COASTAL CELEBRATION - Photos & Discussion

[Koastal Karl]

She is replacing the SOBC for the 9am sailing out of Swartz Bay and returning from Tsawwassen at noon. The SOBC 7am sailing this morning from Tsawwassen was cancelled. As of now 9:50am the CC still hasent left Swartz Bay!

[johnnytindale]

The CC also sailed at 18:00 (18:15 departure) from Swartz Bay tonight. But there is no return trip scheduled as of right now from Tsawwassen. It's virtually impossible given there are no trained crews there, but is CC staying the night in Tsawwassen??

[Coastal Canuck]

this isn't good...


Updated as of 7:45 am

Please be advised that the following sailings of the Coastal Celebration have been cancelled:

8:00 am departing Swartz Bay
10:00 am departing Tsawwassen

Reservations will be accommodated on the next available sailings. Reserved customers for the 10:00 am sailing from Tsawwassen are asked to arrive at their original check-in time, no later then 9:30 am.

We apologize for any inconvenience these cancellations may cause

[Ferryman]

I have a feeling that is likely due to lack of crew. There's quite a bit of snow in Victoria, so no doubt that a bunch of people are snowed in.

[Nick]

I would think that you're right, Chris. There's about 18 inches in Sidney right now, and the company where I work is currently down about 50% of our manpower due to snow, if that's an indication of the situation everywhere.

I wouldn't have been able to get to work today without 4 wheel drive, so anybody who doesn't drive a big truck, or isn't able to get a ride is pretty much out of luck. Even the smaller all-wheel-drive vehicles are having difficulty because they don't have the ground clearance on some of the side streets, and places where snow has drifted.

[Hardy]

This again points out the glaring staffing issue that BCFS has with the lack of people trained on the new Coastal class boats. While I am acutely aware that crew training is expensive, (cross) training up a few more people on other boats would help alleviate part of this problem.

I understand all too well about snow days -- somehow I managed to commute in BY BUS and trudging through snow-drifts well up past my knees only to see 60% of the staff show up at the moving company -- we still had to go out and service all our jobs (I think one was bumped), but I ended up pulling a 16 hour shift one man short to do a job that had to be done yesterday (customer had to fly out to his new residence that night...). Beautiful ... and today I get to go and do it all again!

At this point my half-day for Xmas Eve will be a full day, and I may end up working Xmas Day to get things caught up depending on the pending weather.

[rt1commuter]

Overheard on the bus on the way to the ferry on Dec 17th.

"Are the ferries even running in this snow?"
"Yep, the salted the ocean".

[Hardy]

Dec 26, 2008 21:03:36 GMT -8 rt1commuter said:

"Are the ferries even running in this snow?"
"Yep, the salted the ocean".

Classic!

Also explains why the Albion boats aren't running. Of course with our 3 European "helicopters", salting the water to lower the boiling point is a moot issue ...

[Mill Bay]

So when they bring the Vancouver over to Swartz, what will the order of tie up berths be while she's there? Will they shuffle the Celebration around, or stick the Vancouver in an awkward spot? I've been imagining she usually uses berth 2 at Swartz, I can't recall anyone mentioning it for sure.

[Quatchi]

The Vancouver will probably use berth 1, as the C. Cel. uses berth 2.

Cheers,

[Mirrlees]

I would think, Berth1: Celebration, Berth 2: Q-Van, Berth 3: SOVI docked bow-to; not in service.

[Quatchi]

Nah I would think berth 1 Vancouver because the C. Cel. uses berth 2 in her usual service.

[Koastal Karl]

I think it would make sense for the C Cel to use berth 1 and Vancouver out of berth 2 and the SOVI usually sits in 3 when she is in refit. The passenger waiting lounge for berth 1 is alot of bigger than 2 so I think using berth 1 would be the best seeing she will be doing alot more sailings and using berth 2 all the time might be a pain. She can use berth 1, so why hasent she yet?? What would be the normal approach for the Celebration into berth 1??

[Quatchi]

Sure int he past all route 1 vessels have used berth 1 at Swartz Bay, but remember Berth 2 was specifically designed for a Coastal. The C.Cel. has been using berth 2 at all times since day 1 of service.

If she were to use berth 1 she would have to come in via the spirit "outbound" path this is longer then the spirit "inbound" path of which she currently takes on the "inbound" and "outbound" portions of her voyages from berth 2.

Cheers,

[Nick]

The Celebration didn't do very well using berth 1 on her docking trials a few months ago. Her wash was so heavy it was splashing higher than the ramp deck while she was in dock, which is apparently happening because of the terrain underneath the ramp. Also, there have been noise complaints from the neighbours, but that may have been remedied with all the repairs recently. Because of this, I am expecting to see the Celebration stay where she is in berth 2, and the Vancouver will take berth 1. Berth 3 will be saved for the SOVI to use when she isn't in the shipyard.

And actually, the inbound path for the Spirits is longer in distance, but it's faster because they get into less confined water quicker, so they can run full speed sooner.

[electrotech]

Only Berth 2 designed for Coastals?

Last time I pulled in on the Skeena (next to the C Cel) at Swartz, the Skeena's berth had the Coastal's new 700A shore power box at rampside.

[DENelson83]

So that means the Sissi does use shore power while tucked in for the night?

[Ferryman]

It wouldn't make sense for the Vancouver to tie up in Berth 1. The Vancouver will only be used part time (Fridays and Sundays) like the Saanich used to. The SOVI is due for a drydocking isn't she? Therefore she'd likely go over to WMG to get pulled out of the water, or even over to Deas. Berth 1 at Deas is open at the moment, so she could very well go there too. I could see the CC tieing up in Berth 2 just like she seems to normally do now. But they'd also probably would put the Vancouver in Berth 3. That way Berth 1 is kept open for the SOBC to use.

The water rushing up on to the ramps at Berth 1 is a bit of a surprise to me. I was on the Coastal Renaissance yesterday, and they don't even fire up the propellar at the end that is at the ramp until we were about to depart. Just like they do on the other C's. That way they only have the one prop at the front pushing the ship into the dock. So perhaps this practice will be done the same way on the CC once crews are a little more comfortable with her?

[Nick]

OK, so about 5 minutes ago I heard a new rumour.

The SOVI is going to tie up in berth 1 for her refit, as they are going to refurbish berth 1 at the same time. Berth 2 will be used as the primary berth, and the CC will remain tied up there. The Vancouver would then be tied up in berth 3, and be used only on weekends, as Chris says.

Berth 2 is not the only berth at SWB capable of holding the Coastals, but there are some issues with the others. The overhead walkway at berth 3 does not line up properly with any of the embarkation points on the ship, and there are noise and wash issues when using berth 1. It's not that they won't fit, but it's just not "desireable".

As for the handling of the CC, it seems that her crew's still have their "L", and are playing it very cautiously. In time, they will probably be using the bow propeller much less during docking procedures.

And finally, the Coastals have used shore power since they arrived here. The only ships that don't plug in are the NorAd and Chilliwack, because they still utilize the European 240V/50Hz electrical system (NorAd may be having this changed out during her current refit, but I don't know off the top of my head).

[gordon]

If the prop at loading\unloading end of the vessel is not running while docked would this not remedy some of the major issues the people around DB had with the CR.

[electrotech]

European power is typically a 220/380V 3Ø system. Regardless, that can be accommodated via a ship-side transformer. Most of the ferries do this anyways as the shore supply is 600V. (Ship's distribution is usually 480V or 208V.)

The real stumbling block is the 50Hz. For that you'd need an extra frequency converter... essentially a 60Hz motor coupled to a 50Hz generator.

Jan 4, 2009 21:39:54 GMT -8 gordon said:

If the prop at loading\unloading end of the vessel is not running while docked would this not remedy some of the major issues the people around DB had with the CR.

A friend of mine that took the C-Cel this past week said he noticed they were already doing this.

[Mill Bay]

Jan 4, 2009 19:32:15 GMT -8 Nick said:

OK, so about 5 minutes ago I heard a new rumour.

The SOVI is going to tie up in berth 1 for her refit, as they are going to refurbish berth 1 at the same time. Berth 2 will be used as the primary berth, and the CC will remain tied up there. The Vancouver would then be tied up in berth 3, and be used only on weekends, as Chris says.

Berth 2 is not the only berth at SWB capable of holding the Coastals, but there are some issues with the others. The overhead walkway at berth 3 does not line up properly with any of the embarkation points on the ship, and there are noise and wash issues when using berth 1. It's not that they won't fit, but it's just not "desireable".

If they were to use berth 2 as the main working berth, would that mean they have to change the approach the other Spirit takes in order to do a stern landing at berth 2?

[Koastal Karl]

So the SOBC then will be using berth 2 too??? Maybe I will take a trip on route 1 this week.

[Nickfro]

With all these thoughts about which Berth the Cecil, SoVI, Sobc, etc. will use, this makes me ask one question: Can the Skeena use Berths 4 & 5 or is she too big? If she can't use them, I don't see how things will work with the VI staying there for refit and the Vancouver parked at Swartz most of the time.

Jan 4, 2009 14:46:10 GMT -8 Ferryman said:

The SOVI is due for a drydocking isn't she? Therefore she'd likely go over to WMG to get pulled out of the water, or even over to Deas.

I haven't seen a Spirit at WMG in North Van for years. I think they have typically gone down to Victoria for drydocking, haven't they? It'd be great to see a spirit pull into Burrard Inlet!

[Nick]

Jan 5, 2009 11:59:32 GMT -8 Nickfro said:

With all these thoughts about which Berth the Cecil, SoVI, Sobc, etc. will use, this makes me ask one question: Can the Skeena use Berths 4 & 5 or is she too big? If she can't use them, I don't see how things will work with the VI staying there for refit and the Vancouver parked at Swartz most of the time.

The Skeena can certainly use berth 4, as I've seen her do so many times. I think she will fit in 5 as well, but I'm not sure.

Jan 5, 2009 11:59:32 GMT -8 Nickfro said:

I haven't seen a Spirit at WMG in North Van for years. I think they have typically gone down to Victoria for drydocking, haven't they? It'd be great to see a spirit pull into Burrard Inlet!

I think Chris was referring to the drydock in Esquimalt, as the shipyard that would be doing the work is WMG's Victoria Shipyards.