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Post by Kahloke on Sept 19, 2007 20:26:29 GMT -8
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Post by Ferryman on Sept 19, 2007 20:35:14 GMT -8
Wow! Thanks so much, orcasnative! Those pictures certainly bring back memories for me, from taking a trip on the 'Cats on Route 2 in the late 90s. I can remember being in complete "awe" while boarding via the Main Car deck at Horseshoe Bay, with the shinning Aluminum, everywhere.
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Nick
Voyager 
Chief Engineer - Queen of Richmond
Posts: 2,080 
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Post by Nick on Sept 19, 2007 20:55:40 GMT -8
Wow, I forgot how cramped the interior was on those ships. Does anyone else remember a special sailing out of Dep. bay open to employees and family only? They had the employees drive their vehicles on board for a "real world" loaded test. Vehicles were loaded on the main deck and they had huge water bladders on the upper car deck to simulate a full load. We did a round trip to horseshoe bay and back. The whole thing took around 6 hours since we did a bunch of maneuvers in georgia strait along the way. I distinctly remember the captain coming on the PA to announce that they had run the engines to 110% of MCR and we achieved a speed of 35kts. I remember how it was so smooth, it was like riding on rails.
Unfortunately, since I was 11 at the time, the photos I have are in film and are stored in a box somewhere in the abyss (basement).
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Koastal Karl
Voyager
Been on every BC Ferry now!!!!!
Posts: 7,747
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Post by Koastal Karl on Sept 19, 2007 20:55:42 GMT -8
I was on that same open house in Victoria if it was only the one day I was there. I saw the Coho dock too from the Pacificat which was neat. I personally dident like the Pacificats. I never rode on them so the open house was the only time I was on one.
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Post by Scott (Former Account) on Sept 19, 2007 21:29:42 GMT -8
Wow, I forgot how cramped the interior was on those ships. Does anyone else remember a special sailing out of Dep. bay open to employees and family only? They had the employees drive their vehicles on board for a "real world" loaded test. Vehicles were loaded on the main deck and they had huge water bladders on the upper car deck to simulate a full load. We did a round trip to horseshoe bay and back. The whole thing took around 6 hours since we did a bunch of maneuvers in georgia strait along the way. I distinctly remember the captain coming on the PA to announce that they had run the engines to 110% of MCR and we achieved a speed of 35kts. I remember how it was so smooth, it was like riding on rails. Unfortunately, since I was 11 at the time, the photos I have are in film and are stored in a box somewhere in the abyss (basement). I was on that special roundtrip from Departure Bay to Horseshoe Bay and back, as well.  I remember being told by one of the captains the ships ran somewhere around 95% MCR at 'normal' cruising speed... One of the many reasons the Pacificat project was a failure..... |
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Post by Queen of Nanaimo Teen on Sept 20, 2007 6:09:25 GMT -8
I never did see the Pacificats in service, but now that I see the interior I realize just how cramped it really was! It reminds me quite a bit of the new interior scheme (not completely, but a little bit). I was looking through the photos and I could find no Dogwood logo anywhere, is this true?
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Post by Curtis on Sept 20, 2007 7:19:43 GMT -8
Great Photos of one of the most infamous ships in the Fleet. On the Outside it looks like a BC Ferry, Inside it looks like a Fast Ferry that operates in or near the Atlantic Ocean.
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Post by Kahloke on Sept 20, 2007 11:35:00 GMT -8
I'm glad everyone likes the photos. In regards to the cabin being cramped, I thought that as well, and the seats weren't particularly comfortable. They had very vertical backs and they were really close together. The following year (2000), I actually rode Pacificat Discovery from Departure Bay to HSB just to experience a trip on a "Cat", and although I enjoyed the experience for its own sake, I found the cabin to be very crowded, what with the lack of seating as compared to one of the "C-Class" vessels, and narrowness of aisles. Also, the lack of a good outdoor experience (ie. outside decks and shelters)seemed, to me, to be an oversight on BCF's part. That little aft sundeck was a joke! I can definitely see why passengers, in general, did not like these vessels, the other issues notwithstanding. Still, despite everything I just said, I'm glad I took the time to experience this unique chapter of BCF history.
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Post by Retrovision on Sept 20, 2007 12:21:58 GMT -8
As if they were built to fail, eh?  Thank you very much for the look inside that I never had the opportunity to experience myself, orcasnative. It was quite informative to see it for myself, even in a limited capacity. |
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Mill Bay
Voyager
Long Suffering Bosun
Posts: 2,887
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Post by Mill Bay on Sept 20, 2007 16:45:21 GMT -8
Whatever went wrong with them, I really appreciate those photos. I was gonna be asking around to see if someone had any decent images of the cats because something recently piqued my curiosity. I also had this wierd idea, someone should buddy up with Dennis Washington and see if it might be possible to get a ferry forum group tour of one of them...  (but that's not my idea in case anyone asks, ha-ha  ) |
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Post by Northern Exploration on Sept 20, 2007 17:47:45 GMT -8
I never had the chance to take any trips on the Cats. My brother did and made comments very similar to the ones you guys have made. Much more crowded cabin (they persume you stay seated longer in a cat.) He also complained at the lack to deck space. The small one at the back was full of smokers too. One trip I could have gambled by driving from the airport to Horseshoe Bay but the timing was tight. I chose instead to have a White Spot and make a Spirti at Tswwassen (before the days whne there was White Spot on the ferry).
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Post by Low Light Mike on Jan 19, 2008 13:36:52 GMT -8
If you like ferries, and you like photo exhibits, and if you can get to Richmond Art Gallery in February....read-on: from Today's Vancouver Sun: tinyurl.com/2vm6ca======================= Between Hope and Politics
Photographs of the PacifiCat ProjectRichmond Art Gallery until Feb. 28 - - - Just when you thought the fast ferries had sunk forever in a sea of red ink and shame, they're back. In their latest reincarnation, the PacifiCats have returned neither as a business story nor as another instalment of B.C.'s partisan politics. They've returned as photographs in an exhibition at the Richmond Art Gallery. Called Between Hope and Politics: Photographs of the PacifiCat Project, the exhibit is composed of 12 large-format photographs of the ferries being constructed, taken by Jim Breukelman, who was a photographic and media arts instructor at Emily Carr Institute of Art + Design until his retirement in 2000. The photographs record an industrial workplace full of shiny metal surfaces, unusual lighting, heavy-duty tools, unfinished staircases and massive ship components. A network of scaffolding, ladders and floor joists creates multiple grids and geometric spaces, some of which act as frames enclosing the workers. The works bring to mind the photographs of someone like Edward Burtynsky and his monumental images of the industrial world, especially in China, but Breukelman's add more intimate elements. In several of them, a coiled piece of rope or directions scribbled on a bulkhead are signs left behind by unseen workers. Breukelman's photographs also contradict our usual expectations of B.C. They're not standard tourist images of ferries sailing in picturesque settings like you might find in the later works of E.J. Hughes. They're all of an interior, entirely human-made world with its own unique beauty. The photographs are also a record of a failure -- of a B.C. transportation megaproject gone horribly wrong. As befitting the size of the fast ferries project, the photographs themselves are big. Printed on photographic paper using a lightjet printer, the photographs have an impressive presence in the gallery at 48" x 60" (122 cm by 152 cm) and 24" by 30" (61 cm by 76 cm). Breukelman started his photographic documentation in 1999. Through a friend, he got access to the North Vancouver shipyard where the three fast ferries were being built. Over the course of about a year, he put on a hard hat and steel-toed shoes almost daily as he took about 800 photographs of the whole process of construction from the empty shed to the launch and sea trials. As the ferries became a political football, Breukelman found that the workers became increasingly reluctant to be photographed. That's why he's chosen photographs for the exhibit that mainly show scenes without workers. To finish his project, Breukelman thought there might be interesting images to add now that the ships are mothballed. He wanted to get back into the empty sheds and record what happened to the impressive interiors shown in the early photographs. When he approached the new owners, he got a big surprise. It appears that even years after the story has faded from the front pages, the fast ferries are still very much a sore point. "They turned me down," he said. "BC Ferries didn't want anyone in there -- that's what I was told." Not only do Breukelman's photos stand as self-contained works of art, they're composed in such a way that they suggest they're a part of a much bigger world that haunts them still. In PacificCat #5, for example, a shovel leans against an upright metal leg of scaffolding. There's a casualness about its angle, as if someone just left it there and plans to return any moment to finish working. The various metal support bars of the scaffolding it rests against frame two large tarps: a larger red one on the left and a blue one on the right. There's a strong but unspecified light source behind the tarps. It's so bright that nothing is visible through several holes in the red tarp except for the blinding light. Besides casting shadows and back lighting the tarps, the illumination situates the tarps and scaffolding in a vast interior space. Taken together, it looks as if the stage is set for a drama. We're the audience looking at the proscenium arch where the missing worker will be back to play his or her role. But despite the worker's best intentions, the unseen world of politics will leak into the workplace, forever leaving its mark. Postscript: The three ferries were built at a cost of $454 million and sold at public auction to Washington Marine Group for $20 million in 2003. At first, Washington Marine thought it might be able to flip the ferries for a profit. When that didn't pan out, it considered using them for a car-only ferry service between Nanaimo and Vancouver. But that didn't work either. Washington Marine didn't return calls. At present, all three ferries are believed to be docked somewhere in North Vancouver. kevingriffin@png.canwest.com © The Vancouver Sun 2008 ================ |
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Post by DENelson83 on Jan 19, 2008 13:42:47 GMT -8
Uh, we know where they're docked—at the WMG shipyards.
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ProudCanuck
Chief Steward
Champ Car - Gone, but not forgotten!
Posts: 242
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Post by ProudCanuck on Jan 19, 2008 15:04:53 GMT -8
At present, all three ferries are believed to be docked somewhere in North Vancouver. kevingriffin@png.canwest.com © The Vancouver Sun 2008 ================ That is pretty sad, considering the Vancouver Sun is located in the Granville Square building right by Canada Place with an excellent view of the Cats across the harbour! |
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Post by Mike C on Jan 19, 2008 15:42:22 GMT -8
"somewhere in North Vancouver" Where, at Grouse Mountain...? Sheesh...  |
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Post by Scott on Jan 19, 2008 17:12:39 GMT -8
So Washington Marine Group told him "BC Ferries doesn't want anyone in there..."? That's interesting.
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Post by Low Light Mike on Jan 19, 2008 17:24:45 GMT -8
So Washington Marine Group told him "BC Ferries doesn't want anyone in there..."? That's interesting. So, this part of the news article could be because: 1) The article was poorly written - ie. an error in writing the article. 2) The WMG person was poorly informed, and the reporter didn't think to question "Why?". 3) BC Ferries actually has some jurisdiction over WMG's operations. (that's what the news article would suggest, if you take it at face value ;D) 4) A new conspiracy has been uncovered. Something to distract from the bloody-noses on the C-Renaissance.... Don't you just hate news-reports that raise more questions than they answer.....when it's meant to be just a factual reporting of a photo-exhibit? I'm guessing that the answer is #1 or #2 above. Maybe WMG is shy and plays the "BC Ferries says 'no'" card for requests like this? I'll have to try that too. ****Announcement: Guest posting on this forum is disallowed because BC Ferry Services Inc. won't allow it ****** |
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Post by Northern Exploration on Jan 19, 2008 18:21:28 GMT -8
Those are cardboard cutouts at WMG and the reason they don't want you on board is they are hollow. The real Pacificats are on secret service with the Queen of Richmond . The reporter isn't as stupid as he appears but is part of the coverup. ;D |
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Quatchi
Voyager
Engineering Officer - CCG
Posts: 930
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Post by Quatchi on Jan 19, 2008 22:31:07 GMT -8
Yeah I think it is just another round of reporters reporting and not researching. I don't Know what you think Mill Bay, but the Chilliwack papers always seem to have incorrect or misleading information in them. I guess thats just a side-affect of our deadline word we live in.
Cheers,
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Post by Scott on Jan 19, 2008 22:46:57 GMT -8
So Washington Marine Group told him "BC Ferries doesn't want anyone in there..."? That's interesting. I'm guessing that the answer is #1 or #2 above. Maybe WMG is shy and plays the "BC Ferries says 'no'" card for requests like this? I'll have to try that too. ****Announcement: Guest posting on this forum is disallowed because BC Ferry Services Inc. won't allow it ****** I think you're right. It's easier to say "BC Ferries doesn't want you to" than to say "no" and have to give a reason for saying "no". |
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Post by WettCoast on Jan 19, 2008 23:11:26 GMT -8
Those are cardboard cutouts at WMG and the reason they don't want you on board is they are hollow. The real Pacificats are on secret service with the Queen of Richmond . The reporter isn't as stupid as he appears but is part of the coverup. ;D I believe that the four of them are out on a secret world tour to promote the 2010 Vancouver Winter Olympic Games. |
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Deleted
Deleted Member
Posts: 0
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Post by Deleted on Jan 20, 2008 9:44:23 GMT -8
I love these ferries. Those are cardboard cutouts at WMG and the reason they don't want you on board is they are hollow. The real Pacificats are on secret service with the Queen of Richmond . The reporter isn't as stupid as he appears but is part of the coverup. ;D I believe that the four of them are out on a secret world tour to promote the 2010 Vancouver Winter Olympic Games. I think both of you might have a story. |
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Post by Queen of Vancouver on Jan 20, 2008 18:15:35 GMT -8
I love these ferries too.
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Post by Balfour on Jan 20, 2008 21:00:22 GMT -8
"somewhere in North Vancouver" Where, at Grouse Mountain...? Sheesh... No Ferries on my mountain Although They could always use them for scrap metal for re-commissioning the old Blueberry Chair. |
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Post by Political Incorrectness on Jan 20, 2008 23:05:43 GMT -8
That old riblet? Then please TAKE BIG CHIEF OFF OF STEVENS! We'll exchange for the Eagle Express |
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