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Post by Starsteward on Aug 26, 2014 7:52:20 GMT -8
This isn't the definitive date that hullnumbers is looking for but I can say that the North Island Princess was at Kelsey Bay as early as May 19, 1967. That date just happens to be the starting date of my first tour of duty on the Queen of Prince Rupert. To be honest, I'm not sure if the 'Island Princess' had been renamed the North Island Princess at that time or not but she was definitely in good old Kelsey Bay.
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Post by Mike C on Aug 26, 2014 8:48:40 GMT -8
This isn't the definitive date that hullnumbers is looking for but I can say that the North Island Princess was at Kelsey Bay as early as May 19, 1967. That date just happens to be the starting date of my first tour of duty on the Queen of Prince Rupert. To be honest, I'm not sure if the 'Island Princess' had been renamed the North Island Princess at that time or not but she was definitely in good old Kelsey Bay. I believe her renaming took place after the expansion/rebuild in the early 1970s (1973?).
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Post by WettCoast on Aug 26, 2014 8:59:57 GMT -8
It seems the year was 1974, at least according to the Bannerman book (p117).
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Post by hullnumbers on Aug 26, 2014 9:07:15 GMT -8
Island Princess was renamed North Island Princess in 1971 after the conversion. Before BC Ferries took possession of the little ferry in 1969, she was under Coast Ferries. When built, she was designed for the Southern Gulf Islands- Steveston run. With Starsteward post above I suspect 1966 is when the Island Princess was moved to Kelsey Bay.
Source can be found in the book 'Ships Of Steel' pge 135 to 136
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Neil
Voyager
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Post by Neil on Aug 26, 2014 9:20:24 GMT -8
From a book on the history of Mayne Island... Coast Ferries put the Island Princess on the Gulf Islands run from Steveston in 1958. After unsuccessful negotiations over subsidies with the province, they terminated service in November of 1961. I suspect that the ship was serving the Kelsey Bay - Beaver Cove- Sontula- Alert Bay route well before 1966.
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Post by WettCoast on Aug 26, 2014 9:43:20 GMT -8
Island Princess was renamed North Island Princess in 1971 after the conversion. Before BC Ferries took possession of the little ferry in 1969, she was under Coast Ferries. When built, she was designed for the Southern Gulf Islands- Steveston run. With Starsteward post above I suspect 1966 is when the Island Princess was moved to Kelsey Bay. Source can be found in the book 'Ships Of Steel' pge 135 to 136 The info from the book Ships of Steel is very much at odds with that from Frank Clapp's Ministry of Transportation & Highways - Inland & Coastal Ferries (Queen's Printer, Victoria, 1981). Clapp is probably the authority on the history of the smaller coastal & inland ferries of BC. He gives these dates for the (North) Island Princess (see p63-64): - In November 1961 Coast Ferries put the 25-car ferry Island Princess on this (Kelsey Bay - North Island) run. - On 1 June 1969 this service & the vessel were taken over by the BC Ferry Corp. - In 1971 the rebuild of the vessel took place - In 1975 the renaming occured (after negotiations with P&O/Princess Cruises who just happened to own a large cruise ship named the Island Princess) - In the winter of 1977 the vessel & route was transferred from BCFC to the BC Highways fleet. - On 28 February 1979 was the last day of service for this vessel on this route as the new North Island Highway (#19) had just been completed. - The NIP was then transferred to the Texada - Powell River route, where she still serves 35 years later...
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Neil
Voyager
Posts: 7,171
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Post by Neil on Aug 26, 2014 10:51:31 GMT -8
Island Princess was renamed North Island Princess in 1971 after the conversion. Before BC Ferries took possession of the little ferry in 1969, she was under Coast Ferries. When built, she was designed for the Southern Gulf Islands- Steveston run. With Starsteward post above I suspect 1966 is when the Island Princess was moved to Kelsey Bay. Source can be found in the book 'Ships Of Steel' pge 135 to 136 The info from the book Ships of Steel is very much at odds with that from Frank Clapp's Ministry of Transportation & Highways - Inland & Coastal Ferries (Queen's Printer, Victoria, 1981). Clapp is probably the authority on the history of the smaller coastal & inland ferries of BC. He gives these dates for the (North) Island Princess (see p63-64): - In November 1961 Coast Ferries put the 25-car ferry Island Princess on this (Kelsey Bay - North Island) run. - On 1 June 1969 this service & the vessel were taken over by the BC Ferry Corp. - In 1971 the rebuild of the vessel took place - In 1975 the renaming occured (after negotiations with P&O/Princess Cruises who just happened to own a large cruise ship named the Island Princess) - In the winter of 1977 the vessel & route was transferred from BCFC to the BC Highways fleet. - On 28 February 1979 was the last day of service for this vessel on this route as the new North Island Highway (#19) had just been completed. - The NIP was then transferred to the Texada - Powell River route, where she still serves 35 years later... Jim; you've expanded on what I posted above... your information should also be copied to the NIP thread, if it isn't there already.
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Post by Starsteward on Aug 26, 2014 11:26:26 GMT -8
There's never a 'mystery' that can't be solved by our learned Forum members. Getting another 43 years out of the old girl after the rebuild is remarkable. Too bad we humans can't get that kind of a life extension.
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Post by hullnumbers on Aug 26, 2014 12:18:16 GMT -8
The BC Ministry of Transportation and Highways took possession in 1977. Wow. Then in 1985 the NIP returned to BCFC when the ministry was absorbed.
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Post by Dane on Sept 1, 2014 22:16:26 GMT -8
This is really a post of agreement, nothing new to see here...
1 May 1961 tarts service on the Northern route. 31 May 1969 NIP goes to BCF 1 Jun 1969 BCF lists her on the Northern route (which mean she was already in place) 11 Feb 1971 enters dry dock for catamaran-ization. Do not have an exit date. I cannot find a date anywhere for the 1975 renaming; it is on my agenda for a forthcoming Archives trip as hypothetically it is well documented, somewhere.
Not all staterooms and a food serving area were not removed until fiscal '87.
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Post by WettCoast on Sept 6, 2014 15:02:49 GMT -8
11 Feb 1971 enters dry dock for catamaran-ization. Do not have an exit date. Detail on the 1971 conversion is contained in the Fleet Bulletin article below. It is clear that she went back into service as the Island Princess. See also this & this...
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Post by WettCoast on Sept 6, 2014 20:18:18 GMT -8
The NIP was already named the North Island Princess when I took the fuzzy photo below on the 31st of August 1975. At the time I was 21 years old. I noted on the slide (from which this image is scanned) that this ferry was formerly the Island Princess. The official renaming, in all likelihood, happened some time in the first half of 1975. Other notes: - This was shot from the Queen of Prince Rupert. The QPR was heading south toward Kelsey Bay while the NIP was heading north for Beaver Cove. Now you know which end of the IP was pointed into the berth at Kelsey Bay. - Recently BCFS changed the paint scheme on this vessel just a bit, bringing the black hull paint to a higher level so as to hide some of those unsightly rust stains. Now, look below and see how high that black paint went back in 1975. M/V North Island Princess in Johnstone St. north of Kelsey Bay - 31 August 1975 WCK/JST photo © by Wett Coast, on Flickr
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mrdot
Voyager
Mr. DOT
Posts: 1,252
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Post by mrdot on Sept 6, 2014 22:25:42 GMT -8
:)the name change came when P&O-Princess cruises wanted to bring Island Princess into British registry and needed BC ferries to amend their vessel nomenclature for this to happen, and for this jesture they donated a builders model of one of there fleet to the maritime museum. :)mrdot. this artwork of mine has been featured in a good number of locations with no credit to me! mrdot.
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Post by northwesterner on Sept 6, 2014 22:53:34 GMT -8
11 Feb 1971 enters dry dock for catamaran-ization. Do not have an exit date. Detail on the 1971 conversion is contained in the Fleet Bulletin article below. It is clear that she went back into service as the Island Princess. See also this & this... Thanks for sharing this. Who's that Dave Thorne guy who did the drawings, anyways? I often wonder what the cost difference was between this particular stretching and just building a new ship of the size that was needed. I also wonder how efficient the catamaran hull has been over her service life. We've never seen another one but on the other hand, they're only just starting to talk about retiring her.
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Post by Curtis on Oct 16, 2014 16:24:25 GMT -8
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Post by Low Light Mike on Jan 19, 2015 11:06:17 GMT -8
Here's a noon-time ferry jam at Westview, Powell River. The schedule doesn't cause this, this is because the 'Burnaby was a bit late. - seen December 24, 2014 from the edge of Hwy-101 in Powell River
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Post by Curtis on Jan 19, 2015 20:58:00 GMT -8
Today was the first day of the North Island Princess' week-long stint on Route 7. Unless I'm mistaken, this makes the NIP the smallest vessel to serve Route 7 since either the Queen of the Islands or the Pender Queen in the late 70s. However, while this is correct, both vessels were providing secondary service to the primary Powell River Queen so they weren't alone like the NIP is this week. So if we go off the primary and relief Route 7 vessels that worked solo, she might be the smallest since the un-stretched Powell River Queen. But I'm pretty sure the PRQ was still bigger than the NIP in her original size. So more realistically, the NIP might be the smallest solo vessel on Route 7 in 50 years, which narrows it down to the Bainbridge/Jervis Queen or maybe even the Quillayute. Just some food for thought, now onto the pictures from this Afternoon. All Photos are © CS16 Photography and may only be used with Permission from the Owner.My trip out to Saltery Bay this afternoon was more spur of the moment, so by the time I made it out to Saltery Bay, the NIP was backing into Berth 2. So unfortunately, no Harbour Point this time, but the photos from there probably wouldn't have turned out so great with the sunlight against me. We start at the Govt Wharf with the NIP arriving with a full load from Earls Cove. North Island Princess Docked at Berth 2, Saltery Bay. by CS16 Photography, on Flickr North Island Princess Docked at Berth 2, Saltery Bay. by CS16 Photography, on Flickr Since the sun was against me at the Wharf, I opted to shoot from the beach south of the Terminal where the sun was with me. Saltery Bay Terminal. by CS16 Photography, on Flickr Funny to think that you would have seen a similar sight to this one year ago. North Island Princess Ready to Depart Berth 2, Saltery Bay. by CS16 Photography, on Flickr Departing for Earls Cove with a lighter load. North Island Princess Departing Saltery Bay. by CS16 Photography, on Flickr North Island Princess Enroute to Earls Cove. by CS16 Photography, on Flickr North Island Princess Enroute to Earls Cove. by CS16 Photography, on Flickr North Island Princess Enroute to Earls Cove. by CS16 Photography, on Flickr That's All for Now.
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Post by WettCoast on Jan 19, 2015 21:52:28 GMT -8
Today was the first day of the North Island Princess' week-long stint on Route 7. Unless I'm mistaken, this makes the NIP the smallest vessel to serve Route 7 since either the Queen of the Islands or the Pender Queen in the late 70s. However, while this is correct, both vessels were providing secondary service to the primary Powell River Queen so they weren't alone like the NIP is this week. So if we go off the primary and relief Route 7 vessels that worked solo, she might be the smallest since the un-stretched Powell River Queen. But I'm pretty sure the PRQ was still bigger than the NIP in her original size. So more realistically, the NIP might be the smallest solo vessel on Route 7 in 50 years, which narrows it down to the Bainbridge/Jervis Queen or maybe even the Quillayute. Just some food for thought, now onto the pictures from this Afternoon. The PRQ (& sisters) as built were listed as having an auto capacity of 50. The stretching increased capacity to 70. The I Sky, I assume, is out for a refit (please confirm)? What is replacing the NIP on the Texada run? You folks on the upper Sunshine Coast are no doubt enjoying this 'whole new level of service' from BCFS.
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Post by Low Light Mike on Jan 19, 2015 22:14:23 GMT -8
The I Sky, I assume, is out for a refit (please confirm)? What is replacing the NIP on the Texada run? You folks on the upper Sunshine Coast are no doubt enjoying this 'whole new level of service' from BCFS. oops. Here's the headline news version: - Queen of Burnaby is in drydock at Esquimalt (starting today) to fix a leaky propellar hub - Island Sky is doing 4 round trips per day between Comox and Westview, with stops at Texada - Water taxi is operating from Van Anda to Westview - N.I.P. is doing Jervis Inlet. This is the situation until January 25th or 26th.
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Deleted
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Post by Deleted on Jan 19, 2015 22:19:52 GMT -8
The PRQ (& sisters) as built were listed as having an auto capacity of 50. The stretching increased capacity to 70. The I Sky, I assume, is out for a refit (please confirm)? What is replacing the NIP on the Texada run? You folks on the upper Sunshine Coast are no doubt enjoying this 'whole new level of service' from BCFS. Haha, I think Texada Islanders are probably enjoying the direct service to Comox, not to mention the lower fare. The route 7 service, however, is a different story. Worth noting is that next Friday and Sunday you can take the 9:15pm sailing from Horseshoe Bay Langdale and make it back to Powell River the same night. I don't think that has been seen in a while. Curtis, do you know how long the NIP is taking to do a route 7 trip? In any case she is 30 minutes late this evening. All in all, I think management is looking forward to getting the first ICF to get rid of the Burnaby.
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Post by WettCoast on Jan 19, 2015 22:51:49 GMT -8
How did I manage to miss this item?
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Post by Curtis on Jan 19, 2015 23:54:37 GMT -8
The PRQ (& sisters) as built were listed as having an auto capacity of 50. The stretching increased capacity to 70. The I Sky, I assume, is out for a refit (please confirm)? What is replacing the NIP on the Texada run? You folks on the upper Sunshine Coast are no doubt enjoying this 'whole new level of service' from BCFS. Haha, I think Texada Islanders are probably enjoying the direct service to Comox, not to mention the lower fare. The route 7 service, however, is a different story. Worth noting is that next Friday and Sunday you can take the 9:15pm sailing from Horseshoe Bay Langdale and make it back to Powell River the same night. I don't think that has been seen in a while. Curtis, do you know how long the NIP is taking to do a route 7 trip? In any case she is 30 minutes late this evening. All in all, I think management is looking forward to getting the first ICF to get rid of the Burnaby. Her approximate crossing time is 70 Minutes as per the adjusted Route 7 Schedule. It looks like she was 30 minutes behind most of the day so I imagine they're probably dealing with heavy traffic. When I was there today, she got into dock around 2:25, 10 minutes before the next scheduled sailing. This would have been fine if it wasn't crew change so right away the evening shift was 20 minutes late. It'll be interesting to see if she continues to run behind or not.
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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 Jan 20, 2015 8:09:22 GMT -8
well well now wouldn't the Chilliwack be faster? I think she did it in 60 mins am I right?? And would of been easier to load being double ended!
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Deleted
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Post by Deleted on Jan 20, 2015 11:47:07 GMT -8
well well now wouldn't the Chilliwack be faster? I think she did it in 60 mins am I right?? And would of been easier to load being double ended! The Chilliwack is just as bad because shes seriously handicapped of carrying overheights. The other thing is that they couldnt find enough qualified crew.
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Post by Low Light Mike on Jan 20, 2015 12:14:19 GMT -8
well well now wouldn't the Chilliwack be faster? I think she did it in 60 mins am I right?? And would of been easier to load being double ended! The Chilliwack is just as bad because shes seriously handicapped of carrying overheights. The other thing is that they couldnt find enough qualified crew. Hey, stop providing Karl with sensible details that get in the way of an unproductive rant. ...meant in good fun banter.
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