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Post by Kahloke on Jun 22, 2022 5:24:49 GMT -8
If it says two different ships it’s probably a transfer most likely at Village Bay. So you’d probably be on both those ships. If it’s a transfer or multiple port sailing it’ll say view itinerary. Reservation shows 1 vessel with a stop at Village Bay - no transfer. So, I'm still thinking that the fare calculator page for that 8:30am Pender to Tsawwassen sailing is showing two vessels because they're not sure which will be operating that day.
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Post by Ferryman on Jun 22, 2022 7:42:41 GMT -8
If it says two different ships it’s probably a transfer most likely at Village Bay. So you’d probably be on both those ships. If it’s a transfer or multiple port sailing it’ll say view itinerary. The Salish Raven is totally out of the picture for running this summer. It’s sitting in layup at Deas right now. The Salish Heron however, will be staying on Route 9a for the foreseeable future while they get more hours on her and it’s easier to handle warranty items while on the Vancouver side. When the summer is over and crew are freed up from extra sailings, etc, then the Salish Raven will be brought out to sail Route 5 until further notice.
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Post by Kahloke on Jun 22, 2022 9:18:00 GMT -8
If it says two different ships it’s probably a transfer most likely at Village Bay. So you’d probably be on both those ships. If it’s a transfer or multiple port sailing it’ll say view itinerary. The Salish Raven is totally out of the picture for running this summer. It’s sitting in layup at Deas right now. The Salish Heron however, will be staying on Route 9a for the foreseeable future while they get more hours on her and it’s easier to handle warranty items while on the Vancouver side. When the summer is over and crew are freed up from extra sailings, etc, then the Salish Raven will be brought out to sail Route 5 until further notice. Yay! So it looks like I'll get a ride on the new boat this summer. We will be on the 8:30am sailing from Pender to Tsawwassen on Saturday, July 23. Nice to know it will likely be Salish Heron. Back to my original question, and I realize there likely isn't a definitive answer, but what is a reasonable time to show up for the 7:00pm sailing from Swartz Bay to Pender on a Thursday in July? There's a pretty big gap from the previous sailing (2:35pm) until 7:00. Is 1 hour before usually enough? 2hrs? What have others here witnessed, or experienced? It's summer, so I'm guessing it will be busy, but it's not a Friday.
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Post by Ferryman on Jun 22, 2022 10:27:41 GMT -8
The Salish Raven is totally out of the picture for running this summer. It’s sitting in layup at Deas right now. The Salish Heron however, will be staying on Route 9a for the foreseeable future while they get more hours on her and it’s easier to handle warranty items while on the Vancouver side. When the summer is over and crew are freed up from extra sailings, etc, then the Salish Raven will be brought out to sail Route 5 until further notice. Yay! So it looks like I'll get a ride on the new boat this summer. We will be on the 8:30am sailing from Pender to Tsawwassen on Saturday, July 23. Nice to know it will likely be Salish Heron. Back to my original question, and I realize there likely isn't a definitive answer, but what is a reasonable time to show up for the 7:00pm sailing from Swartz Bay to Pender on a Thursday in July? There's a pretty big gap from the previous sailing (2:35pm) until 7:00. Is 1 hour before usually enough? 2hrs? What have others here witnessed, or experienced? It's summer, so I'm guessing it will be busy, but it's not a Friday. I’d be checked in nice and early, perhaps 2 hours early just for peace of mind. There’s no doubt it will be very busy that afternoon. If I was you, I’d be periodically checking the current conditions at Swartz Bay to monitor how busy it is. Pro-tip from all the years I’ve waited for the ferry back to Salt Spri ng. Once you’re parked, take your ticket stub with you and see if you can exit the terminal at the vehicle ticket booth. The Stonehouse Pub is about a 10 minute walk away from the terminal, and a great spot to pass the time. Tell them you’re waiting for the ferry, but plan to be back at your vehicle by 6:30pm. You’ll need your ticket to be able to enter back into the terminal at the vehicle ticket booth. Cumberland will likely be running late, but I just figure this is the best way to make the best of it. Stonehouse Pub (250) 655-8870 goo.gl/maps/xFgdEJEJP9ezG4Gd7Alternatively, a sneaky way to get to Pender is via Salt Spring at Long Harbour. It might be equally as difficult to travel to Salt Spring on a Friday afternoon, but it’s much easier to travel inter-island. With two Salish Class running on Route 9/9a, there has been a bunch of travel options added since the days of the Nanaimo and Bowen Queen on that route
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Post by Kahloke on Jun 22, 2022 11:12:06 GMT -8
Yay! So it looks like I'll get a ride on the new boat this summer. We will be on the 8:30am sailing from Pender to Tsawwassen on Saturday, July 23. Nice to know it will likely be Salish Heron. Back to my original question, and I realize there likely isn't a definitive answer, but what is a reasonable time to show up for the 7:00pm sailing from Swartz Bay to Pender on a Thursday in July? There's a pretty big gap from the previous sailing (2:35pm) until 7:00. Is 1 hour before usually enough? 2hrs? What have others here witnessed, or experienced? It's summer, so I'm guessing it will be busy, but it's not a Friday. I’d be checked in nice and early, perhaps 2 hours early just for peace of mind. There’s no doubt it will be very busy that afternoon. If I was you, I’d be periodically checking the current conditions at Swartz Bay to monitor how busy it is. Pro-tip from all the years I’ve waited for the ferry back to Salt Spri ng. Once you’re parked, take your ticket stub with you and see if you can exit the terminal at the vehicle ticket booth. The Stonehouse Pub is about a 10 minute walk away from the terminal, and a great spot to pass the time. Tell them you’re waiting for the ferry, but plan to be back at your vehicle by 6:30pm. You’ll need your ticket to be able to enter back into the terminal at the vehicle ticket booth. Cumberland will likely be running late, but I just figure this is the best way to make the best of it. Stonehouse Pub (250) 655-8870 goo.gl/maps/xFgdEJEJP9ezG4Gd7Alternatively, a sneaky way to get to Pender is via Salt Spring at Long Harbour. It might be equally as difficult to travel to Salt Spring on a Friday afternoon, but it’s much easier to travel inter-island. With two Salish Class running on Route 9/9a, there has been a bunch of travel options added since the days of the Nanaimo and Bowen Queen on that route Thanks for the good advice. Reminds me a bit of what it was like heading to Orcas before there was a reservation system. While it may sometimes be difficult to get a reservation on popular travel days (like Sundays), I don't miss the free-for-all we had before. I'll definitely be keeping an eye on the Current Conditions that afternoon.
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Post by Blue Bus Fan on Jul 29, 2022 10:41:29 GMT -8
I think this place for this question. When is good time in afternoon to get photos at Bellhouse Provincial Park?
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Post by WettCoast on Jul 29, 2022 11:24:40 GMT -8
I think this place for this question. When is good time in afternoon to get photos at Bellhouse Provincial Park? I would say later in the afternoon when the sun is a little lower in the sky, say after 3 PM.
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Post by Blue Bus Fan on Sept 10, 2022 13:11:30 GMT -8
Is there any good places to take pictures of ferries on Pender Island?
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Post by Kahloke on Sept 10, 2022 13:44:58 GMT -8
Is there any good places to take pictures of ferries on Pender Island? Yes, Roesland - Gulf Islands National Park Reserve. It's across from the ferry terminal at Otter Bay, and has a good view of the channel all of the ferries use. Pay attention to the tides. The trail out to the end of the point crosses a beach which cuts off the point at high tide. I did some good ferry spotting from there when we were on Pender in July.
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Post by Blue Bus Fan on Oct 6, 2022 21:29:04 GMT -8
Does BC Ferries still off day trips on Swartz Bay to Southern Gulf Island route?
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Post by paddlehardercafe on Jan 23, 2023 0:30:26 GMT -8
I'm hoping anyone who like me enjoyed the old paper time tables and being able to see which ferry was on which run. I'm currently trying to figure out, between the two ships on Route 5 and 5A, which one is doing the Fri only service from Long Harbor direct trip to Swartz Bay I tired to do some research over the current time table but cant tell which vessel it is. If you can tell, pass it on here.
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Post by Blue Bus Fan on Jan 23, 2023 0:33:54 GMT -8
I'm hoping anyone who like me enjoyed the old paper time tables and being able to see which ferry was on which run. I'm currently trying to figure out, between the two ships on Route 5 and 5A, which one is doing the Fri only service from Long Harbor direct trip to Swartz Bay I tired to do some research over the current time table but cant tell which vessel it is. If you can tell, pass it on here. The Queen of Cumberland aka route 5a vessel is in charge of that run. You can check the calculator fare page to determine vessels on minor routes too up until the end of month, I believe.
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Post by paddlehardercafe on Jan 24, 2023 14:50:04 GMT -8
I did that, no fare or vessel shows, its a very special trip, i guess to reposition, as it only operates on Fri and yes that service ends soon.
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Post by Blue Bus Fan on Jan 24, 2023 15:11:42 GMT -8
I did that, no fare or vessel shows, its a very special trip, i guess to reposition, as it only operates on Fri and yes that service ends soon. It works for me and it does say route 5a vessel, Queen of Cumberland.
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Neil
Voyager
Posts: 7,177
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Post by Neil on Jan 24, 2023 15:44:39 GMT -8
I did that, no fare or vessel shows, its a very special trip, i guess to reposition, as it only operates on Fri and yes that service ends soon. It works for me and it does say route 5a vessel, Queen of Cumberland. It doesn't always work. It did the first time I tried it, but subsequently, I selected a date, number of passengers, car type, and was then directed to a page which said 'select your departure date', which I had already done, with no more options. Doesn't look like it's ending soon... the Long Harbour - Swartz Bay trip runs through to May 4th. The fare doesn't appear to be listed in the standard fares pages. I think I saw $51 car and driver the one time the fare calculator worked, but I could be wrong. That's a lot more expensive than the regular Gulf Islands - Swartz Bay fares. The one time I took the route nine trip that went Tsawwassen-Gulf Islands-Swartz Bay-Long Harbour, it was a regular route nine passenger fare.
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alex912
Oiler (New Member)
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Post by alex912 on Jan 24, 2023 16:56:17 GMT -8
I took this special route as a walk on last year. It was a free trip just like any other SGI to Swartz Bay return. It took the ticket agent a second to figure out how to ticket me as it had rarely been done. Definitely recommend it if you get the chance. You’ll likely get the ship all to yourself
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Neil
Voyager
Posts: 7,177
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Post by Neil on Jan 24, 2023 18:49:29 GMT -8
I took this special route as a walk on last year. It was a free trip just like any other SGI to Swartz Bay return. It took the ticket agent a second to figure out how to ticket me as it had rarely been done. Definitely recommend it if you get the chance. You’ll likely get the ship all to yourself When I did the Tsawwassen- Galiano- Mayne- Pender- Swartz Bay- Long Harbour trip last year, it was me and a couple of teenagers who got on at Swartz Bay with cameras who were obviously really into photographing ferries. That's it. No cars. Yes, it was novel. I can understand how the schedule justifies the deadhead run to Long Harbour, because the Salish vessel was packed leaving Pender for Swartz. Some of the crew seemed to be taking a break after Swartz Bay- there was no food service. They didn't react to us... I guess it's not uncommon that every week a couple of weirdos want to do an impractical ferry voyage. Ever since BC Ferries started serving the Gulf Islands around 1962 or so, they have never scheduled Tsawwassen- Gulf Islands- Swartz Bay runs, except on a supplementary basis. Some times, it really makes sense.
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Post by paddlehardercafe on Jan 25, 2023 23:44:35 GMT -8
I'm doing it as a day trip to SSI, pre V day with the Mrs, will head over on the Fulford and come home on this little long distance / no stop cruise .. I'll report back and maybe a picture or two.
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