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Post by WettCoast on Mar 27, 2023 19:58:20 GMT -8
The B.C. ferries website says the Q of A has a top sped of 22 knots but never seems to go faster that 20.5 knots wy not run her at top speed when needed? The Alberni was once the 'race horse' of the fleet. It did Swartz Bay - Tsawwassen in one hour & fifteen minutes until they slowed it down by five minutes following the little incident it had in Active Pass in 1979. The Alberni, like its C-class sisters, is now old & tired and the engines need to be treated gently. I also understand that fuel consumption goes way up in order to get a couple of extra knots speed. |
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Post by Blue Bus Fan on Mar 27, 2023 20:34:59 GMT -8
The B.C. ferries website says the Q of A has a top sped of 22 knots but never seems to go faster that 20.5 knots wy not run her at top speed when needed? The Alberni was once the 'race horse' of the fleet. It did Swartz Bay - Tsawwassen in one hour & fifteen minutes until they slowed it down by five minutes following the little incident it had in Active Pass in 1979. The Alberni, like its C-class sisters, is now old & tired and the engines need to be treated gently. I also understand that fuel consumption goes way up in order to get a couple of extra knots speed. I don’t think Coastal Class and Queen of Alberni run at full speed major of time due fuel consumption and scheduling should be same for all vessels. |
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Post by Ferryman on Mar 27, 2023 21:25:58 GMT -8
The B.C. ferries website says the Q of A has a top sped of 22 knots but never seems to go faster that 20.5 knots wy not run her at top speed when needed? Good lord. The ship is 47 years old with its original engines. Would you take a 47 year old car and press your foot on the gas pedal as far as it can go for 20 hours a day? Not only that, but 20 knots is about the fastest economical speed the C-class can run at. Anything faster than that, the fuel consumption goes up exponentially for very little speed reward. With diesel electric vessels, you typically have the option to turn on an extra generator/prime mover to gain a few more knots..ie the Coastal Class, Salish class |
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Post by ferryfanyvr on Mar 30, 2023 20:55:43 GMT -8
The Queen of Alberni is now appearing in the upcoming summer schedule...2 daily round trips on route 30 supplementing the usual 8 trips per day. So, zero extra sailings on route 2 this summer.
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Post by WettCoast on Mar 30, 2023 21:25:15 GMT -8
The Queen of Alberni is now appearing in the upcoming summer schedule...2 daily round trips on route 30 supplementing the usual 8 trips per day. So, zero extra sailings on route 2 this summer. A bad decision, IMHO. |
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Neil
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Post by Neil on Mar 30, 2023 21:32:43 GMT -8
The Queen of Alberni is now appearing in the upcoming summer schedule...2 daily round trips on route 30 supplementing the usual 8 trips per day. So, zero extra sailings on route 2 this summer. I don't think you should assume that. The additional sailings on route 30 were only added very recently. It may be that the route two summer schedule just hasn't been finalized yet. Route 30 has been growing considerably in recent years. The ability to marshall drop trailer traffic at both ends, unlike on route 2, means that there was an understandable priority given to increasing capacity. The interesting thing about the summer schedule for the ' Alberni is that she's only utilized on route 30 for two round trips. More to come, perhaps? |
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Post by Blue Bus Fan on Mar 31, 2023 21:21:03 GMT -8
The Queen of Alberni is now appearing in the upcoming summer schedule...2 daily round trips on route 30 supplementing the usual 8 trips per day. So, zero extra sailings on route 2 this summer. A bad decision, IMHO. It is an off but bad decision. Where the Queen of Oak Bay and Queen of Cowichan be able to handle all the vehicles traffic and foot traffic on route 2? I wonder if Queen of Coquitlam will be able to operate some round trips on route 2. |
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Post by WettCoast on Mar 31, 2023 21:33:58 GMT -8
It is an off but bad decision. Where the Queen of Oak Bay and Queen of Cowichan be able to handle all the vehicles traffic and foot traffic on route 2? I wonder if Queen of Coquitlam will be able to operate some round trips on route 2. I think that they could make 3 additional round trips on Route 2 by using both the Coquitlam & the Alberni which are both being under utilized. If they don't I expect BCFS will get a fair bit of justified criticism. |
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Post by Blue Bus Fan on Mar 31, 2023 21:48:15 GMT -8
It is an off but bad decision. Where the Queen of Oak Bay and Queen of Cowichan be able to handle all the vehicles traffic and foot traffic on route 2? I wonder if Queen of Coquitlam will be able to operate some round trips on route 2. I think that they could make 3 additional round trips on Route 2 by using both the Coquitlam & the Alberni which are both being under utilized. If they don't I expect BCFS will get a fair bit of justified criticism. It would be interesting how this could theoretically be done but I don’t think it will happen due ongoing crew shortage. But hopefully once things start to get better hopefully this can be done. |
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Post by ferryfanyvr on Apr 1, 2023 8:52:32 GMT -8
The Queen of Alberni is now appearing in the upcoming summer schedule...2 daily round trips on route 30 supplementing the usual 8 trips per day. So, zero extra sailings on route 2 this summer. I don't think you should assume that. The additional sailings on route 30 were only added very recently. It may be that the route two summer schedule just hasn't been finalized yet. Route 30 has been growing considerably in recent years. The ability to marshall drop trailer traffic at both ends, unlike on route 2, means that there was an understandable priority given to increasing capacity. The interesting thing about the summer schedule for the ' Alberni is that she's only utilized on route 30 for two round trips. More to come, perhaps? I hope you're right, Neil. Maybe the summer schedule's still a work in progress. But one possible benefit would be with one less vessel utilizing HSB, there might be less berth congestion related delays on the HSB routes. |
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Post by Blue Bus Fan on Jun 7, 2023 17:17:55 GMT -8
Will Queen of Alberni be based out of Departure Bay and deadhead to / from Duke Point?
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Post by Ferryman on Jun 7, 2023 21:01:02 GMT -8
Will Queen of Alberni be based out of Departure Bay and deadhead to / from Duke Point? Yes, indeed it will. One crew will operate it for 12 hours a day, 7 days on, 7 days off. Two whole crews will be used to fulfill the week on/week off rotation there for the summer |
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Post by Blue Bus Fan on Jun 7, 2023 21:32:46 GMT -8
Will Queen of Alberni be based out of Departure Bay and deadhead to / from Duke Point? Yes, indeed it will. One crew will operate it for 12 hours a day, 7 days on, 7 days off. Two whole crews will be used to fulfill the week on/week off rotation there for the summer That is good to know hopefully if it’s goes will that BC Ferries could add more frequency for third vessel on Duke Point rout by reducing hours for one set of crew and allow two crews to operate for longer span to help reduce even further. |
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Post by Dane on Jun 9, 2023 18:36:40 GMT -8
Wow that's inefficient! But appreciate the operational knowledge. I continue to believe the widespread use of the reservation system will mitigate some of the problems created by service minimization between Nanaimo and Vancouver, but I still think it's going to be a unpleasant peak season.
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Post by Blue Bus Fan on Jun 25, 2023 3:43:04 GMT -8
Queen of Alberni is now based out of Departure Bay for summer service on route 30.
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Post by Ollie on Aug 2, 2023 23:15:30 GMT -8
Queen of Alberni approaching Duke Point Nanaimo, August 2 2023
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Post by Ollie on Aug 3, 2023 13:32:14 GMT -8
Queen of Alberni at Departure Bay, August 2 2023
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Post by Blue Bus Fan on Aug 3, 2023 14:01:07 GMT -8
Queen of Alberni will be doing secondary duties on Departure Bay and Langdale routes in fall again this year.
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Neil
Voyager
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Post by Neil on Aug 3, 2023 18:03:49 GMT -8
Queen of Alberni will be doing secondary duties on Departure Bay and Langdale routes in fall again this year. I don't follow the logic here. For this summer, BC Ferries switched the fifth vessel on routes 2/30 to the Duke Point run, and I assumed they were trying to wean at least some customers off route 2. But for fall, they're going back to any 'extra' sailings being on route 2. That doesn't promote a permanent shift in people's travel plans. Route 2 has been severely overburdened this summer, with overloads pretty much every day. The only thing that makes sense is that Horseshoe Bay is really problematic in summer with the three routes, particularly if there are more than eight sailings to Departure Bay. One thing I've noticed is that there are way fewer overloads on route 3 than route 2, because they maintained the Langdale schedule from last year. Maybe one of those sailings should have been a route 2 sailing instead. |
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Post by WettCoast on Sept 11, 2023 21:26:35 GMT -8
Not elegant but 'she' gets the job done ...
Queen of Alberni coasts toward its berth @ Duke Point, Nanaimo, with the first sailing of the day from Tsawwassen
6 September 2023 |
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Post by Ollie on Sept 30, 2023 10:23:03 GMT -8
Queen of Alberni in the Strait of Georgia, today
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Post by Blue Bus Fan on Oct 22, 2023 14:58:22 GMT -8
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Post by Ollie on Oct 26, 2023 18:42:48 GMT -8
Queen of Alberni in the Strait of Georgia, today. These photos were taken from an Otter seaplane.
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Post by Blue Bus Fan on Nov 5, 2023 18:19:19 GMT -8
Has BC Ferries installed gates on lower deck car deck like the Cowichan Class to keep her doors open on route 3?
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Post by WettCoast on Nov 6, 2023 9:56:07 GMT -8
Queen of Alberni passes Entrance Island Light while en route to Tsawwassen from Duke Point. I shot this from the Queen of Oak Bay which was headed for the mainland at Horseshoe Bay.
29 July 2023
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