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Post by gulfislandkayaker on Jun 20, 2015 9:55:57 GMT -8
Ah...I'll miss the ol' gal. A large portion of my adult life was spent aboard this ship. I don't even want to think about how much $ I've spent on ferry fare in my life. I'm really not looking forward to seeing the pics of this ship rusting away and neglected over the coming decades...this phenomenon always depresses me.  |
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Post by Low Light Mike on Jul 8, 2015 21:14:01 GMT -8
Queen of Nanaimo seen in partial silhouette, at Village Bay on a hazy afternoon. - July 8, 2015  053 by Mike Bonkowski, on Flickr 5:00 to 5:30pm is a busy time on a weekday at V-Bay. |
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Post by WettCoast on Jul 8, 2015 21:38:58 GMT -8
Queen of Nanaimo seen in partial silhouette, at Village Bay on a hazy afternoon. - July 8, 2015 053 by Mike Bonkowski, on Flickr A scene that will not be with us for much longer ... |
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Post by Low Light Mike on Jul 8, 2015 21:52:55 GMT -8
Queen of Nanaimo seen in partial silhouette, at Village Bay on a hazy afternoon. - July 8, 2015 053 by Mike Bonkowski, on Flickr A scene that will not be with us for much longer ... In the short term, I'm hoping you are prophetic re the haze disappearing in a day or so. (I want to see Mt. Baker, while I'm in Sidney this week) But, regarding what you intended, I too will miss the sight of those Spaulding ships on our coast, on these wonderful scenic routes. A silhouette of a Solidarity-triplet would be interesting, but not as nice. Summer 2016 will be the sad summer of Route-9 & 17 farewell trips. (probably more sad for Route 9) |
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Neil
Voyager 
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Post by Neil on Jul 8, 2015 22:07:00 GMT -8
I haven't been on the Queen of Nanaimo for a couple of years... do they have the upper deck lounge open in peak season sailings?
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Mayne
Voyager
I come from a long line of sinners like me
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Post by Mayne on Jul 9, 2015 6:10:51 GMT -8
I haven't been on the Queen of Nanaimo for a couple of years... do they have the upper deck lounge open in peak season sailings? The upper deck lounge seems to be open more or less on every sailing this time of year. |
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Post by Low Light Mike on Jul 14, 2015 10:47:18 GMT -8
Queen of Nanaimo seen from berth-3 at Village Bay, Mayne Island. This is the 5:00 - 5:30 pm rush hour at Mayne, when three ships arrive, transfer and depart. - July 8, 2015  DSC09545 by Mike Bonkowski, on Flickr |
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Post by Low Light Mike on Jul 27, 2015 19:09:42 GMT -8
Here's an old friend, seen from the beach at Village Bay, Mayne Island.
- afternoon of July 8, 2015
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Post by Scott (Former Account) on Aug 18, 2015 22:25:16 GMT -8
August 17, 2015The following images posted by this account are copyright © S.A. ~ Unauthorized use is prohibited.
 BC Ferries - Queen of Nanaimo departing Berth 2, Village Bay, Mayne Island. by Scott, on Flickr  BC Ferries - Queen of Nanaimo departing Berth 2, Village Bay, Mayne Island. by Scott, on Flickr  BC Ferries - Queen of Nanaimo departing Berth 2, Village Bay, Mayne Island. by Scott, on Flickr
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Post by westernflyer on Oct 2, 2015 9:15:35 GMT -8
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Post by Starsteward on Oct 2, 2015 11:18:49 GMT -8
 Queen of Nanaimo's launching. Scanned from a slide found at a garage sale. Photographer unknown. Marvelous to see the expertise that VMD and Burrard Dry Dock possessed back in our early fleet-building' days. ALL vessels of the early fleet operated much as expected with little or none of the sad saga we have seen concerning recent local ship building attempts. That would be the 'Queen of New Westminster' taking shape next to the 'Queen of Nanaimo'. What good luck and great fun it was to be assigned to those two brand new ships when they were assigned to Route 2 out of Horseshoe Bay.  |
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Post by gulfislandkayaker on Oct 3, 2015 8:21:55 GMT -8
I'm going to miss her.
I've probably made more trips on this ship than any other...though the Sidney and Tsawwassen would be up there too.
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Post by princessofvanfan on Oct 3, 2015 18:59:06 GMT -8
I'm going to miss her. I've probably made more trips on this ship than any other...though the Sidney and Tsawwassen would be up there too. Yep, you bet...same here. Many trips on the Nanny back in the 70's on route 2, along with the Burnaby, New West, Tsawwassen, and, briefly, the Surrey (QotN) a couple of times. |
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Post by westernflyer on Oct 3, 2015 18:59:45 GMT -8
If only we had the foresight to preserve one of these wonderful ships. I think the Queen of Nanaimo should be honored as a permanent fixture on her namesake city's waterfront. Maybe she could be the new home for our provincial maritime museum. Once the last of the seven sisters are gone we will have missed the chance to retain an example of an era of marine transportation in BC the likes of which we will never see again.
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Post by WettCoast on Oct 3, 2015 19:43:24 GMT -8
If only we had the foresight to preserve one of these wonderful ships. I think the Queen of Nanaimo should be honored as a permanent fixture on her namesake city's waterfront. Maybe she could be the new home for our provincial maritime museum. Once the last of the seven sisters are gone we will have missed the chance to retain an example of an era of marine transportation in BC the likes of which we will never see again. Don't get your hopes too high. We had not the foresight to preserve anything from the CPR coastal steamship fleet of the past, and they were arguably much more worthy of preservation than something from the 1960's ferry fleet. On the other hand, we have seen several inland stern wheel vessels splendidly preserved, so it is possible. |
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mrdot
Voyager
Mr. DOT
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Post by mrdot on Oct 3, 2015 19:49:14 GMT -8
:)looking closely at those large VMD orderbook of early 1960's, it is hard to believe how many hi-quality vessels were being churned out, over six of the advanced V's and culminating in the QPR and then the three Mayne Queen class and then the close of VMD and a large orderbook was finished, and now we seem to have only the skills to fabricate a modest cable ferry at best, while we have to go off shore for anything more complex! >:Dmrdot.
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Post by westernflyer on Oct 3, 2015 20:12:25 GMT -8
If only we had the foresight to preserve one of these wonderful ships. I think the Queen of Nanaimo should be honored as a permanent fixture on her namesake city's waterfront. Maybe she could be the new home for our provincial maritime museum. Once the last of the seven sisters are gone we will have missed the chance to retain an example of an era of marine transportation in BC the likes of which we will never see again. Don't get your hopes too high. We had not the foresight to preserve anything from the CPR coastal steamship fleet of the past, and they were arguably much more worthy of preservation than something from the 1960's ferry fleet. On the other hand, we have seen several inland stern wheel vessels splendidly preserved, so it is possible. The same was true of the Union Steamships as well. The Lady Alex should have been preserved and our cultural heritage would have been the richer for it. To my knowledge the only vestiges of that era are a couple of disintegrated shipwrecks and the rusting remains of the Cardena at Kelsey Bay. I hope I can be forgiven for believing that we can do better than that. The classic Spauldings may not quite be the picturesque and elegant steamers that some of the Union boats or the CPR ships were, but they represent the best efforts of our homegrown shipbuilding industry and they have done our province a great service over the last half century. In my opinion they don't look half bad, either. If there is a group who may be able to come together to push for the preservation of one of our historic ships it just might be the members of this forum. |
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Post by Curtis on Oct 19, 2015 14:39:18 GMT -8
The first whistle I'm posting this week: The epic three tones of the Queen of Nanaimo.
Next whistle will be posted on Wednesday.
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Post by yak on Oct 19, 2015 19:02:58 GMT -8
She should be heading into Esquimalt for refit tonight.
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Post by Luke on Nov 20, 2015 21:13:20 GMT -8
I'm curious: What decks and amenities will be open on the Nanaimo Next weekend? Are there any big passenger spaces that will be closed, or will it all be open? I ask because I will be riding her next weekend and I don't want to find out then if a passenger deck is closed.
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Deleted
Deleted Member
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Post by Deleted on Nov 20, 2015 22:25:16 GMT -8
I'm curious: What decks and amenities will be open on the Nanaimo Next weekend? Are there any big passenger spaces that will be closed, or will it all be open? I ask because I will be riding her next weekend and I don't want to find out then if a passenger deck is closed. The Upper Aft Lounge will be closed, as she'll be sailing on a C or D license for the majority of the weekend, and on a B license on Friday and Sunday afternoon. An A license is required for the Upper Aft Lounge to be open, and it's very rare that she's fully staffed in the off season. A breakdown of the licenses: A - 973/27 B - 750/22 C - 580/20 D - 450/19 E (transit only) - 0/11 |
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Post by Ferryman on Dec 21, 2015 10:00:42 GMT -8
Queen of Nanaimo departing Village Bay last night at sunset. Only a year and a bit left to enjoy seeing this classic sailing the Gulf Islands, and I think she'll be sorely missed. One thing I just noticed upon reviewing the photo, is that they've removed the tarp, that for years, has been wrapped around the bow railings on the foc'sle.  Queen of Nanaimo - departing Village Bay by Chris, on Flickr |
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Post by yak on Jan 20, 2016 15:42:15 GMT -8
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Post by gulfislandkayaker on Feb 10, 2016 9:45:27 GMT -8
I'm going to try and savour every trip aboard the Nanny this Summer. Seen many ferries depart from my SGI-run over the years...but I think this will be the saddest for me. Maybe because I'm retired now and I have more TIME to dwell on it? Or perhaps because the iconic Spaulding design will never again be seen visiting my beloved islands... Will be take lots of pictures and video this Summer...I wish I had done this with the Sidney, Tsawwassen, and even the misfit that was the Queen of the Islands...though to be fair I was just a kid on these boats. |
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Post by Starsteward on Feb 10, 2016 10:59:32 GMT -8
I'm going to try and savour every trip aboard the Nanny this Summer. Seen many ferries depart from my SGI-run over the years...but I think this will be the saddest for me. Maybe because I'm retired now and I have more TIME to dwell on it? Or perhaps because the iconic Spaulding design will never again be seen visiting my beloved islands... Will be take lots of pictures and video this Summer...I wish I had done this with the Sidney, Tsawwassen, and even the misfit that was the Queen of the Islands...though to be fair I was just a kid on these boats. When I began summer employment with BC Ferries in June of 1964, my first 'busboy' posting out of Horseshoe Bay was on the 'not quite new' Queen of Sidney. As luck, or lack of it would have it, my tenure on the 'Sidney' lasted but one day, because the watch to which I had been hitched to were relegated the very next day to the venerable 'Sechelt Queen' for the next two months. The summer of '64 was a hot one and having been stripped of all the 'Chinook's' fineries including a less than useful air conditioning system, the 'S.Q' was a sweat box, but a bit of fun to work as our crew wasn't exactly used to amenities in the first place. Then in August 1964, our watch was rewarded. Two watches out of H.S. Bay would take possession of the brand spanking new 'Queen of Nanaimo', under the command of the late Captain Bob Ashmore, and the puritanical 'eye' of Chief Steward Tom Wheeler. Stem to stern, top to bottom, brand new and we couldn't get over the 'new car' smells that wafted from every crevice of our 'Nanny'. Captain Ashmore and Chief Wheeler made sure our new work place remained 'pristine'.  Two months of the 'Nanny's' first year on route 2 sped by and I wasn't to work her again until I had done another quickie tour on the new 'Queen of New Westminster'. Back to the 'Nanny', back to the 'New West' for the next 2 years, having a great time enjoying those 2 new ships. August, 1966 would see the end of my service time on route 2, for beginning in May 1967 I went north to route 10 and began working on a ship that I loved then and have ever since, the 'Queen of Prince Rupert'. A change of pace and scenery to be sure, but I'll never forget starting off on the 'Sidney' but landing the 'Nanny and 'New West' for the time that I had, both the old Spauldings were the "Cat's Meow'. Pastel blue and white, the white Dogwood on the green background of the BCF house flag, the beautiful coat of arms provincial crest, mounted back in the day above the bow doors, set off a wonderful sleek and graceful class of ferries that are going to be sorely missed.....just because the Spauldings were a great design and they were our first new breed and have over time, proved they had staying power. ( I wonder at times if ANY of the vessel classes that have or will follow the 'Spauldings', will enjoy a similar lengthy legacy? I think not.  |
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