice if it were true (competition is never really a bad thing), but right now all the indicators are that there is something rotten in Denmark ...

[Low Light Mike]

Some possibilities:

1) they are who they say they are:
- but are naive about the planning & timelines of starting-up such a business.
- so despite good intentions, they might fail (even fail to start).

2) they are who they say they are:
- but have a poor website that has misled all of us into thinking they are a hoax.
- perhaps they are unaware that their website makes them sound too good to be true.
- they are unaware that traveling public wants specifics such as "when do you plan to start...."

3) they are a hoax
- but why would they do that?

It sounds like #1 or #2 is the most likely option.....leaning towards #1.

We also need to consider that perhaps they haven't really launched their business marketing campaign yet, and that Chris' post has led us into their website too early....or earlier than they had intended.

However, the Western-Mariner ad would mean that they are starting marketing. I'd like to see that ad, to see if it's as vague and magical-sounding as their website.

And now Neil has got their marketing manager all in knots, as she's wondering who this bunch of investigative journalists are that are interested in their fledgling start-up.

This could turn out to be a fun time for us........ ;D

So it looks like new startup ferry companies need to get the local ferry-nerds into their camp asap, or perhaps even hire us as test dummies or as sounding-boards. We can also charge them for all the advice and "have you thought about this?" types of comments that we have.

[Neil]

From: Peter ([e-mail])
Sent: April 13, 2008 7:56:33 PM
To: ______

Greetings Neil, my name is Peter Green and I will be arriving in Gibsons next weekend to undertake the Marketing and Communications for the new Ferry Service that will operating shortly. I am delighted to make your acquaintance - and I welcome any suggestions, ideas or concerns you may have. First of all, as my colleague, Anne, replied to you we are for real! Private initiatives such as this often spring quickly....there is already a market for our service, and we hope to move quickly to introduce the Ferry. We are in the process of negotiating docking agreements and other aspects of the service, and I will keep you posted as to developments. If you have any further questions or concerns, please let me know! Otherwise, watch for updates that I'll be sending. If you live in Gibsons, I look forward to meeting you when I become a resident there starting the 20th of April. Take care and thank you for your enquiry! Peter J. Green Marketing & Communications Coastal Link Ferries
----------------------------------------

Hmmh. The Peter Green I'm familiar with was the guitarist/ song writer who helped found Fleetwood Mac. Became schizophrenic, sort of did a Brian Wilson. Guess this is a different fellow.


Make of this what you will, I suppose. Sounds awfully strange, to be talking about operating May long weekend, and, as of mid-April, no docks, not even any phones.

Easiest thing in the world these days is to put a website together. You might not have any business licenses, permits, or even any actual means to carry on a business, but you can set up a website.

If it's legit, and they have some capital and some clue as to what they're doing, I wish them all the best. At this point, though, for all we know this could be Quinsam Teen pulling a fast one on us.

[BreannaF]

I just noticed that they changed their website today. The picture of a ferryboat has been removed and replaced with a sailing ship logo.

[Neil]

Apr 16, 2008 0:13:39 GMT -8 BreannaF said:

I just noticed that they changed their website today. The picture of a ferryboat has been removed and replaced with a sailing ship logo.

I noticed that. The logo makes me think that their vessel is either one of those high tech, sail assisted jobbies... or a bath tub toy.

[Taxman]

Looking over thier website, I think that this group appears to be an early start-up without much technical (either boat side or management side) expertise. I was very surprised to see 2 people in the Marketing Department this early, I would have thought that they would be more cash strapped and have people from other administrative functions cover. I am also surprised that the "Marketing Manager" would forward a request, as opposed to dealing with it herself.

Looking at the website, the group is not yet Incorporated, or if they are are doing a very poor job at covering thier liability, as they are not using thier legal name in the copyright notice, nor does it appear anywhere on the website. (yay Comm 393, bring on the midterm). As Hardy said, this maybe thier dba name, but they should still have their legal name somewhere on the website.

The only assumption I can develop from the ad in the trade journal is that they are attempting to hire Staff & Crew with marine expertise, I wouldn't be surprised once they hire the estimations they are making for operations are revised.

I will watch this one with interest.

[1]

1. What type of vessel are they thinking of using?

2. Is it new or used?

3. Where do they think they will get their crew from and how many do they need?

4. Do they have a start date?

5. Who is funding the operation? Major partners - if any?

6. What experience do they have at running a ferry operation?

Those are my six points for starters - anyone want to add to them?

[BreannaF]

Owner: No no he's not dead, he's, he's restin'! Remarkable bird, the Norwegian Blue, idn'it, ay? Beautiful plumage!
Mr. Praline: The plumage don't enter into it. It's stone dead.
-- Monty Python: Dead Parrot Sketch

One is the loneliest number that you'll ever do.
-- Three Dog Night

I think questions like these are a little premature, aren't they. It's a little funny to be speculate on what kind of boat they might be using, when most people are still wondering whether the website is a hoax or not.

It will be fun to speculate on these things, but it would also be fun to see any concrete evidence anyone might have as to whether this company really exists. So far, they seem to have been quite successful at hiding from the public.

"Where will they get the crew"? Really? How about "Where will they get passengers?", or "Can we be profitable even if the entire population of Gibsons wants to go to Vancouver every day?" Until the last two questions are answered, I'm calling BS.

[Hardy]

Apr 20, 2008 12:22:04 GMT -8 BreannaF said:

"Where will they get the crew"? Really? How about "Where will they get passengers?", or "Can we be profitable even if the entire population of Gibsons wants to go to Vancouver every day?" Until the last two questions are answered, I'm calling BS.

Very valid points, although I don't know about the entire population - we'd have to leave some people behind as terminal agents, don't you agree?

With such low published rates, unless those are just the intro rates, you are right that they would be hard pressed to be profittable. I would imagine that you would need a fair sized boat to be be able to turn a profit with the sailing level that they advertise, although, all this is preliminary pending whether or not they are real or not!

[1]

It looks like Neil had a reply from the "Dead Parrot" - so can we therefore agree that they might be alive - and living somewhere in Gibson?

Maybe if they are watching........they can let us know.......I sure would like to see alive parrot......they are nice when in full color.

[Neil]

Breaking news... Coastal Link Ferries has moved one step closer to the launch of their new Vancouver to Gibsons passenger only service. The bathtub toy logo on their website is now in colour.

Details as they become available. Back to you, Bill and Pamela.