QoNW Fan
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Queen of New Westminster fan!
Posts: 269 
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Post by QoNW Fan on Aug 24, 2023 21:11:17 GMT -8
I've always wondered, does the Queen of New Westminster ever sound the whistle when departing Swartz Bay? I've only heard the Spirit class sounding the whistle when departing Swartz Bay, and I've only heard the QoNW sounding the whistle when departing Tsawwassen. I believe it is standard operating procedure with most or all of their vessels. Ah ok. The only time I have been departing Swartz Bay on the QoNW, there was no whistle. I am pretty sure the ship was already backed into the dock, maybe it only sounds when backing out? |
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Post by WettCoast on Aug 24, 2023 21:12:04 GMT -8
I've always wondered, does the Queen of New Westminster ever sound the whistle when departing Swartz Bay? I've only heard the Spirit class sounding the whistle when departing Swartz Bay, and I've only heard the QoNW sounding the whistle when departing Tsawwassen. If a vessel needs to go 'astern' (in reverse) I believe they are required to to give three short blasts on the horn. Any single-ender (Spirits, QoNWM) must back out of Tsawwassen and therefore must blow the horn. Having said this I don't know if this is done routinely nowadays, or if rules have changed. Perhaps one of our insiders can set me strait on this. They will use the horn any time there is potential for trouble such as when a small boat looks to be in or close to the ferry's intended route.
Back in the "good old days" horns were sounded routinely at the end of voyages in accordance with Morse Code for the letter 'V'.
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Post by paulvanb on Aug 24, 2023 21:20:43 GMT -8
I believe it is standard operating procedure with most or all of their vessels. Ah ok. The only time I have been departing Swartz Bay on the QoNW, there was no whistle. I am pretty sure the ship was already backed into the dock, maybe it only sounds when backing out? The Queen of Capilano always has an announcement when she leaves HSB or Snug Cove that the ship's whistle is going to sound. |
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Post by Ollie on Aug 24, 2023 22:02:02 GMT -8
I've always wondered, does the Queen of New Westminster ever sound the whistle when departing Swartz Bay? I've only heard the Spirit class sounding the whistle when departing Swartz Bay, and I've only heard the QoNW sounding the whistle when departing Tsawwassen. Sometimes they do sound the horn departing Swartz Bay, this Queen of New Westminster recording as an example:
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QoNW Fan
Voyager
Queen of New Westminster fan!
Posts: 269
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Post by QoNW Fan on Aug 24, 2023 22:35:32 GMT -8
I've always wondered, does the Queen of New Westminster ever sound the whistle when departing Swartz Bay? I've only heard the Spirit class sounding the whistle when departing Swartz Bay, and I've only heard the QoNW sounding the whistle when departing Tsawwassen. Sometimes they do sound the horn departing Swartz Bay, this Queen of New Westminster recording as an example:
Cool, thanks! |
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Post by WettCoast on Sept 4, 2023 20:07:08 GMT -8
Queen of New Westminster arrives at Tsawwassen Terminal sometime during the summer of the year 2000. At the time the New West was serving on the Duke Point route.
This photo was taken by my brother, David (Mr. DOT), and was posted in this thread about 11 years ago.
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Post by paulvanb on Sept 4, 2023 20:12:11 GMT -8
Queen of New Westminster arrives at Tsawwassen Terminal sometime during the summer of the year 2000. At the time the New West was serving on the Duke Point route.
This photo was taken by my brother, David (Mr. DOT), and was posted in this thread about 11 years ago.
They really need to give her a gold stripe! |
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Post by Blue Bus Fan on Sept 9, 2023 12:00:54 GMT -8
Queen of New Westminster is doing rescue boat training.
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Post by Ollie on Sept 23, 2023 11:01:36 GMT -8
Queen of New Westminster entering Active Pass, today
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Post by Ollie on Oct 2, 2023 8:57:04 GMT -8
Queen of New Westminster in Active Pass, today
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Post by Blue Bus Fan on Oct 4, 2023 23:12:24 GMT -8
Queen of New Westminster is at Esquimalt Dock.
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Post by Ollie on Oct 7, 2023 21:00:54 GMT -8
Does Queen of New Westminster's exterior not rust anymore? It is already back in the drydock and there is barely any visible rust on the exterior. (The last photo on this thread is from Queen of New Westminster's last day of service this year).
Is BC Ferries doing better maintenance more regularly now? I haven't seen any rusty ferry exteriors this year, except for the Cumberland. The Nanaimo and probably other V Class would usually get much more rusty looking on the exterior. |
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Post by Blue Bus Fan on Oct 7, 2023 22:24:18 GMT -8
Does Queen of New Westminster's exterior not rust anymore? It is already back in the drydock and there is barely any visible rust on the exterior. (The last photo on this thread is from Queen of New Westminster's last day of service this year).
Is BC Ferries doing better maintenance more regularly now? I haven't seen any rusty ferry exteriors this year, except for the Cumberland. The Nanaimo and probably other V Class would usually get much more rusty looking on the exterior. I think dry docking is more frequent with her due age. I believe her last dry dock period was in 2019. |
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QoNW Fan
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Queen of New Westminster fan!
Posts: 269
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Post by QoNW Fan on Nov 13, 2023 23:25:47 GMT -8
Queen of New Westminster is currently at Deas Dock, assumingly for a scheduled refit. Temporarily reunited with the Queen of Burnaby!
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Post by Ferryman on Nov 18, 2023 19:26:01 GMT -8
The New West just over halfway through her life extension refit. Some new changes to the exterior....and even a new voice! Haven't heard the new whistle yet, but I suspect it might be a sound we've heard before from a sister ship... |
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Post by Ollie on Nov 18, 2023 19:36:51 GMT -8
The New West just over halfway through her life extension refit. Some new changes to the exterior....and even a new voice! Haven't heard the new whistle yet, but I suspect it might be a sound we've heard before from a sister ship... Great photos! What's the new whistle from? Is the old one still there? Are those covers on the bridge wings permanent and that weird round thing on the mast? This looks like a lot of changes! |
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Post by WettCoast on Nov 18, 2023 20:30:38 GMT -8
The New West just over halfway through her life extension refit. Some new changes to the exterior....and even a new voice! Haven't heard the new whistle yet, but I suspect it might be a sound we've heard before from a sister ship... and that weird round thing on the mast? A fall protection cage, probably permanent. Would be better if painted black. |
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Post by Charles on Nov 18, 2023 20:57:38 GMT -8
The New West just over halfway through her life extension refit. Some new changes to the exterior....and even a new voice! Haven't heard the new whistle yet, but I suspect it might be a sound we've heard before from a sister ship... Ferryman, do you know what work the life extension refit constitutes for the New West? The whistle looks like they were sandblasted or just unpainted. Would they have sent the Burnaby’s set to get repaired? What old three tone whistle sets would they have just lying around, (Don’t know what happened to the Vancouver’s, I know they were removed, the Burnaby’s were removed, the Nanaimo’s are not in BCFerries possession anymore, I don’t know what happened to the Victoria’s or the Prince Rupert’s). I wonder if there’s a chance they’re new and just unpainted? Speaking of paint, I wonder if she will get a fresh coat of paint or an acid wash? |
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QoNW Fan
Voyager
Queen of New Westminster fan!
Posts: 269
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Post by QoNW Fan on Nov 18, 2023 23:15:52 GMT -8
The New West just over halfway through her life extension refit. Some new changes to the exterior....and even a new voice! Haven't heard the new whistle yet, but I suspect it might be a sound we've heard before from a sister ship... Wow! So maybe they really do listen to feedback! Not saying I influenced the whistle change, but I did submit feedback about the QoNW's whistle sounding broken. Not only that, there's speculation that the Coastal Renaissance got a whistle tune as well! Awesome!! |
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Post by Ferryman on Nov 19, 2023 10:13:27 GMT -8
The New West just over halfway through her life extension refit. Some new changes to the exterior....and even a new voice! Haven't heard the new whistle yet, but I suspect it might be a sound we've heard before from a sister ship... Great photos! What's the new whistle from? Is the old one still there? Are those covers on the bridge wings permanent and that weird round thing on the mast? This looks like a lot of changes! Covers on the bridge wings are permanent, but still in the process of being painted. These help preserve not only the bridge wing controls, but offer some level of shelter for the Master conducting the landing. I'm not entirely sure if the whistle is a brand new assembly or not. But I know for a fact that the existing whistle has been taken down. It would be neat if the Burnaby's whistle was restored and put back in use. Another addition that is tough to see in the photos, is the addition of a railing just in front of the bridge windows. It blends in fairly well already, but ultimately makes the task of cleaning the bridge windows much safer. Not sure if there are any obvious changes to the interior. A life extension is typically more of a restoration/preservation type of refit. Big emphasis on engineering components being replaced/upgraded, and steel restoration. Her superstructure will no doubt be cleaned up over the next few weeks. The painter's focus has been on the Orca, which is due to depart any day now. |
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Post by cbachmeier on Nov 19, 2023 15:33:00 GMT -8
Where is her coat of arms, are they just taking it down temporarily for the refit or for good?
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Post by Ollie on Nov 19, 2023 15:39:52 GMT -8
Where is her coat of arms, are they just taking it down temporarily for the refit or for good? I don't think it has one, I have never seen Queen of New Westminster's coat of arms |
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Post by cbachmeier on Nov 19, 2023 16:45:05 GMT -8
Where is her coat of arms, are they just taking it down temporarily for the refit or for good? I don't think it has one, I have never seen Queen of New Westminster's coat of arms I was thinking about that after I asked, ive only seen a couple pictures of her with a coat of arms, its weird. |
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Post by northwesterner on Nov 19, 2023 19:06:13 GMT -8
I was thinking about that after I asked, ive only seen a couple pictures of her with a coat of arms, its weird. It appears the coat of arms survived the lifting - it was moved to below the wheelhouse at that time. ferriesbc.proboards.com/post/140686It is unclear to me when it disappeared? In this mrdot photo from Summer 2000, she was in Expo livery but had lost the coat of arms. flic.kr/p/2p13bZE |
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QoNW Fan
Voyager
Queen of New Westminster fan!
Posts: 269
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Post by QoNW Fan on Nov 20, 2023 1:21:29 GMT -8
When is the QoNW back in service? I can't wait to hear the new whistle! Even if it's not a new set of horns it will be nice to hear a properly tuned whistle.
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