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Post by articulated on Jun 13, 2022 19:16:46 GMT -8
Perhaps some sort of reservation system might help?
I can only speak to the Denman Island side, having not had the opportunity to ride across to Hornby Island, but there definitely isn't sufficient infrastructure at the terminals on the Hornby route to allow for a type of reservation system. The terminal consists of a two-lane road directly to the berth - there's no stacking lanes to separate reservation/non-reservation traffic (nor place to park the non-reservation vehicles to allow others behind them to pass). Plus from my observation the terminal is typically unstaffed (at least during off-peak seasons); needing to have Kahloke's crew validate reservations would slow down the loading process, which would lead to fewer trips being able to happen. And yes, my experience with the route is similar to what was mentioned above. Traffic exiting BSC was a mad dash, with people speeding across island back roads, trying to make it to the dock ahead of the pack taking the opposite direction. Kahloke was already waiting when I got there, and only started loading 10 minutes before departure; they took about 24 vehicles on for a full deck, and left another 6 waiting for the next sailing an hour later. This was heading towards Hornby, on a Wednesday morning in mid-June. Can't imagine what it would be like in peak season/direction.
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Neil
Voyager
Posts: 7,177
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Post by Neil on Jun 13, 2022 19:47:59 GMT -8
Perhaps some sort of reservation system might help?
I can only speak to the Denman Island side, having not had the opportunity to ride across to Hornby Island, but there definitely isn't sufficient infrastructure at the terminals on the Hornby route to allow for a type of reservation system. The terminal consists of a two-lane road directly to the berth - there's no stacking lanes to separate reservation/non-reservation traffic (nor place to park the non-reservation vehicles to allow others behind them to pass). Plus from my observation the terminal is typically unstaffed (at least during off-peak seasons); needing to have Kahloke's crew validate reservations would slow down the loading process, which would lead to fewer trips being able to happen. And yes, my experience with the route is similar to what was mentioned above. Traffic exiting BSC was a mad dash, with people speeding across island back roads, trying to make it to the dock ahead of the pack taking the opposite direction. Kahloke was already waiting when I got there, and only started loading 10 minutes before departure; they took about 24 vehicles on for a full deck, and left another 6 waiting for the next sailing an hour later. This was heading towards Hornby, on a Wednesday morning in mid-June. Can't imagine what it would be like in peak season/direction. BC Ferries does staff Gravelly Bay in summer. Not Shingle Spit, though. Bottom line... how do you do reservations where there is no effective schedule? That's the case for the Hornby route in summer.
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Neil
Voyager
Posts: 7,177
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Post by Neil on Oct 1, 2022 21:22:04 GMT -8
Have to admit I did a significant eye roll when I read this one... Brian Anderson, BC Ferries VP for strategy and community engagement (yes, that's actually a title), explaining why the Kahloke's weight capacity has been reduced, supposedly because the vessel has gotten heavier...
"This growth is due primarily to accumulated paint and coatings. This accumulation, unfortunately, results in a reduction in the maximum carrying capacity of the vessel."
Never heard that one before. Guess the old girl is still floating not so much due to her steel as much as the accumulated alkyd. He also stated that BC Ferries had no other vessel available to give Hornby more capacity. Guess he didn't think anyone would be aware that the Quinitsa sat completely idle all summer.
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Post by Low Light Mike on Feb 5, 2023 7:57:06 GMT -8
The BC Ferries ship Kahloke features prominently in this video of mine, both from Gravelly Bay shore and on-board.
This is from January 29, 2023, the first Sunday morning trip of the day.
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Post by Low Light Mike on Feb 12, 2023 12:29:59 GMT -8
Here is the final episode (Ep.5) in my video series of a trip to Hornby Island.
This is my return trip, from Shingle Spit (Hornby Island), to and across Denman Island, and then the cable barge to Buckley Bay.
The trip itself was a work trip and I enjoyed videoing my journey to and from my work destination. The video editing afterwards was a lot of fun and good learning as I finally started trying new things on my editing software (VideoPad) including my first double-audio overlay.
A previous episode (Ep.2) featured my morning outbound drive across Denman Island, where I took the alternate road route of Lacon & McFarlane. I got to experience some "Island Culture" afterwards when posting this video to a Hornby Island facebook group, and getting accused of promoting reckless speeding down a quiet country road. It was evident that some vocal Facebookers on Denman and Hornby didn't understand the fun & simple concept of a YouTube travel & driving vlog.
Those community comments motivated some of my voice-over comments in this Episode #5 where I compare tourist ferry traffic on Denman Island to what it might have been like driving from West Berlin to West Germany in the Cold War era.
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Post by Blue Bus Fan on Sept 29, 2023 21:03:41 GMT -8
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Post by Blue Bus Fan on Oct 13, 2023 23:57:12 GMT -8
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Post by WettCoast on Apr 14, 2024 17:13:32 GMT -8
Kahloke has been relieved on the Hornby - Denman route today, being replaced by the Quinitsa. The Kahloke has since travelled south running not too far ahead of the Digby Island Ferry. Now it is in Saanich Inlet looking like it might be replacing the Klitsa, or maybe just docking trials.
I got a photo of it earlier today off of the Fairwinds area (Nanoose) north of Nanaimo. I will post a photo here a little later.
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Post by Quinsam on Apr 20, 2024 14:41:55 GMT -8
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