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Post by northwesterner on Apr 15, 2015 14:57:49 GMT -8
Nice to see the BQ back on 'home surf' after so many years...
I think we've discussed this before, but the Bowen Queen has never been assigned as the full time vessel on the Bowen Island route, right? She's only done fill in work...
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Post by Deleted on Apr 15, 2015 15:56:38 GMT -8
Nice to see the BQ back on 'home surf' after so many years...
I think we've discussed this before, but the Bowen Queen has never been assigned as the full time vessel on the Bowen Island route, right? She's only done fill in work... That was the first route of her career, hence the name. I believe she was moved off the route after the Howe Sound Queen arrived.
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Post by WettCoast on Apr 15, 2015 16:41:52 GMT -8
Yes, the BQ was purposely built in the mid-1960's for the HSB - Snug Cove run. The photo below shows her in 1971 at Horseshoe Bay, arriving from Bowen Island. She was shorter then. In the late 1970's she was stretched (as were her sisters), upping auto capacity from 50 to 70 AEQ. The names of all the older 'Queen' vessels in the BC Ferry fleet give an indication (in most cases) of where they originally served. Some exceptions are the Q Chilliwack & Skeena Q. Bowen Queen arriving at Horseshoe Bay - 9 April 1971 © WCK/JST by Wett Coast, on Flickr
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Post by roeco on Apr 15, 2015 18:36:10 GMT -8
I think the Bowen Queen has serviced more routes in her career than any other ship?? Correct me if Im wrong
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Post by Starsteward on Apr 16, 2015 11:24:51 GMT -8
Yes, the BQ was purposely built in the mid-1960's for the HSB - Snug Cove run. The photo below shows her in 1971 at Horseshoe Bay, arriving from Bowen Island. She was shorter then. In the late 1970's she was stretched (as were her sisters), upping auto capacity from 50 to 70 AEQ. The names of all the older 'Queen' vessels in the BC Ferry fleet give an indication (in most cases) of where they originally served. Some exceptions are the Q Chilliwack & Skeena Q. Bowen Queen arriving at Horseshoe Bay - 9 April 1971 © WCK/JST by Wett Coast, on Flickr
Aye there 'Wett Coast' so true, as most of the elderly 'Queens' were basically assigned to routes that mirrored their city-names etc., and tis why when the newly minted 'Queen of Burnaby came along a year or so later, we Route 2ers at Horseshoe Bay sent the barely broken in 'Queen of New Westminster' packing down to Tsawwassen, for she, being from the Royal City wanted nothing to do with Nanaimo or heaven forbid her next door land neighbour, the 'Municipality of Burnaby'. She much preferred to keep company with the 'Queen of Victoria' being known as quite 'Royal', and why not hobnob with the 'Queen of Vancouver' while she had the opportunity to sail with her big-city Sister-Queen. Ironically, as retirement dates draw closer, maybe we did her a 'royal' favour, sending her South, where she has undergone more refits and facelifts than an old vaudeville actress. She will have the last of queenly laughs when her two former route 2 sisters suffer the ultimate 'Royal' indignity when they are called to plead their 'seaworthiness'- cases to the decommissioning guillotine. As an aside, it seems somewhat odd that neither Swartz Bay nor Richmond were ever blessed with vessels named after them.
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Post by WettCoast on Apr 16, 2015 12:04:55 GMT -8
As an aside, it seems somewhat odd that neither Swartz Bay nor Richmond were ever blessed with vessels named after them.
I beg to differ. I am quite sure that there is a Queen of Richmond floating about...
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Post by Low Light Mike on Apr 16, 2015 12:10:02 GMT -8
As an aside, it seems somewhat odd that neither Swartz Bay nor Richmond were ever blessed with vessels named after them.
I beg to differ. I am quite sure that there is a Queen of Richmond floating about... We are the keepers of the legend. The legend lives on.... (actually "The legend floats on....")
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Post by Starsteward on Apr 17, 2015 5:37:23 GMT -8
I beg to differ. I am quite sure that there is a Queen of Richmond floating about... We are the keepers of the legend. The legend lives on.... (actually "The legend floats on....") I was wondering when the 'Queen of Richmond' legend would re-emerge from the brackish backwaters of yesteryear? In the mid-60's when our great local shipyards gave birth to all those elder 'Queens", we, who somehow managed to cruise through the era of flower power and other 'influences', that generated many myths and fantasies into our lives, seem to cling to what we conceive to be our rational thinking in 2015. Hopefully the 'Queen of Richmond' will sail the mystic seas forever.
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Post by Dane on Apr 17, 2015 13:10:41 GMT -8
I think the Bowen Queen has serviced more routes in her career than any other ship?? Correct me if Im wrong I always assumed that Swartz Bay was knocked off with the Queen of Saanich; the terminal is in North Saanich. Close enough!
Maybe BC Ferries was a forerunner to the current amalgamation debate
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Post by Low Light Mike on Apr 17, 2015 13:17:41 GMT -8
I think the Bowen Queen has serviced more routes in her career than any other ship?? Correct me if Im wrong I always assumed that Swartz Bay was knocked off with the Queen of Saanich; the terminal is in North Saanich. Close enough!
Maybe BC Ferries was a forerunner to the current amalgamation debate
Sidney was for Swartz Bay
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Post by WettCoast on Apr 17, 2015 18:37:19 GMT -8
I always assumed that Swartz Bay was knocked off with the Queen of Saanich; the terminal is in North Saanich. Close enough!
Maybe BC Ferries was a forerunner to the current amalgamation debate
Sidney was for Swartz Bay Of course today's route 1, BC Ferries first route, began operations in 1960 between terminals constructed at Swartz Bay and, as it was then known in the beginning, 'Tsawassen Beach'. The first two ships were named for the small communities nearest to each of the terminals. See this: i90.photobucket.com/albums/k268/wetcoastkidjst/Sidney%20Class/VanProvince-15Jun1960.jpg PS: Back on topic, the Bowen Queen probably has served on more routes than any other vessel in the BCF fleet. Can anyone think of another vessel that might have the BQ beat?
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Post by Low Light Mike on Apr 17, 2015 19:37:07 GMT -8
PS: Back on topic, the Bowen Queen probably has served on more routes than any other vessel in the BCF fleet. Can anyone think of another vessel that might have the BQ beat? I have perused the list of current and retired BCF ships, on this here forum webpage, and nothing prompts me of an example of a ship that has done more routes than the Bee Cue: Ships that come closest are maybe: Tenaka: Comox-Westview route, Hornby route, Cortes route, and maybe 1 more route? Tachek: Texada route, Cortes route, Hornby route, Port McNeill route, Swartz Bay route 5,
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Post by Deleted on Apr 17, 2015 20:58:06 GMT -8
Tenaka has done route 25.
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Post by Kahn_C on Apr 17, 2015 21:04:35 GMT -8
Tenaka has also done route 18 (and the Bowen has as well).
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Post by Dane on Apr 17, 2015 21:41:07 GMT -8
I always assumed that Swartz Bay was knocked off with the Queen of Saanich; the terminal is in North Saanich. Close enough!
Maybe BC Ferries was a forerunner to the current amalgamation debate
Sidney was for Swartz Bay Interesting as the terminal is not in Sidney... I did find that name sort of an odd ball.
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Neil
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Post by Neil on Apr 17, 2015 22:02:53 GMT -8
A variation on the question might be: which vessel served on the most routes as a regular vessel, as opposed to just filling in. Off the top of my head, Sechelt Queen might be up there: Horseshoe Bay to Langdale, Horseshoe Bay to Departure Bay, Tsawwassen to Swartz Bay, Tsawwassen to the Gulf Islands, and Powell River to Little River. Impressive, given that her history with BC Ferries only spanned from 1960 into somewhere in the '80s.
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Post by Ferryman on Apr 17, 2015 22:42:00 GMT -8
Another close contender might be one of the Nimpkish type vessels. I think the AJ Savoie or Nicola worked Gabriola-Nanaimo ; Hornby-Denman ; Denman-Buckley?? ; Quadra-Campbell River?? ; Cortes-Quadra? ; Alert Bay triangle? ; and Squamish-Woodfibre ; plus perhaps some sort of SGI service for a brief time? Could be totally wrong on that though, but I do recall that one of those boats certainly floated around alot.
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Post by Starsteward on Apr 18, 2015 7:25:56 GMT -8
Sidney was for Swartz Bay Of course today's route 1, BC Ferries first route, began operations in 1960 between terminals constructed at Swartz Bay and, as it was then known in the beginning, 'Tsawassen Beach'. The first two ships were named for the small communities nearest to each of the terminals. See this: i90.photobucket.com/albums/k268/wetcoastkidjst/Sidney%20Class/VanProvince-15Jun1960.jpg PS: Back on topic, the Bowen Queen probably has served on more routes than any other vessel in the BCF fleet. Can anyone think of another vessel that might have the BQ beat? Now that's a great dose of yesteryear reading that newspaper article on the 'Sidney' and 'Tsawwassen'! Definitely the cat's meow back in the day. The initial fare structure of $2.00 for passengers and $5.00 for vehicles was a bargain, mindful that the basic minimum wage in the 'mid-60's in B.C. was $1.00 /hr. Interesting to note that the two Senior Masters, Captain Tom Parkinson and Captain B.G.K. Owen Jones were the first Captains on the new service, Captain 'Parky' doing a stint at Horseshoe Bay, and both Masters moving north to take command of the 'Queen of Prince Rupert' (Bonus points awarded to anyone who knows at least one name that coincided with the initials- B.G.K. of Captain Owen Jone's name) We, rascals on the 'Rupert' had our own take on all of them, however none of them would be considered 'forum appropriate'. Naming the first two ships after the small communities nearest the terminals is interesting especially Tsawwassen Beach. Historically, I'm not sure what the correct term, ie. township, municipality, city etc. was for Tsawwassen in the mid 60's.
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Post by WettCoast on May 6, 2015 21:12:37 GMT -8
This photo by my brother (Mr. DOT) has been seen on this forum before, but not on this thread. Seeing as how it is the Bowen Queen (and not possibly its almost identical sister) I thought that a copy should be posted here. This was taken in Expo year 1986 (or possibly the year before) when the BQ was the regular vessel assigned to the Swartz Bay - Fulford Harbour route. She was on that route (I believe) from the time it left Bowen island until the Skeena Queen came online in the 1990's. Her longest regular assignment... Bowen Queen arriving @ Swartz Bay from Salt Spring Island - c1986 © Mr. DOT by mrdot., on Flickr
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Neil
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Post by Neil on May 6, 2015 22:27:29 GMT -8
This photo by my brother (Mr. DOT) has been seen on this forum before, but not on this thread. Seeing as how it is the Bowen Queen (and not possibly its almost identical sister) I thought that a copy should be posted here. This was taken in Expo year 1986 (or possibly the year before) when the BQ was the regular vessel assigned to the Swartz Bay - Fulford Harbour route. She was on that route (I believe) from the time it left Bowen island until the Skeena Queen came online in the 1990's. Her longest regular assignment... Jim: I don't have my schedules with me here on Hornby, but I believe it was a few years (three, maybe?) after the Howe Sound Queen took over the Bowen route before the Bowen Queen started regular service to Fulford. The Saltspring Queen carried on for a time... have to check that to be sure of the dates.
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Post by WettCoast on May 7, 2015 8:10:49 GMT -8
Jim: I don't have my schedules with me here on Hornby, but I believe it was a few years (three, maybe?) after the Howe Sound Queen took over the Bowen route before the Bowen Queen started regular service to Fulford. The Saltspring Queen carried on for a time... have to check that to be sure of the dates. If that is the case then do you have any idea of what the BQ was doing during the interval? For a time the QotIslands was doing the Fulford run, as a regular assignment, I believe.
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mrdot
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Post by mrdot on May 7, 2015 19:44:33 GMT -8
with regard to my brother's post of my old past pic of the Bowen Queen, and her sisters and the QPR, my onetime workplace, it is interesting to note that this trio of vessels were in fact the last vessels to be completed by VMD, and like much of our shipbuilding ability has now been discarded in the dustbin of history, and the hollow harrang of crustie's jobs. jobs, jobs, for BC! maybe I should look for some silver lining to this! perhaps all the cruise ships that now dock here, mrdot
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Post by Mike on May 10, 2015 22:04:38 GMT -8
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Post by roeco on May 31, 2015 7:44:12 GMT -8
I think the Bowen Queen would probably been a better choice for a Queen of Chilliwack replacement vs Nimpkish...cause she has more seating area, larger capacity for cars, at least has a snack bar, and much more could be added to her for Discovery Coast connector service. And she has been certified for open water operation in the past running a Tsawassen to Gulf Island service.
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Post by Deleted on Oct 14, 2015 16:28:20 GMT -8
The BQ is over an hour late now. Anyone know why? Sure won't work well for those trying to make that last connection to the mainland...
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