Post by Low Light Mike on Dec 9, 2010 14:25:48 GMT -8
Powell River Peak news story on the long sailing on Nov.25th:
from here:
www.prpeak.com/articles/2010/12/09/news/doc4cf5a746d15ed793925206.txt
Decision to sail rests with captain
by Kyle Wells | reporter@prpeak.com
by Laura Walz | editor@prpeak.com
Published: Wednesday, December 8, 2010 3:47 PM CST
Questions are being raised in Powell River over BC Ferries’ decision to go ahead with the 9:05 pm sailing of the Queen of Chilliwack on Thursday, November 25.
BC Ferries spokesperson Deborah Marshall said that during the voyage the captain was in constant communication with Environment Canada to monitor the situation. Marshall said that at about 9 pm that evening the captain received word that the wind was abating and made the decision to attempt the crossing. Once they had set sail the captain determined this was not the case and sought refuge on the west side of Texada Island.
“The captain did speak with a weather specialist and the winds were supposed to not increase and they were predicted to come down,” said Marshall.
David Jones, a meteorologist with Environment Canada, spoke with the forecaster on duty that night, who told Jones that he recollects no conversation with the captain about winds abating. Environment Canada forecasts from that night consistently report gale warnings from 4 pm November 25 to 4 am November 26.
The last forecast issued by Environment Canada before the Chilliwack set sail reported winds increasing to 35 to 40 knots in the early evening and not abating until “late overnight.” The forecast issued at 9:30 pm, 25 minutes after the Chilliwack set sail, still reported southeast winds of 35 to 40 knots and predicted again that winds would not abate until “late overnight.”
Data for the Sentry Shoal buoy weather station, located just north of Powell River in the Strait of Georgia, reported wind speeds of 29 knots with gusts of 37 knots and wave heights of 2.1 metres at 9 pm. This diminished to gusts of 33 knots at 10 pm but jumped up to 41 knots at 11 pm. Between 3 and 4 am, when the captain decided to continue on to Comox, the wind gusts abated from 33 knots to 27 knots and wave height diminished to 1.8 metres.
Environment Canada’s Sisters Island reporting station, near Lasqueti Island, reported “storm force gusts” between 7 pm and 3 am, peaking at 10 pm with winds of 51 knots. At 9 pm the weather station was reporting winds of 50 knots.
Councillor Dave Formosa raised the issue of the November 25 sailing, as well as the number of overloads since the Chilliwack has been on the route, at the December 2 City of Powell River committee-of-the-whole meeting.
Formosa said he’s had a number of complaints from upset citizens. “I would like us to show our displeasure,” he said.
BC Ferries replaced the Queen of Burnaby with the Chilliwack, which takes a smaller number of vehicles and passengers, on October 12. The Burnaby is providing service to the Southern Gulf Islands while the regular vessel, the Queen of Nanaimo, is undergoing a refit. According to BC Ferries, “the Queen of Chilliwack is unable to integrate into the complex schedule of the Southern Gulf Islands.”
Formosa also said the city needs to send a strong letter “from one captain to another” about the November 25 sailing, which he said was appalling. “We need to scream and yell from the top of our lungs from the highest peak in Powell River on this issue,” he said.
Mayor Stewart Alsgard, who served in the Canadian Navy, told Formosa he appreciated his anxiety and concern. “Having been in this business, I appreciate decisions that are made and why they are made. I can certainly appreciate the public’s anxiety when they don’t necessarily participate in the decisions that are made or the reasons for them.”
Alsgard suggested council should obtain all the facts first. “I would be most cautious about taking to task the master of a ship without having complete detail of what took place,” he said.
Alsgard also said he thought, “We can work on this productively, internally and discuss it further, making very sure that as time moves on we have something constructive to offer, not a rant.”
The Burnaby is scheduled to return to the Powell River-Little River route on December 20.
by Kyle Wells | reporter@prpeak.com
by Laura Walz | editor@prpeak.com
Published: Wednesday, December 8, 2010 3:47 PM CST
Questions are being raised in Powell River over BC Ferries’ decision to go ahead with the 9:05 pm sailing of the Queen of Chilliwack on Thursday, November 25.
BC Ferries spokesperson Deborah Marshall said that during the voyage the captain was in constant communication with Environment Canada to monitor the situation. Marshall said that at about 9 pm that evening the captain received word that the wind was abating and made the decision to attempt the crossing. Once they had set sail the captain determined this was not the case and sought refuge on the west side of Texada Island.
“The captain did speak with a weather specialist and the winds were supposed to not increase and they were predicted to come down,” said Marshall.
David Jones, a meteorologist with Environment Canada, spoke with the forecaster on duty that night, who told Jones that he recollects no conversation with the captain about winds abating. Environment Canada forecasts from that night consistently report gale warnings from 4 pm November 25 to 4 am November 26.
The last forecast issued by Environment Canada before the Chilliwack set sail reported winds increasing to 35 to 40 knots in the early evening and not abating until “late overnight.” The forecast issued at 9:30 pm, 25 minutes after the Chilliwack set sail, still reported southeast winds of 35 to 40 knots and predicted again that winds would not abate until “late overnight.”
Data for the Sentry Shoal buoy weather station, located just north of Powell River in the Strait of Georgia, reported wind speeds of 29 knots with gusts of 37 knots and wave heights of 2.1 metres at 9 pm. This diminished to gusts of 33 knots at 10 pm but jumped up to 41 knots at 11 pm. Between 3 and 4 am, when the captain decided to continue on to Comox, the wind gusts abated from 33 knots to 27 knots and wave height diminished to 1.8 metres.
Environment Canada’s Sisters Island reporting station, near Lasqueti Island, reported “storm force gusts” between 7 pm and 3 am, peaking at 10 pm with winds of 51 knots. At 9 pm the weather station was reporting winds of 50 knots.
Councillor Dave Formosa raised the issue of the November 25 sailing, as well as the number of overloads since the Chilliwack has been on the route, at the December 2 City of Powell River committee-of-the-whole meeting.
Formosa said he’s had a number of complaints from upset citizens. “I would like us to show our displeasure,” he said.
BC Ferries replaced the Queen of Burnaby with the Chilliwack, which takes a smaller number of vehicles and passengers, on October 12. The Burnaby is providing service to the Southern Gulf Islands while the regular vessel, the Queen of Nanaimo, is undergoing a refit. According to BC Ferries, “the Queen of Chilliwack is unable to integrate into the complex schedule of the Southern Gulf Islands.”
Formosa also said the city needs to send a strong letter “from one captain to another” about the November 25 sailing, which he said was appalling. “We need to scream and yell from the top of our lungs from the highest peak in Powell River on this issue,” he said.
Mayor Stewart Alsgard, who served in the Canadian Navy, told Formosa he appreciated his anxiety and concern. “Having been in this business, I appreciate decisions that are made and why they are made. I can certainly appreciate the public’s anxiety when they don’t necessarily participate in the decisions that are made or the reasons for them.”
Alsgard suggested council should obtain all the facts first. “I would be most cautious about taking to task the master of a ship without having complete detail of what took place,” he said.
Alsgard also said he thought, “We can work on this productively, internally and discuss it further, making very sure that as time moves on we have something constructive to offer, not a rant.”
The Burnaby is scheduled to return to the Powell River-Little River route on December 20.
from here:
www.prpeak.com/articles/2010/12/09/news/doc4cf5a746d15ed793925206.txt