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Post by paulvanb on Jan 18, 2022 12:36:47 GMT -8
Putting a ferry... on craigslist? That post must've been made in jest. Regardless, I wonder what her future looks like. Must be in jest - the link brings a 404 error.
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Deleted
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Post by Deleted on Feb 13, 2022 18:04:17 GMT -8
What a great video, she's still my favorite ferry of all time. That's probably the best footage I have seen of her car deck and passenger areas, ever! Very interesting how the Queen of the Islands makes an appearance at the end. She must have been relieving the Sechelt Queen while she went to refit. In the part of the video, the Queen of the Islands appears to have what may have been a turn table at her bow just behind the doors. Thank you for sharing.
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Neil
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Post by Neil on Feb 15, 2022 9:42:57 GMT -8
What a great video, she's still my favorite ferry of all time. That's probably the best footage I have seen of her car deck and passenger areas, ever! Very interesting how the Queen of the Islands makes an appearance at the end. She must have been relieving the Sechelt Queen while she went to refit. In the part of the video, the Queen of the Islands appears to have what may have been a turn table at her bow just behind the doors. Thank you for sharing. Queen of The Islands did have a turntable. I don't know how long they used it for. She lasted all of four years on route nine- very poor foresight on the part of the govenment on that one. Despite the poor video quality, there are shots where you can see how poorly maintained the Sechelt Queen was under MTH management. Rust everywhere. The lack of maintenance continued on the Comox route right through to the retirement of the Queen of Burnaby. Now that they've got a new Salish vessel up there, they have to look after it.
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Post by WettCoast on Feb 15, 2022 13:18:28 GMT -8
What a great video, she's still my favorite ferry of all time. That's probably the best footage I have seen of her car deck and passenger areas, ever! Very interesting how the Queen of the Islands makes an appearance at the end. She must have been relieving the Sechelt Queen while she went to refit. In the part of the video, the Queen of the Islands appears to have what may have been a turn table at her bow just behind the doors. Thank you for sharing. Queen of The Islands did have a turntable. I don't know how long they used it for. She lasted all of four years on route nine- very poor foresight on the part of the govenment on that one. Despite the poor video quality, there are shots where you can see how poorly maintained the Sechelt Queen was under MTH management. Rust everywhere. The lack of maintenance continued on the Comox route right through to the retirement of the Queen of Burnaby. Now that they've got a new Salish vessel up there, they have to look after it. Neil,
I am still looking for definitive proof that the QotI actually once had a functioning turntable. I agree that in the video it looks a bit like it does, but I was on that vessel in 1978 when it was one of the vessels serving on the Jervis Inlet route. I was also on it in 1972 when it was the summer vessel on the Comox - Powell River route. I do not recall a turntable. I also have a builder's plan (not full drawings) and again no indication of a turntable. On the other hand, my brother David (Mr DOT), says that she did have one.
I guess I am not convinced that it ever existed ...
--------------------- Note to a moderator: Perhaps these last three posts could be copied over to the QotI thread?
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Neil
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Post by Neil on Feb 15, 2022 20:57:39 GMT -8
Queen of The Islands did have a turntable. I don't know how long they used it for. She lasted all of four years on route nine- very poor foresight on the part of the govenment on that one. Despite the poor video quality, there are shots where you can see how poorly maintained the Sechelt Queen was under MTH management. Rust everywhere. The lack of maintenance continued on the Comox route right through to the retirement of the Queen of Burnaby. Now that they've got a new Salish vessel up there, they have to look after it. Neil,
I am still looking for definitive proof that the QotI actually once had a functioning turntable. I agree that in the video it looks a bit like it does, but I was on that vessel in 1978 when it was one of the vessels serving on the Jervis Inlet route. I was also on it in 1972 when it was the summer vessel on the Comox - Powell River route. I do not recall a turntable. I also have a builder's plan (not full drawings) and again no indication of a turntable. On the other hand, my brother David (Mr DOT), says that she did have one.
I guess I am not convinced that it ever existed ...
--------------------- Note to a moderator: Perhaps these last three posts could be copied over to the QotI thread?
Jim, this might not constitute definitive proof but, for what it's worth, this is what an article in the May 2010 Western Mariner had to say. ----------------------------------------------- "... Queen of The Islands was based on a Quebec design and was fitted with a car-deck turntable in the enclosed bow so that cars drove on and off over the stern. This proved to be an impractical system so the turntable was removed and loading/unloading over the bow was installed." ----------------------------------------------- If that's true, then her design was even more unpractical than I thought. Maybe the difficulty in loading and unloading that way led to a rather quick rebuild.
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Post by WettCoast on Feb 15, 2022 21:30:39 GMT -8
I am virtually certain that the QotI had bow & stern loading from day 1. Photos & drawings that I have seen, including the one posted above, all indicate loading from both ends. So the article in the Western Mariner is incorrect. Nevertheless, a turntable would have come in handy on such a narrow vessel having multiple ports of call as was the case on its original route.
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Post by northwesterner on Feb 15, 2022 22:14:18 GMT -8
Queen of The Islands really got around. She wasn't particularly suitable for a lot of runs, but it would be interesting to see a timeline of where she turned up in at least a relief role. We know she started out based at Long Harbour, but she also saw service on a regular role out of Comox and Saltery Bay. She filled in on the Fulford run, and during Expo '86 out of Swartz Bay on route five. Looking at my 1974 schedule yesterday, I see that she was noted as the refit vessel for the Kelsey Bay to Beaver Cove route, after the Alert Bay and Sointula portions were assigned to the Nimpkish. There may have been other assignments. I really liked her lines, but the fact that she was by far the youngest BC Ferries newbuild to be retired spoke to her design issues. Yes, I wish, over the course of the 18 years of the existence of the board, that we had created a 'vessel assignment history' section. All the knowledge that has passed through here over the years - it feels like we could have filled in these gaps, one bit at a time and really created a fairly robust document.
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Neil
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Post by Neil on Feb 15, 2022 22:19:11 GMT -8
I am virtually certain that the QotI had bow & stern loading from day 1. Photos & drawings that I have seen, including the one posted above, all indicate loading from both ends. So the article in the Western Mariner is incorrect. Nevertheless, a turntable would have come in handy on such a narrow vessel having multiple ports of call as was the case on its original route. I did see those drawings when I went back over this thread. I can't make out a date, but I do see 'Montreal', and the vessel was a Quebec design. So, that may have been the original design with, as you say, no turntable, or it could have reflected an updated configuration. Or, could it have been that the turntable was an add-on, after the design drawings, and it didn't work out? I first took the vessel in 1968. I was a huge ferry fan, but I was only twelve years old. I don't recall seeing cars turning around. The little Cadieux/Griffiths book, published in 1967, mentions problematic loading, but no turntable. Still, I've seen references to a turntable in more than one account, and it seems odd that someone would have invented the notion. Perhaps this is a question to put to the old salts on the maritime history facebook page; was she indeed the only BC Ferries ship to have a turntable.
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Post by WettCoast on Feb 15, 2022 22:33:59 GMT -8
Yeah, someone on the BC Nautical History FB page might even be able to supply a photo ...
I checked that same book, and also the Favelle one, and Bannerman, and no where is there a mention of a turntable.
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Post by WettCoast on Feb 15, 2022 22:46:29 GMT -8
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tak22
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Post by tak22 on Feb 16, 2022 8:33:22 GMT -8
Hope this helps the discussion: The new vessel is 236 feet long and can carry 40 cars and 400 people. It will travel at 15 knots and employs a crew of 12. The ship is fully equipped with the latest electronic aids to navigation including long and short range radar sets, radio telephone and gyro-compass. A ship to shore telephone is provided for the use of passengers and a comfortable sandwich bar will be located in the main lounge. A special turntable which allows cars to load and unload from the same end is featured on the new MV "Queen of the Islands".SPECIAL COMMEMORATIVE ISSUE - ACCEPTANCE CEREMONY - "QUEEN OF THE ISLANDS " SALT SPRING ISLAND Driftwood - July 4, 1963 - Vol . 4 No . 16 www.saltspringarchives.com/driftwood/1963/1963-July4.pdfNo picture of the turntable, but it's a fascinating read. Here's the opening from the editorial: Dear "Queen of the Islands",
We are very happy to welcome you as the newest member of our royal family of ships. We are sure that you won't need to make very many trips back and forth across the Gulf before you will become an integral part of our lives and will have found your own special place in our hearts, just as the rest of your family has done (way back in the years when they were only princesses and one royal gentleman without a title).
We beg of you that you will be kind to us. We think your builders and crew will already have told you something about us - about how glad we are that you can take us direct to the mainland to see our friends over there - about how timorous we are that you just might pull a boo-boo sometime and bring something to our lovely Islands that we are not yet ready for. You see, it's this way:- We would like to progress and prosper with the rest of B.C.,but we don't want some of the things that progressive, prosperous communities are afflicted with. We have a certain quietness and tranquility in our Islands that we are loathe to part with. In fact, it is largely because of this atmosphere that most of us are here ..........
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Neil
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Post by Neil on Feb 16, 2022 9:57:02 GMT -8
Hope this helps the discussion: The new vessel is 236 feet long and can carry 40 cars and 400 people. It will travel at 15 knots and employs a crew of 12. The ship is fully equipped with the latest electronic aids to navigation including long and short range radar sets, radio telephone and gyro-compass. A ship to shore telephone is provided for the use of passengers and a comfortable sandwich bar will be located in the main lounge. A special turntable which allows cars to load and unload from the same end is featured on the new MV "Queen of the Islands".SPECIAL COMMEMORATIVE ISSUE - ACCEPTANCE CEREMONY - "QUEEN OF THE ISLANDS " SALT SPRING ISLAND Driftwood - July 4, 1963 - Vol . 4 No . 16 www.saltspringarchives.com/driftwood/1963/1963-July4.pdfNo picture of the turntable, but it's a fascinating read. Here's the opening from the editorial: Dear "Queen of the Islands",
We are very happy to welcome you as the newest member of our royal family of ships. We are sure that you won't need to make very many trips back and forth across the Gulf before you will become an integral part of our lives and will have found your own special place in our hearts, just as the rest of your family has done (way back in the years when they were only princesses and one royal gentleman without a title).
We beg of you that you will be kind to us. We think your builders and crew will already have told you something about us - about how glad we are that you can take us direct to the mainland to see our friends over there - about how timorous we are that you just might pull a boo-boo sometime and bring something to our lovely Islands that we are not yet ready for. You see, it's this way:- We would like to progress and prosper with the rest of B.C.,but we don't want some of the things that progressive, prosperous communities are afflicted with. We have a certain quietness and tranquility in our Islands that we are loathe to part with. In fact, it is largely because of this atmosphere that most of us are here ..........Thanks for posting that, 'tak22'. Given the level of coverage in the Driftwood, I imagine a subsequent issue would have detailed when the turntable stopped being used. What Jim posted clearly shows her bow loading capability right from the start, despite what the Western Mariner article stated. Maybe they just didn't use that when she began service. Interesting, too, to see that Galiano only had service to Swartz Bay three days a week, via the Pender Queen.
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Post by WettCoast on Feb 16, 2022 11:05:24 GMT -8
Thanks tak22 for your post above ...
The evidence looks pretty clear that there was right from day 1: a) a turntable & b) loading over both the bow & sternI would love to see a photo, or even better yet, a video, of the turntable in use.
It is also clear that the route 9 vessel was Long Harbour based right from the start, but in the beginning there was no Pender Island stop.
BTW, apparently WAC Bennett & his wife had a summer place on Saltspring. Perhaps his desire to improve ferry service to the Gulf Islands wasn't only just for the greater good of the Province.
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Neil
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Post by Neil on Feb 16, 2022 12:22:01 GMT -8
Thanks tak22 for your post above ...
The evidence looks pretty clear that there was right from day 1: a) a turntable & b) loading over both the bow & sternI would love to see a photo, or even better yet, a video, of the turntable in use.
It is also clear that the route 9 vessel was Long Harbour based right from the start, but in the beginning there was no Pender Island stop.
BTW, apparently WAC Bennett & his wife had a summer place on Saltspring. Perhaps his desire to improve ferry service to the Gulf Islands wasn't only just for the greater good of the Province.
...and a Socred cabinet minister had a place on Cortes at the time service started there. Just a coincidence, I'm sure.
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Post by WettCoast on Feb 16, 2022 13:38:26 GMT -8
...and a Socred cabinet minister had a place on Cortes at the time service started there. Just a coincidence, I'm sure. Always wondered how a few islands got ferry service & a few many others did not ...
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dave2
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Deckhand!: Todo: Introduction post (I was born less than 100 feet from the ocean. The tide was...)
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Post by dave2 on Feb 16, 2022 13:53:28 GMT -8
BTW, apparently WAC Bennett & his wife had a summer place on Saltspring. Perhaps his desire to improve ferry service to the Gulf Islands wasn't only just for the greater good of the Province.
...and a Socred cabinet minister had a place on Cortes at the time service started there. Just a coincidence, I'm sure. I’ve been waiting for an opportunity to post this news item from the August 1 1961 Victoria Daily Colonist that I stumbled across a few weeks ago. The government purchased the Gulf Island Ferry Company in September of 1961 according to one source I found. This may have been the catalyst? Although the Island Princess mentioned was operated by Coast Ferries.
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Post by WettCoast on Feb 16, 2022 19:16:03 GMT -8
The Island Princess is what later became the NIP (North Island Princess). It was run by a man named 'Sparky' New who owned Coast Ferries. I guess that they wanted the vessel for service north out of Kelsey Bay. AFAIK, Coast Ferries was not affiliated with the Gulf Island Ferry Company which served the same territory out of Swartz Bay.
Nevertheless, the discontinuation of service between the mainland and the southern Gulf Islands by Coast Ferries, was probably a factor in establishing the new service by the QotI.
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dave2
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Deckhand!: Todo: Introduction post (I was born less than 100 feet from the ocean. The tide was...)
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Post by dave2 on Feb 17, 2022 12:58:49 GMT -8
The Island Princess is what later became the NIP ( North Island Princess). It was run by a man named 'Sparky' New who owned Coast Ferries. I guess that they wanted the vessel for service north out of Kelsey Bay. AFAIK, Coast Ferries was not affiliated with the Gulf Island Ferry Company which served the same territory out of Swartz Bay. Nevertheless, the discontinuation of service between the mainland and the southern Gulf Islands by Coast Ferries, was probably a factor in establishing the new service by the QotI. Apparently the [North] Island Princess briefly operated out of Powell River in late 1961, serving Texada Island, Comox, and (if I’m reading this right) Steveston. cptdb.ca/wiki/index.php/BC_Ferries_North_Island_Princess
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Post by Ollie on Jul 13, 2022 16:38:57 GMT -8
Queen of the Islands, July 13 2022
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Post by WettCoast on Nov 22, 2022 21:51:47 GMT -8
Queen of the Islands @ Alert Bay ...
Yes, in February 1971 she was there, subbing for the (North) Island Princess which was then undergoing surgery ... See this link to a fine photo from Maynard Atkinson on Flickr.
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Post by Shane on Nov 9, 2023 18:43:24 GMT -8
While surfing the internet recently I stumbled upon something most people (including myself) on this forum have likely never seen before, a rare picture of the Queen of the Islands in expo livery. I recall the discussion many years ago on this forum whether on not the QotI was ever painted in expo colours, this confirms it! Photographer + location unknown. Attachments:
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Post by Low Light Mike on Nov 9, 2023 21:50:58 GMT -8
While surfing the internet recently I stumbled upon something most people (including myself) on this forum have likely never seen before, a rare picture of the Queen of the Islands in expo livery. I recall the discussion many years ago on this forum whether on not the QotI was ever painted in expo colours, this confirms it! Thanks "Ferry Freak Shane." That is great to see. I love a solved mystery.
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Post by northwesterner on Nov 10, 2023 21:05:18 GMT -8
While surfing the internet recently I stumbled upon something most people (including myself) on this forum have likely never seen before, a rare picture of the Queen of the Islands in expo livery. I recall the discussion many years ago on this forum whether on not the QotI was ever painted in expo colours, this confirms it! Thanks "Ferry Freak Shane." That is great to see. I love a solved mystery. 1) She looks good in that livery. 2) Good to see Shane, a long time forum member pop-in every now and then.
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Post by Ferryman on Feb 5, 2024 18:55:19 GMT -8
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Post by firewolf95 on Feb 7, 2024 2:53:45 GMT -8
I wonder if she'll pop back up on Craigslist again
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