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Post by Low Light Mike on Apr 27, 2009 19:35:54 GMT -8
Here's a statement from the CLF website, that seems pretty specific and deliberate: For me, blatent hyperbole really erodes any credibility. Does anyone think that CLF is actually serious about this claim?
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Post by NMcKay on Apr 28, 2009 8:24:58 GMT -8
ANY other vessel eh? even the Island Electra (runs to the Dinghy Dock Pub) its an electric vessel, NO Fuel is Consumed... Heh... Try that one...
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Neil
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Posts: 7,196
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Post by Neil on Apr 28, 2009 13:11:11 GMT -8
For me, blatent hyperbole really erodes any credibility. Does anyone think that CLF is actually serious about this claim? Probably hyperbole, and probably irrelevant. I'm assuming the comparison is to the Queen of Capilano, and GIWT's boats. Comparing a small passenger launch to a large cargo vessel is pointless. If you were to compare fuel usage per kilogram of cargo carried, with the Coastal Runner's handful of passengers against an average ' Capilano load of vehicles and pax, the car ferry might well come out considerably ahead. The ' Capilano is charged with carrying out a role quite different from the small boats. The claim also doesn't specify if they're comparing full loads to full loads, and it doesn't take into account the different crossing times for the vessels. As an aside, I notice that the photo shows passengers apparently posed, one in each bench seat type booth on each side of the vessel, to give the illusion of a more full load. I count twelve people, which was probably the total passenger count on that crossing. I would hope the fuel consumption would be light for such a trip. On the Bowen Online forum, I see that the complaint against GIWT is of full boats leaving people behind, some of whom complain about their reservations not having been recorded properly. Maybe GIWT needs to buy the Coastal Runner, to up their capacity. Say... could that be why Ihab's holding on...?
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Kam
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Post by Kam on Apr 28, 2009 20:12:35 GMT -8
Wow, how can you go wrong with that liferaft feature!
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Post by Low Light Mike on May 10, 2009 16:28:18 GMT -8
The CLF website has been teasing with a message:
Maybe it's just a 20-minute adjustment in departure times, or maybe it will be an indication of what to expect for the company's future direction? ie. cut-backs, expansion, or just a cosmetic departure-time change.
I wonder if they can survive a summer, when their ridership might decrease by 50% on certain weeks when a few people are on vacation.
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Post by ferryrider on May 13, 2009 6:56:49 GMT -8
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Mill Bay
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Long Suffering Bosun
Posts: 2,886
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Post by Mill Bay on May 13, 2009 9:09:30 GMT -8
Perfect, now we can know for certain it's not reality. Anything on Wikipedia has to be a fabrication.
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Post by BreannaF on May 14, 2009 8:47:07 GMT -8
Funny!
The original Wikipedia article was written (badly and one-sidedly) by a contributor who's screen name was "Billablehours". Thankfully, it's been cleaned up a bit since then (but just a little bit).
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Post by SS San Mateo on May 14, 2009 10:13:53 GMT -8
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Post by ferryrider on May 14, 2009 20:57:33 GMT -8
That is a hoot, "Billable hours" shows up again. He just won't stay down. Give it a break, eh. LOL.
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Neil
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Posts: 7,196
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Post by Neil on May 14, 2009 21:54:10 GMT -8
Just how motivated can someone be to try to damage someone else's business? What a bizarre fixation.
Another reminder, which perhaps some people need, that Wikipedia is not the Encyclopedia Britannica.
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Post by Low Light Mike on May 18, 2009 19:37:45 GMT -8
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Neil
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Posts: 7,196
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Post by Neil on May 20, 2009 10:18:51 GMT -8
Actually, it's four round trips, every day. They're going from five a week to 28. Very surprising. Has Capt. Shaker found a ferry godmother?
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Neil
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Posts: 7,196
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Post by Neil on Jun 10, 2009 15:25:48 GMT -8
In my post of May 20th, I thought I was correcting Mr Horn's post of two days earlier as to CLF's sailing frequency, but now I think it's more likely that they had changed their schedule between those two days.
Since May 20th, they posted another schedule calling for five round trips a day, with very confusing weekend info. Then they deleted a couple of the trips, and just said 'TBA'. Last week they cancelled the Saturday schedule, saying the boat was chartered. Now they seem to have deleted Saturday service altogether, and altered times again.
They seem to be going for the record of Most Ferry Schedules Within One Month. I wonder how this affects their credibility, and their dependability, in the community they're aiming to serve.
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Post by Low Light Mike on Jun 10, 2009 15:54:40 GMT -8
They seem to be going for the record of Most Ferry Schedules Within One Month. I wonder how this affects their credibility, and their dependability, in the community they're aiming to serve. I've been checking the Bowen forum website each week, looking or feedback on CLF. There has been very little talk about the CLF company on that site.
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Neil
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Post by Neil on Jun 24, 2009 22:09:31 GMT -8
From from free daily 'metro'... Ferry boss laments state of maritime travel In Transit by Derek Moscato METRO VANCOUVER June 22, 2009 5:35 a.m. Just because Ihab Shaker is disenchanted with the state of passenger ferries in Metro Vancouver doesn’t mean he’s planning on sailing away from the region anytime soon. The owner of Coastal Link Ferries — which serves walk-on commuters between Bowen Island and downtown Vancouver — fumes over the uneven playing field for his privately run service, and the layers of bureaucracy he is constantly up against. But far from giving up in the face of adversity, the sea captain is gamely expanding his business. Since the winter, he has tripled the number of sailings between Bowen’s Snug Cove and Vancouver’s Coal Harbour. An upswing in customers has naturally followed. More recently, according to Shaker, he has reached an agreement with the Port of Vancouver to construct a new, albeit modest, terminal for his ferry between the SeaBus station and the Helijet landing pad on the south shore of Burrard Inlet. Before the dock deal, Coastal Link had wanted to park its vessel at a previously unused dock at the SeaBus site. But TransLink rebuffed the company’s advances. Instead, that ferry dock is now being used by a whale-watching tour boat. Shaker says that his new facility likely won’t be completed until summer’s end, meaning he will continue to load passengers, less conveniently, at Harbour Green Park. In the meantime, he asks bitterly, “Why won’t TransLink let me in?” His frustration goes beyond a dock, mind you. According to Shaker, Metro Vancouver lags behind other cities when it comes to passenger-only ferry service — the SeaBus operation notwithstanding. “More than Sydney, more than New York, more than Boston, if you look at a map of B.C. you will see that we are the most suitable harbour to have a viable ferry system,” he says. One of the problems, argues Shaker, is that small operators like him face stiff competition from B.C. Ferries, which is government-subsidized. While Shaker is pursuing a new service between downtown and the Sunshine Coast, he maintains that other proposals announced recently — such as a walk-on ferry connecting Vancouver to Nanaimo — stand little chance of survival. “I’m the only one who has been able to survive, and that’s because of the design and fuel efficiency of my boat,” says Shaker, who relishes his underdog status on the Bowen-to-Vancouver route. “I challenge TransLink or B.C. Ferries to show a more efficient and environmentally friendly way to transport people between these two destinations.” www.metronews.ca/vancouver/comment/article/249641--ferry-boss-laments-state-of-maritime-travel
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Post by Low Light Mike on Jun 25, 2009 6:16:39 GMT -8
From the Metro article:
...While Shaker is pursuing a new service between downtown and the Sunshine Coast, he maintains that other proposals announced recently — such as a walk-on ferry connecting Vancouver to Nanaimo — stand little chance of survival.
“I’m the only one who has been able to survive, and that’s because of the design and fuel efficiency of my boat,” says Shaker, who relishes his underdog status on the Bowen-to-Vancouver route. Ihab has been operating in BC for approx 9 months only. That's not yet as long as Harbourlynx operated and not yet as long as the 1990's "Nanaimo Express" operated. He's not the champion of BC yet. And it is now late-June in Nanaimo. Didn't Ihab say he'd have a Nanaimo ferry running by now? ;D
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D'Elete BC in NJ
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Dispensing gallons of useless information daily...
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Post by D'Elete BC in NJ on Jun 25, 2009 10:10:15 GMT -8
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Post by Low Light Mike on Jul 17, 2009 17:49:17 GMT -8
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Post by captng on Jul 18, 2009 14:33:01 GMT -8
From the Metro article:
...While Shaker is pursuing a new service between downtown and the Sunshine Coast, he maintains that other proposals announced recently — such as a walk-on ferry connecting Vancouver to Nanaimo — stand little chance of survival.
“I’m the only one who has been able to survive, and that’s because of the design and fuel efficiency of my boat,” says Shaker, who relishes his underdog status on the Bowen-to-Vancouver route. Ihab has been operating in BC for approx 9 months only. That's not yet as long as Harbourlynx operated and not yet as long as the 1990's "Nanaimo Express" operated. He's not the champion of BC yet. And it is now late-June in Nanaimo. Didn't Ihab say he'd have a Nanaimo ferry running by now? ;D The Georgia Master ran for 28 months. I believe that is the record for private fast passenger only service in BC in recent years. Ihab has a long way to go, a few more winters, storms, etc. It is a long hard haul for sure. I don't mis it one bit. If Ihab can go past 28 months then hats off to him, that is a real honest success in this environment.
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Post by Low Light Mike on Jul 18, 2009 16:24:52 GMT -8
CLF's weekend (Sunday only) service is canceled this weekend: I remember the early days when they promoted the fact that they had 'X' number of months of service with no cancellations. -------------- Question for those who'd know better than me: - "IF" Coastal Link had been able to get a Gibsons dock (at same price as the Bowen dock) back in October 08, do you think that CLF would have a larger customer base today for a Gibsons-Vancouver route than they do today on their Bowen-Vancouver route. It's just speculation I know, but I'm curious how they'd be today if they had gotten their desired Gibsons route in the first place.
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Post by Low Light Mike on Jul 28, 2009 23:08:46 GMT -8
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Post by Northern Exploration on Jul 29, 2009 6:07:23 GMT -8
Thanks for a Wdnesday luff during a grey stormie (agin) eastern day! This either made your day Flug or it drove you to another cup of coffee or two or three.
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Neil
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Post by Neil on Aug 11, 2009 22:35:33 GMT -8
Thought I'd check up on Coastal Link, since I hadn't ridden since February.
I took the 4:15 departure from downtown; 16 riders on board. An entertaining ride across English Bay, with the boat bouncing over choppy seas, and a passenger having to move back from his front seat because of spray coming in from the open bow window and wetting the interior of the boat. Very nice to do the trip in daylight this time, passing close by Stanley Park and Point Atkinson. I was surprised at how close the Coastal Runner cut in front of a power boat on a crossing path, and how little clearance we gave to a small sail boat that was going in the direction opposite to us.
They discharged passengers and left Bowen completely empty at 5:00, with the returning 5:45 departure from Vancouver carrying about ten people. I saw at least one GIWT boat arrive with the full twelve passenger load. Apparently the Coastal Runner has been carrying as few as three people on its morning trips inbound, but it's usually doing better than that.
Amazing, the long work day the crew of two has. Since they were on the bus home in the evening, I'm assuming they take the bus to Horseshoe Bay in the morning, which would mean a 5:15 or earlier bus in order to catch the 6:00 ferry to Bowen. Then, the Coastal Runner does a 6:45 trip to Vancouver, returns, and does an 8:15 in, before tying up at Coal Harbour. A few hours off, and then a 4:15 trip, deadheading back to Vancouver for the 5:45, after which they tie up at Snug Cove for the evening. Then they get on the 7:20 'Capilano sailing, and an 8:05 non-express 250 bus into Vancouver. Overall, a sixteen hour day, albeit with a break in the middle.
One heck of a commitment to an enterprise that would seem to still be reaping peanuts. Must be a labour of love.
And I find it a bit odd that in this fraternity of ferry fans, I still seem to be the only one who's taken a ride on this boat.
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Post by Low Light Mike on Aug 12, 2009 6:17:38 GMT -8
And I find it a bit odd that in this fraternity of ferry fans, I still seem to be the only one who's taken a ride on this boat. Thanks for that report, Neil. As for me, I was interested in a weekend trip, but I don't trust them for sailing on Sunday (too many last minute cancellations).
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