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Post by WettCoast on Oct 6, 2013 14:47:17 GMT -8
Spirit of British Columbia inbound to Swartz Bay with the 11 AM sailing from Tsawwassen - 29 September 2013. This view shows the SoBC doing the normal Spirit-class ferry approach toward berth 1 @ Swartz Bay (via Fir Cone point). This photo was taken from the beach at the end of Barnacle Road, just east of the SWB ferry terminal.  photo © WCK-JST by Wett Coast, on Flickr
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Post by WettCoast on Oct 19, 2013 20:09:13 GMT -8
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Post by Scott (Former Account) on Oct 21, 2013 21:04:37 GMT -8
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Post by WettCoast on Nov 6, 2013 9:39:31 GMT -8
Spirit of British Columbia north bound off Mayne Island with the 5 PM sailing en route to Tsawwassen - 8 October 2013. Note the photo was shot from the SoVI by Capt. Alex Loy (aka BCF_Capt). Thank you Alex for allowing me to share this with others on the WCFF.  photo © Capt A. Loy by Wett Coast, on Flickr
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Post by Mike C on Nov 11, 2013 11:10:14 GMT -8
This morning, the crew of the Spirit of British Columbia took time on our 11 AM sailing to honour and respect this Day of Remembrance, by asking for 2 minutes of silence from passengers and crew. All services were held, and the ship was quiet. Truly an odd feeling for the busiest ferry route in the system on a long weekend.
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Koastal Karl
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Been on every BC Ferry now!!!!!
Posts: 7,747
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Post by Koastal Karl on Nov 11, 2013 19:52:59 GMT -8
What would be even nicer would be 1hr 35mins of silence on this day!
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Post by Mike C on Nov 11, 2013 22:19:45 GMT -8
I tried to grab some more interesting framing with the Spirit of BC this morning, since there's really a limited number of places we can acquire photos of these ships in service. Seen with the Coastal Renaissance at Tsawwassen.  Spirit of British Columbia, Tsawwassen by MileagePhoto, on Flickr |
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Koastal Karl
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Been on every BC Ferry now!!!!!
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Post by Koastal Karl on Nov 11, 2013 22:22:43 GMT -8
I think that is probably the Renaissance not the Celebration, lol!
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Post by Mike C on Nov 11, 2013 22:32:57 GMT -8
I think that is probably the Renaissance not the Celebration, lol! Right you are. Corrections made. |
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Post by Low Light Mike on Nov 19, 2013 19:03:08 GMT -8
SoBC arriving at Swartz Bay on Fogtober 19, 2013. - SoVI is bow-in at berth-3.  |
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mrdot
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Mr. DOT
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Post by mrdot on Nov 24, 2013 15:45:36 GMT -8
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Mayne
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I come from a long line of sinners like me
Posts: 289 
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Post by Mayne on Nov 24, 2013 21:20:33 GMT -8
I have very voided memories of watching both the Spirts in actave pass in this scheme, and the V-s passing on the alternate hour made for memories that made me wish a I had a camera on my person at all times. |
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Post by Blue Bus Fan on Dec 1, 2013 20:26:26 GMT -8
Spirit of British Columbia tied up in berth two. I am posting these picture to show the different views of her tied up.   
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Post by Low Light Mike on Dec 1, 2013 20:34:39 GMT -8
Spirit of British Columbia tied up in berth 1. I am posting these picture to show the different views of her tied up. Ferry bondage looks to be in berth #2, not #1. |
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Koastal Karl
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Post by Koastal Karl on Dec 12, 2013 13:01:44 GMT -8
She is filling in today and tomorrow for the Celebration. Is she being crewed out of Tsawwassen or staying overnight tonight at Swartz Bay?? She is still at Tsawwassen at 1:00pm!!
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Post by Blue Bus Fan on Dec 12, 2013 18:43:17 GMT -8
She is filling in today and tomorrow for the Celebration. Is she being crewed out of Tsawwassen or staying overnight tonight at Swartz Bay?? She is still at Tsawwassen at 1:00pm!! I would assume that she would be crewed out Tsawwassen since it is her homeport. |
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Post by Ferryman on Dec 12, 2013 19:00:58 GMT -8
Normally when the SOBC is put in place to cover for the #2 SWB vessel, the SOBC will deadhead over to Swartz, and then Deadhead back to Tsawwassen after making the runs. That being said, the Deck and Engineering crew are Tsawwassen based while the Catering crew is almost entirely from Swartz Bay
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Koastal Karl
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Post by Koastal Karl on Jan 27, 2014 21:26:23 GMT -8
I was on the 6pm sailing from Tsawwassen Sunday night on the SOBC. One thing I am wondering is on the SOBC would it be a Tsawwassen crew?  She departs at 2pm and 6pm out of Tsawwassen and only once at 4pm out of Swartz Bay. Usually there is a 12pm from Swartz Bay but being the SOBC is the Tsawwassen boat the first extra sailing is 2pm. So I would assume it is a Tsawwassen crew?? Cause after her arrival at Swartz Bay at 7:35pm she deadheads back to Tsawwassen. Another reason I ask is it was fairly full about 90% but the Coastal Cafe Express was closed. Just like a week earlier on a Saturday night when I was on the Renaissance 7pm out of Tsawwassen it was busy and the Coastal Cafe Express was also closed. Not enough crew?? lol! I assume this would be an extra Tsawwassen crew on the SOBC as the regular crew would be on the Rennie I would assume? Seems odd both times on the Rennie and SOBC busy sailings yet the Cafe Express was closed! |
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SolDuc
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West Coast Cyclist
SolDuc and SOBC - Photo by Scott
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Post by SolDuc on Jan 27, 2014 21:45:17 GMT -8
I was on the 6pm sailing from Tsawwassen Sunday night on the SOBC. One thing I am wondering is on the SOBC would it be a Tsawwassen crew? She departs at 2pm and 6pm out of Tsawwassen and only once at 4pm out of Swartz Bay. Usually there is a 12pm from Swartz Bay but being the SOBC is the Tsawwassen boat the first extra sailing is 2pm. So I would assume it is a Tsawwassen crew?? Cause after her arrival at Swartz Bay at 7:35pm she deadheads back to Tsawwassen. Another reason I ask is it was fairly full about 90% but the Coastal Cafe Express was closed. Just like a week earlier on a Saturday night when I was on the Renaissance 7pm out of Tsawwassen it was busy and the Coastal Cafe Express was also closed. Not enough crew?? lol! I assume this would be an extra Tsawwassen crew on the SOBC as the regular crew would be on the Rennie I would assume? Seems odd both times on the Rennie and SOBC busy sailings yet the Cafe Express was closed! No Coastal Cafe Express? Who cares! Coast saving measure. How did you enjoy the onboard casino on the Spirit of Las Vegas? Do you think it's a good replacement for the Coastal Cafe Express?  |
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Koastal Karl
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Post by Koastal Karl on Jan 27, 2014 22:28:35 GMT -8
It's not a big deal unless you want a snack or a drink and dont want to wait in the Cafe lineup just to get a drink or a snack! I still love the Spirit ships though.
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Post by ferryfanyvr on Jan 28, 2014 18:32:42 GMT -8
I was on the 6pm sailing from Tsawwassen Sunday night on the SOBC. One thing I am wondering is on the SOBC would it be a Tsawwassen crew? She departs at 2pm and 6pm out of Tsawwassen and only once at 4pm out of Swartz Bay. Usually there is a 12pm from Swartz Bay but being the SOBC is the Tsawwassen boat the first extra sailing is 2pm. So I would assume it is a Tsawwassen crew?? Cause after her arrival at Swartz Bay at 7:35pm she deadheads back to Tsawwassen. Another reason I ask is it was fairly full about 90% but the Coastal Cafe Express was closed. Just like a week earlier on a Saturday night when I was on the Renaissance 7pm out of Tsawwassen it was busy and the Coastal Cafe Express was also closed. Not enough crew?? lol! I assume this would be an extra Tsawwassen crew on the SOBC as the regular crew would be on the Rennie I would assume? Seems odd both times on the Rennie and SOBC busy sailings yet the Cafe Express was closed! So Karl...was it just the Café Express that was closed on that Renaissance sailing or was the rest of deck 5, except for the flex lounge, closed as well (a la route 2)? |
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Koastal Karl
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Post by Koastal Karl on Jan 28, 2014 19:12:08 GMT -8
Just the Coastal Cafe Express was closed! All of deck 5 was open it was just the Cafe Express that was closed! I dont know if it was open on earlier sailings but the sailing I took it was not open.
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Post by WettCoast on Feb 18, 2014 18:15:14 GMT -8
My brother, David (Mr. DOT) was able to spend some time around Vito's Shipyard in Delta, and at Fraser-Surrey Docks a little further up the river, during the time that the Queens of Lego were being built. He has a collection of photos from that time which I have scanned & edited, and am posting on his Flickr photo site & here on the WCFF. Note that the scans are of prints, not from the original negatives which we have not yet found. Scans from negatives are generally superior to scans from prints.
As most will know, the Lego Queens (now known as the Spirit Class ferries) were built as modules in three different yards. The forward hull section was built in Vancouver at Allied shipyard. The rear hull section & machinery spaces were built at Yarrows in Victoria. The superstructure was built in three modules at the Vito (Pacific Rim) shipyard on River Road in Delta. The two hull sections were brought together at the dry dock in Victoria. The complete hull was then towed over to the mainland & up the Fraser to Fraser-Surrey docks. The bow & mid section superstructure modules built at Vito's were moved onto a large barge that brought them up the river to Fraser-Surrey docks. That is where the delicate operation of transferring superstructure modules onto the hull took place. Once those sections were safely transferred onto the hull, the aft superstructure module was transferred to barge, brought up river and rolled onto the hull in the same manner as for the other sections. I posted an article from the September 1992 edition of the West Coast Mariner that has much more detail about this project. Go to page 12 of this thread to find that article. The second Lego Queen ( SoVI) was put together in precisely the same manner about a year later. We are fairly sure that the photos shown below (and others to be posted) are all of the SoBC.
Spirit of British Columbia forward superstructure module on barge awaiting transfer on to hull - spring 1992  Putting the pieces together up the Fraser River @ Fraser-Surrey Docks  SoBC tacked together @ Vito's yard, Delta, BC - June 92 
All photos © Mr. DOT by mrdot., on Flickr
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Mayne
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I come from a long line of sinners like me
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Post by Mayne on Feb 18, 2014 21:47:34 GMT -8
I thank you both WCK and Mr DOT for posting and taking these pictures, I remember being a kid (10 years old) seeing them being assembled on the docks in Delta and Surrey.
Again i can not wait to see what Mr DOT has lying around in his magic ship room for us to see next!
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Neil
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Post by Neil on Feb 18, 2014 23:22:18 GMT -8
mrdot was fortunate to have access to the actual 'shop floor', and these are fine shots. But the Vito assembly was a unique opportunity for even the general public to observe the construction of a huge ferry. The fact that the yard was on a very narrow strip of land between River Road and the Fraser River meant that anyone passing by had a pretty good view. Kind of like the shipyard in Anacortes; right there in front of you.
In hindsight, it's remarkable that a small yard like Vito was able to complete the marrying up of the Spirit components. We're talking about the largest ferry to ever serve our province. Fact is, there's more than one way to do a 'Flensburger'. And BC yards did it. |
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She departs at 2pm and 6pm out of Tsawwassen and only once at 4pm out of Swartz Bay. Usually there is a 12pm from Swartz Bay but being the SOBC is the Tsawwassen boat the first extra sailing is 2pm. So I would assume it is a Tsawwassen crew?? Cause after her arrival at Swartz Bay at 7:35pm she deadheads back to Tsawwassen. Another reason I ask is it was fairly full about 90% but the Coastal Cafe Express was closed. Just like a week earlier on a Saturday night when I was on the Renaissance 7pm out of Tsawwassen it was busy and the Coastal Cafe Express was also closed. Not enough crew?? lol! I assume this would be an extra Tsawwassen crew on the SOBC as the regular crew would be on the Rennie I would assume? Seems odd both times on the Rennie and SOBC busy sailings yet the Cafe Express was closed!
