BC Ferries Memories

[Deleted]

First off let me say hello! I never knew your forum existed until now. I'm an old traveler of the ferries & I thought I might share some of my memories with you.
I'm not sure where I should post this so please forgive me if it's misplaced.

My first recollection is from a trip on the original Queen of Surrey(Queen of the North) in 1974 when my Mother took me on the ferry to the Island. 
I remember standing on the Car Deck as we were coming in to dock, I was TERRIFIED because the engines were so loud. I was screaming, sobbing, I didn't know WHAT was happening, my poor mother didn't know what to do. And then this kind man, I don't know who he was, but he calmed me down & made everything better & we finally docked.

Then, we picked up this Rental 1970 Pinto @ The Car Rental Place downtown And Mom began to drive us out of town, it was getting late like around 10 & I wanted to go to sleep, but Mom kept pleading with me to stay awake & help her look for a sign that said: VILLAGE GREEN. I remember mistaking the sign at the Cassidy Inn for the Village Green sign. I also remember driving past the Safeway in Duncan & hearing Spinning Wheel on the radio as we were driving...Finally, I spotted the blessed VILLAGE GREEN INN sign & we had arrived at our destination. I think I went to sleep shortly after.

The next day, I remember there was an A & W Drive-In right beside the Village Green Inn & it had these Pizza Hut-like roofs. Mother used to call them "Hats," She said the A&W was wearing its funny hats. Mom's kids from her previous marriage met us & we all went for a swim in the Pool. Mom bought me a Crunchie Candy Bar & by noon, we were all headed over to Aunt Agnes's house in Ladysmith. Aunty Agnes lived with Uncle Roy & they had a small independent farm with a Chicken they named Chickabiddy. Chickabiddy was this old, disheveled-looking white Hen that had seen better days, but I instantly loved him. I seem to remember us all having Dinner together, then playing Twister together. We spent the night in the Guest Bedroom which was an Add-on to the house that had to central Heating, so you had this Electric Powered Heating panel which kept you warm (if you were lucky!)

I can't remember too much detail after that. However, I remember it was already dark out when we caught the Queen of Surrey back to Horseshoe Bay & I remember the Queen of Surrey had a Playroom that was on the Promenade Deck at the aft end behind the Cafeteria. I remember climbing the stairs to what I thought was The Forbidden Zone as the Solarium up there was deserted & I got's a scared as I figured I wasn't supposed to be there. I also remember a beautiful Christmas Tree at the front of The Forward Lounge. I guess it was around Christmas time then, which would make sense, as my Mother's Birthday was December 15.

I always remembered that trip & would have a chance to travel on the ship again, when we went on The Queen of The North in 1981, but that's another story!

[Deleted]

This one harkens back to my first trip I remember taking on BC Ferries.

The year is 1972. This Three and a half-year-old boy is on his first adventure. Summer Vacation with the parents. Because I can barely recall the year, let alone the actual events, this entry will be more focused on my Mindset at the time. We were on the Queen of New Westminster. I was in Paradise! FREE! Finally, from the confines of my house, I had a whole ship to roam around and explore. Yes. In those days parents actually COULD let their kids loose to run around without fear of Abduction. But this little boy with energy only matched (at the time) by Neutrons colliding with Ions was let loose to terrorize the ship. Eventually, I settled down with my parents who had taken seats in the Forward Lounge.

Then it happened. I heard it.

You know that moment in your life where something of such significance occurs that you know your life will never be the same? This was that moment for me. I discovered Music. As it turns out, in the Summer of ’72 the Ferries hired Musicians to perform on some of the ships. We were one of the ones blessed because I heard a version, and there have been many over the years of the Spanish Classic: Guantanamera. I don’t know whom the act was. I can’t even remember anything about them to be honest. I just remember hearing them sing the song in a key which held me Spellbound. This was the moment where Music became an inseparable part of my life. I really don’t remember much after that. Apparently, we spent that Vacation in Qualicum Beach on Vancouver Island but honestly? I can’t remember a thing about our being there. But that SONG!

As it turned out, my Dad had a version of Guantanamera in his Record Collection by an artist called John Gary.
Poor Dad. He had NO IDEA what a monster he had unleashed when he not only played it for me when we got back home but told me I could play it whenever I wanted. For the next six, maybe even NINE months I must have bored him to TEARS. I would play it over and over and over again. I was HOOKED. Every DAY I needed my Guantanamera fix. Four, Five, SIX times in a row. Maybe the song itself is nothing special, but the FEELING it gave me sure was! Every time I listened I closed my eyes & I was back on the Queen of New Westminster reliving that moment over and over again.

Eventually, I began to clue in as to how bored my Dad was with hearing the same song over and over again, so I would play the NEXT song: Granada, to try to add some variety to my one song jam. God Bless my Father. Despite the toll it took on his ears, he indulged me and I really believe it was he saw how much it meant. How much music meant to me.

[Low Light Mike]

Old Salt, I am enjoying these recollections.

I'm from the same era as you, so I can relate.

Thanks for sharing the memories.

[Deleted]

Hello Low Light Mike!
How delightful to find another old timer like myself on here!
Thank you for your feedback. I'm just so happy to find a place where I can share some of my most cherished memories with people who were there.
I have plenty more to share & look forward to getting to know you better!

[Deleted]

I believe the year is 1973. This kid is in Victoria on another Ferry trip with the folks. I can remember entering for the first time the marvelous Lobby of the Empress Hotel. Typical me. Despite the Grandeur & Splendor of the main Foyer, it was a BC Ferries picture that caught my Interest. This little sticker was placed on a Brochure Rack at the Bus Desk in the Main Lobby and it always drew my interest. It was a rendering of the Queen of Sidney with a bright orange background. The rest of the Empress was almost too much to take in for such young eyes. Far too classy & big,

As I recall, it was your typical BC Summer Day. Overcast & cloudy. We had proceeded out to Swartz Bay to catch the return Ferry to Vancouver. We had arrived between sailings so there would be a bit of a wait. My Dad decided to get out of our 1970 Toyota Corolla, whom Mother had named: “Tojo” and went to the Cafeteria to get a Coffee. It was here I would soon learn my first lesson in Earth Sciences. When he returned, Dad placed the cup of Coffee atop the Dashboard directly beneath the Windshield. This little boy saw what appeared to be smoke forming on the Windshield & shouted: “Dad! the Windshield is burning!” Befuddled by his parent's momentary laugh at their son’s reaction, Dad then went on to calmly explain the Science of Condensation to his Son, and all was well with the world once again.

Finally, the ferry arrived & soon the family drove aboard what would turn out to be the Queen of Vancouver. At the time, the Queen of Vancouver was one of seven ships. The “Seven Sisters” as they were called, that formed the backbone of the BC Ferries Fleet. These were beautiful ships. All streamlines & Elegant. All Seven ships had just completed a major refit of having an 84-foot Mid-section, which had been pre-built inserted into the ships by actually cutting the entire ship in half while in Drydock. At the time, this was groundbreaking Marine Engineering. A World first. Cutting in half & ACTUALLY lengthening a ship. And BC Shipyards did it first!

But once again, as soon as the car was parked, I was free to roam around and explore the ship. After convincing my Parents to fund me for a Postcard & a Chocolate bar I was set. Another act was performing aboard ship & this time I have a clearer memory of them. It seemed to be a Father-Daughter Duo singing to the audience in the Forward Lounge. I remember them singing: The Ship Titanic. Although in retrospect, I wonder if they might have chosen a subject perhaps less controversial. If not, for the potentially nervous. Especially with that Chorus: “Oh it was sad. SO sad. It was sad. SO sad. It was sad when the great ship went down to the bottom of the ground. Husbands and Wives, little children lost their lives it was sad when the great ship went down, down, down.” Really, they could have chosen a more sensitive tune. But, as did Guantanamera before, this song stuck with me and anytime I hear it, which is rare now. I’m instantly transported back to that time.

[Starsteward]

Jan 23, 2019 16:42:47 GMT -8 Low Light Mike said:

Old Salt, I am enjoying these recollections.

I'm from the same era as you, so I can relate.

Thanks for sharing the memories.

    Could someone please add a couple of decades and maybe just one 'era' to the 'Old Salts' classification?
    Welcome aboard 'Old Salt, glad you've found this terrific group.
    I'll let you two young'uns get back to chattin'.
    Keep up the great work and postings 'LLM'.
    

[Deleted]

Good morning Star Steward!
Thanks for the warm welcome! I'm assuming you are/were a Steward with BCF? I'm curious; Do you go back to the era of the Pastel Blue jackets with the black lining? I loved those old uniforms. Kinda like the retro Hockey Night in Canada 80's Blazers. How I miss those days.

One of the reasons I don’t post every day is; it’s hard to first track down a memory as far off as the early 1970s; Then to accurately re-tell the story, I need to be able to recall it enough with enough detail so that I can ACTUALLY re-live the moment as I’m telling it to you. It’s not enough for me just to list off a bunch of dates back in history & what they mean to me. I want you, the Reader to be THERE with me. I want you to be able to ACTUALLY see the buildings I’m talking about. To SMELL the burgers cooking on the Grill. Quite a challenge for an, at best Novice Writer. So I hope you’ll forgive me if my postings are sometimes inconsistent.

The first thing that comes to mind when I think of 1975 is the year I joined The Beavers, which would lead to Two significant moments in my life. Firstly, my first time away from home for more than a day. Camp Paddle-tail it was called. I can’t even remember where the hell it was, I just remember the feeling. It was a week-long Summer camp for the kids & for some reason, my parents seemed to think I was old enough to be away from home for an entire week. You want Homesick? I cried & cried the whole time I was there. I couldn’t BELIEVE my parents had left me with these, admittedly kind strangers. But they were NOT my Mommy & Daddy! Nothing made any sense here. I didn’t understand who I was, what was expected of me. I was COMPLETELY lost. I think there may have been some Trust Issues that developed with me after this experience.

The second experience I had with the Beavers was a far more pleasant one. BC Ferries was building a new ship to join the fleet at Burrard Drydock (as it was known then) in North Vancouver. Our Chapter was given an Invitation to attend the Launching in December of the Queen of Coquitlam:
It was my first Launching & this little boy was excited! The Dignitaries spoke their official-sounding rabble & next thing I know: *THWACK!* the Champagne bottle would hit the hull & she slid ever so gracefully into the water. Wow. I can’t wait to get to travel on her, I thought.

I also remember 1975 being the year my All-time favorite Sci-fi series, SPACE:1999 started. I was SO impressed with the design of those Eagle Spaceships! And the MUSIC! It had me captivated from the start.
I also remember getting my first “Video Game” as it were. Mattel’s revolutionary “Merlin” for Christmas that year.
Strange how much it looked like a Cellphone, even all the way back in 1975. It sure didn’t act like one. This simple Diode-based game was all about recognizing & following both light & musical patterns. That’s it. You gotta remember; this was the same year that PONG had been invented so not a lot of action going on to be sure. But, the marketing was effective, the packaging sure looked attractive as it became THE Must-have toy of the year.

[Deleted]

So now we turn to 1976. THIS Ferry trip I can remember with far greater detail thanks to a song, which I’ll disclose later on. That’s one thing for sure. Smells & songs seem to be the greatest memory triggers for me. I can’t tell you the number of songs I hear from yesteryear and instantly, I’m transported back in time. It’s like an audio Time machine for me. And if you hit me with a song I like & I’m doing something I enjoy, you’ve got a Lifetime memory for me.



So I’ll start with what I remember. I know it was around Fall of that year. I had just gotten home from School & Mom & I were once again off to visit Aunt Agnes. This time, however, we would be taking the city bus to Park Royal, West Vancouver where we would wait and eventually transfer to the Pacific Coach Lines bus that would end up taking us out to Horseshoe Bay and on to the Ferry.
This time it was the Queen of Coquitlam. My first ride on the ferry I had watched the launch of just last year.

And 70’s? You couldn’t GET any more 70’s than the interior:




Yes. Believe it or not, in the 70’s this was thought to be acceptable. I thought I was on some sort of Spaceship. But there was no denying, she was a true, blue BC Ferry and I quickly adopted her as one of my own. The Newsstand was almost literally a Stand. Enclosed in a room not much bigger than a Telephone booth, they somehow managed to stock it with all kinds of Newspapers, Magazines & of course, Postcards. Another interesting thing about the design was the Cafeteria was more in the center portion of the ship, which I guess made sense as the ship was a Double-ender. There was no rear to speak of. Only a No.1 and and No.2 end.



Once again, we arrived safely at Nanaimo. This time, we took a cab downtown to rent a car & after Mom & the Salesman hammered out the details, we were off down the Highway in a Sporty Blue Ford Pinto. I guess Mom had spent whatever funds she had maybe allocated for accommodations on renting the car because instead of staying at any kind of Motel, we stayed instead at Aunt Agnes’s. When we arrived, instantly I could tell there was some tension, if not some distance between Aunty Agnes & myself. She still carried bad feelings toward me for ruining her model boat. She wasn’t hostile or anything though. Just distant. I really came to regret having hurt her so with my STOOPID childish antics. I mean, if I had known my obsession with a little toy boat would come to potentially cost me the relationship with my own Aunt, I would never have even LOOKED at the damn thing. But, the damage had been done & I had to adjust to the reality I had set for myself. I think I was so disturbed about how I had affected my relationship with her that I seem to have erased, or at least blocked out any details of that visit there. I remember spending the night with Mother in the Guest Room, but that’s pretty much it.

Of course, we would also visit Aunty Dorothy while in town as well & I got to see Cousin Cheryl. Cheryl too was already growing away from me, if she ever was close to begin with. She was now into boys, while I was still into toys. There really was no connection with her. But it was at their house I heard the most beautiful song; With Your Love, by Jefferson Starship. I guess someone had the radio on in the background, but my ears picked up on this magical progression, the interplay of the electric piano with Marty Ballin’s soaring vocals. This song had me hooked! Like I say, our visit to Aunty Dorothy’s didn’t yield very much else, but hearing this song would be an audio bookmark on my life.



It was about 3pm when we set off back to Nanaimo to return our rented car. Just outside Cassidy Mom would discover to her horror that the car had not been gassed up. Fortunately, yours truly was too young & too little to be of any great help, so I sat idly in the car while Mom went hiking off to the nearest Gas Station. She returned a short while later, refueled the car and we were off once again. After she returned the car to the Dealership & gave them an earful, I’m sure; we were on our way back out to Departure Bay to catch the ferry home. This time it would be the Queen of Burnaby.



One of the Seven Sisters & the namesake of her class, this ship was in the prime of her life back then. Certainly the Workhorse of her day, she had everything I had come to love about BC Ferries.





The thing I remember in particular about this crossing was the final leg of it. All the foot passengers had just been paged to proceed down to the Car Deck (They didn’t have the Overhead Walkways @ Horseshoe bay back then) We were still a good 10 minutes out & they had already opened the big bow doors, & I was standing at the front watching the sea rush beneath the front lip of the ship as we glided across the eerily stagnant sea with all the lights of the houses, sporadically placed throughout the bay in the night. It was like the calm sea was almost made of glass as we sped towards Horseshoe Bay. I had; With Your Love still reverberating in my head with this scene & this yet another personal moment for me. It was really of such indescribable beauty, it almost makes me weep. It’s deep-rooted memories like this why I will be forever so tied to our ferries.

[WettCoast]

Jan 29, 2019 8:43:12 GMT -8 @oldsalt said:

... we were on our way back out to Departure Bay to catch the ferry home. This time it would be the Queen of Burnaby.

One of the Seven Sisters & the namesake of her class, this ship was in the prime of her life back then. Certainly the Workhorse of her day, she had everything I had come to love about BC Ferries.

I am very much enjoying your recollections "oldsalt" & I want you to continue to do so.

There is one bit of etiquette, however, that we appreciate on this forum.  When you use photos that are not your own you need to try and give credit to the photographer.  If you don't know the source than say something like this: "The photos are not mine & I do not know who to give credit to." 
It just may be that the photos were taken by a member of this forum.  Such is the case with your Queen of Burnaby photo, which is mine.  Here is a fresh scan from the original Ektachrome slide ...

Stretched ferry Queen of Burnaby @ Departure Bay Terminal, Nanaimo - 17 January 1978
© WCK-JST - Ektachrome 78-02-06 by Jim Thorne, on Flickr

Please continue sharing your stories with us.  Thank you.

[Mike]

Jan 29, 2019 15:38:34 GMT -8 WettCoast said:

There is one bit of etiquette, however, that we appreciate on this forum.  When you use photos that are not your own you need to try and give credit to the photographer.  If you don't know the source than say something like this: "The photos are not mine & I do not know who to give credit to." 
It just may be that the photos were taken by a member of this forum.

The two C-class interior shots were taken by member "ferryfanyvr".

[Deleted]

Apologies to all. I might have known you were responsible for those wonderful pics! I just searched them out on the Internet & downloaded them whenever possible. And you're right. Those responsible absolutely should get credit. I'm afraid I don't know who everybody is here yet, but I would like to give credit & thanks for your wonderful pics. Please do let me know if I have used your pics so I may give credit where credit is due!

[Low Light Mike]

Jan 17, 2019 18:44:40 GMT -8 @oldsalt said:

First off let me say hello! I never knew your forum existed until now. I'm an old traveler of the ferries & I thought I might share some of my memories with you.

Good to have you back, Biff. It's good to know that your memories of Guantanamera haven't changed since your legendary time on this forum in 2007 and earlier also.

Jan 22, 2019 11:12:06 GMT -8 @oldsalt said:

This one harkens back to my first trip I remember taking on BC Ferries.

The year is 1972. This Three and a half-year-old boy is on his first adventure. Summer Vacation with the parents. Because I can barely recall the year, let alone the actual events, this entry will be more focused on my Mindset at the time. We were on the Queen of New Westminster. I was in Paradise! FREE! Finally, from the confines of my house, I had a whole ship to roam around and explore. Yes. In those days parents actually COULD let their kids loose to run around without fear of Abduction. But this little boy with energy only matched (at the time) by Neutrons colliding with Ions was let loose to terrorize the ship. Eventually, I settled down with my parents who had taken seats in the Forward Lounge.

Then it happened. I heard it.

You know that moment in your life where something of such significance occurs that you know your life will never be the same? This was that moment for me. I discovered Music. As it turns out, in the Summer of ’72 the Ferries hired Musicians to perform on some of the ships. We were one of the ones blessed because I heard a version, and there have been many over the years of the Spanish Classic: Guantanamera. I don’t know whom the act was. I can’t even remember anything about them to be honest. I just remember hearing them sing the song in a key which held me Spellbound. This was the moment where Music became an inseparable part of my life. I really don’t remember much after that. Apparently, we spent that Vacation in Qualicum Beach on Vancouver Island but honestly? I can’t remember a thing about our being there. But that SONG!

As it turned out, my Dad had a version of Guantanamera in his Record Collection by an artist called John Gary.
Poor Dad. He had NO IDEA what a monster he had unleashed when he not only played it for me when we got back home but told me I could play it whenever I wanted. For the next six, maybe even NINE months I must have bored him to TEARS. I would play it over and over and over again. I was HOOKED. Every DAY I needed my Guantanamera fix. Four, Five, SIX times in a row. Maybe the song itself is nothing special, but the FEELING it gave me sure was! Every time I listened I closed my eyes & I was back on the Queen of New Westminster reliving that moment over and over again.

Eventually, I began to clue in as to how bored my Dad was with hearing the same song over and over again, so I would play the NEXT song: Granada, to try to add some variety to my one song jam. God Bless my Father. Despite the toll it took on his ears, he indulged me and I really believe it was he saw how much it meant. How much music meant to me.

May 20, 2007 15:30:34 GMT -8 Biff Fisticuffs said:

Flame away!

My happiest Childhood memory was our trip to Qualicum Beach in 1973. It wasn't the destination that holds such cherished memories for me, but the journey itself. For it was here that two elements would combine & each become a significant part of my life. Music & B.C. Ferries. Mom, Dad & I, were sitting in the forward lounge of the ferry: Queen of New Westminster, & a singer was up front, singing songs, till he struck a chord with me (figuratively, & yet LITERALLY too) Nothing of what he had been playing had grabbed my attention up to that point. But then he sang: Guantanamara. Well something about those notes coming from his acoustic guitar. Impacted my life. This was the moment I had discovered music & how absolutely magical it could be. I would never be this happy again. This was my Zen moment. I remember for months after, I would drive my folks crazy by playing their John Gary record that had his version of Guantanamara on it. It was such a beautiful version too, & I remember being under the impression that it was actually John Gary that sang to us on the Queen of New Westminster & so I was actually listening to the version performed there. All I'm sure of is I drove my Dad crazy listening to that song, & as soon as it ended each time, back the needle would go to the beginning each time. I would sit there in front of the Record Player for hours, listening to that same song over & over again. I remember asking my dad if he liked that song too. (After he had involuntarily listened to it about 100 times in a row) he answered diplomatically by telling me he liked the song after it better. Well I wanted Dad to enjoy himself too, so I began playing BOTH songs. After all, I wanted Dad to enjoy the music too. Poor Dad. If his plan was to get me to stop playing that song, I guess it backfired. Actually, I really have to hand it to my parents. Neither one of them, ever once told me to "Stop playing that damn song." Neither did Mom. I think they both saw how much music meant to me & they were very accommodating on the issue.
Another ferry trip that stands out for me, is the Christmas trip on the Queen of Surrey. I remember Mother picking me up from the babysitter one afternoon, & walking down the block to the Dairy Queen to get some goodies for the long trip. Mother had a blue 2-door Pinto & it was parked across the street. I remember getting into it & hearing: Uncle Albert/Admiral Halsey, by Wings on the radio & I particularly remember the trumpet part standing out. Especially when Mother put her OWN words to the passage singing: "Hurry up ferry, hurry up ferry, hurry up ferry, hurry up.." as we raced down the Upper Levels Hwy to the Ferry Terminal at Horshoe Bay. I have a vague recollection of being struck by the sight of the Queen of Surrey in berth with its Bow up. Mother explained to me that its nose was broken. Mother always had a unique sense of humor, & a particular penchant for assigning Human qualities to inanimate objects. But it was quite a sight to behold. The thing that stands out for me most from that sailing was the glorious Christmas tree, front & center of the Forward Lounge. It looked beautiful, almost magical. Especially to a little 5-year-old boy, whose eyes were already filled with wonder at the very world around him. I must have dozed off during the crossing, because I don't remember anything else except being absolutely terror-stricken as were standing in the Aft Car Deck, as we were coming into dock at Departure Bay, & the ship rattling all over the place, as the big engines came to bare, as we maneuvered in to dock. The big aft doors were open & it was Night out, so all I could see out was what little of the world swung past the opening. I remember bawling, screaming as It seemed the world was coming to an end. Poor Mother. She couldn't handle me & required the assistance of a stranger to calm me. I can't remember what he did, or said exactly, I just get the vaguest impression of him just talking kindly to me & at one point, both him & Mother holding my hand. Whatever it was, it worked & I eventually calmed down. Since it was nighttime now, we got a room at the Highlander Motel, & once again, I was in my glory as I took over our floor & discovered such wonders as the Ice Cube Machine. I would find great satisfaction in being able to get ice, & for FREE yet! Mother would have to repeatedly tell me to not play with the thing. The next morning, Mother took me to Denny's for breakfast, conveniently located just behind the Motel, & while I quite I enjoyed the novelty of eating out, my Head (& heart) were still on the Queen of Surrey. I mean I was fascinated by that ship. Particularly, the opening & closing nose aspect. After Breakfast, we were on the road, down the Island Hwy to Ladysmith & Aunty Agnes's. I have to confess right here that I don't think I ever truly developed the kind of relationship with her that perhaps other children get to develop with their Aunties, & I mourn that missed opportunity. I know that my antics on this particular trip didn't help towards fostering such a relationship. You see, all I could think of when we were there was the Queen of Surrey. I wanted so bad to have a toy version of that ferry. And since there were no such items available, I looked for the closest thing. Aunty Agnes had on her Mantelpiece, a beautiful wooden model of the Santa Maria. I wasn't conscious of it's historical significance. I only was aware that there were 3 such ships (yes I did know all 3 ships names) this would fit the bill nicely as my toy ferry for now. So I began playing with it. I knew Aunt Agnes was uncomfortable with me playing with it, but I was going to play with it, until somebody told me to stop. I guess I was already into testing limits, & seeing how much I could get away with. And besides, Dad wasn't around to enforce any kind of discipline.
I guess I never truly respected my mother’s authority. It was always Dad who's discipline I feared. It's not to say my sole purpose & intent when I was away with Mother, was to wreck havoc. I just didn't feel as much pressure to behave. I remember returning to school after that trip, I think I was in Grade 2. I was a lost cause for months after, as all I could do was render bad, even by Children standards-drawings of the Queen of Surrey. And when I wasn’t obsessing over that, it was Engine 51 from the TV show EMERGENCY! I just loved the design of that 1973 Ward La France. Not to mention, the bright red Fire Engines.
Yes, it’s safe to say that BC Ferries & EMERGENCY! Were the only things that mattered to me at the time. The teachers would bang their heads against the wall trying to drill the required curriculum into me, but to no avail. I didn't understand the full purpose of school then. All I knew it was a regimen my parents required me to go through 5 days a week, & I never questioned it. To this day, in fact I still don't understand the purpose of school. Other than, perhaps to learn how to socialize with other children. An important lesson, I suppose as we end up working alongside 5 year olds in business suits. But as for MY childhood, there's no question that my happiest memories are associated with B.C. Ferries. Like the time the new Queen of Coquitlam entered service. There had been all kinds of hype during her construction with her & her Sister ship being the largest double ended ferries in the world. Our Beaver Scouts even went to the Shipyard to attend her official launch. I remember Dad promising we'd get to take a trip on her, & even looking forward to it SO MUCH. But when the day came, a Saturday I think it was. We didn't end up going, as promised. I don't exactly remember just what the reason was that we couldn't go. All I remember is that it devastated me. Something I had been looking so forward to for so long, suddenly pulled out from under me. I seem to recall this now, as in fact- my first real disappointment in life. Unfortunately, I also remember throwing quite the tantrum. I screamed, I cried. I threw everything in the arsenal at my folks, but when it became clear that they weren't going to cave, & I eventually tired out. I may have lost that round, but I would get a ferry trip out of Mother again later that year. The memory that stands out on THIS trip is the return trip home on the Queen of Burnaby. The image I recall most vividly is standing at the bow opening on the Car Deck. We had started unusually early to go down to the Car Deck to prepare to disembark. There was still about 20 minutes to go until we docked, but in true Sheep fashion, once we received the commandment from the great Loudspeaker, we all obeyed without question. So as we all clamored down the stairs, we were greeted by the sight of the big bow doors already open. As I said, we were still 20 minutes out, so we were traveling at a pretty good clip, but I remember standing there, it was night out, but you could still see all the lights in the channel as we sped towards Horshoe Bay. And we really were speeding, as the sea disappeared so quickly beneath the bow of the ship. I had never witnessed such beauty. And although I was in no particular hurry to get home, there was a strange comfort, almost reassuring feeling in watching the sea rush past. I also clearly recall hearing the song: With Your Love, by Jefferson Starship at some point & I just loved it, so then once more, I had a wonderful experience, which would become forever tied to a song that I liked. It was the dawn of my musical awakening. For the rest of my life, music would provide the soundtrack to some of the most memorable experiences in my life.
The next memory for me, in the Ferry Files would be the Summer of 1981. A new ship had just been built, actually (2) but the one I was particularly interested in was the 2nd version of the Queen of Surrey. You see, the ORIGINAL Queen of Surrey, the one I had obsessed over - had been re-named: Queen of The North, along with undergoing an extensive renovation & had been placed in service in the Inside Passage of British Columbia in 1980. I remember seeing her at various times at Deas Dock during her refurbishment, & especially catching a glimpse of her new name, as Dad & I, looking through his binoculars over at "The Forbidden Zone" from our safe location outside the barrier. As soon as I saw her new name, I was immediately disappointed That they had changed her name to begin with. And second, it was such a stupid name! "Queen of The North"? It sounded like a cop-out name. Like somebody had been given charge of renaming her, & they couldn't be bothered to select a town to name her after - so they just gave her a general geographical name. In any case - it sucked. It wasn't till years later that I would find out that she was never meant to remain on the Horshoe Bay Nanaimo route. That she had been purchased by the Government & hastily put in service on that run, only because their had been such a dramatic increase in traffic on that route that they needed an extra ship immediately. Despite the fact they were already building (3) other ships, that wouldn't be completed for a couple of years. But, in the meantime, they needed a ship immediatately to help out till the new ships were built. So, in a way I had been very fortunate to travel on her during this time, as it was actually a brief window of opportunity.
But this NEW Queen of Surrey was a big double ender like the two ships that had been built in 1976, whose purpose THEN, was to replace (ironically) the ORIGINAL Queen of Surrey. (Now called Queen of The North) You follow me? Anyway, like the launching of the Queen of Coquitlam, I was able to witness the launch of this ship too, & remember being so curious as to what her interior looked like as I gazed up at the blue Tarp covered windows. As it turned out, I wouldn't have long to wait. It was early morning, September '81. We were parked in the line up at Horshoe Bay, waiting for the 10 A.M. ferry & our first glimpse of the new Queen of Surrey in service & now fully painted. Sure enough, shortly after we arrived, we heard the trademark three tone horn, echoing from behind the Bluffs in the sound, & as we all turned our heads in unison towards the sound. A ship freshly painted in Pastel Blue &

To be continued...

[Low Light Mike]

Jan 30, 2019 8:14:43 GMT -8 @oldsalt said:

Apologies to all. I might have known you were responsible for those wonderful pics! I just searched them out on the Internet & downloaded them whenever possible. And you're right. Those responsible absolutely should get credit. I'm afraid I don't know who everybody is here yet, but I would like to give credit & thanks for your wonderful pics. Please do let me know if I have used your pics so I may give credit where credit is due!

I thought you learned about photo credit back in 2007 & 2008 on this forum, when you used to poach members' photos to your Photobucket site, and then displayed them as your own.

[Low Light Mike]

Jan 30, 2019 8:14:43 GMT -8 @oldsalt said:

Apologies to all. I might have known you were responsible for those wonderful pics! I just searched them out on the Internet & downloaded them whenever possible. And you're right. Those responsible absolutely should get credit. I'm afraid I don't know who everybody is here yet, but I would like to give credit & thanks for your wonderful pics. Please do let me know if I have used your pics so I may give credit where credit is due!

...and lets not forget the 2011-2012 era on "Van4um" where your TehBorken account also featured many photos from members of West Coast Ferries Forum, all without permission or credit.


I present this January 2019 quote again, just for laughs

Jan 17, 2019 18:44:40 GMT -8 @oldsalt said:

First off let me say hello! I never knew your forum existed until now.

[Low Light Mike]

[Self-Delete of membership done by member "OldSalt" upon being found-out regarding his history of photo-theft dating back to the very early years of this here forum]

[Neil]

Jan 30, 2019 11:04:58 GMT -8 Low Light Mike said:

[Self-Delete of membership done by member "OldSalt" upon being found-out regarding his history of photo-theft dating back to the very early years of this here forum]

I'm baffled, Mike. What clued you in and jogged your memory about this fellow's posting history? You had originally welcomed his writings.

He was Biff Fisticuffs?

Does this mean we can hope for the return of dear old Cascade, too? He never stole anyone's photos.

[Low Light Mike]

Jan 30, 2019 11:32:26 GMT -8 Neil said:

Jan 30, 2019 11:04:58 GMT -8 Low Light Mike said:

[Self-Delete of membership done by member "OldSalt" upon being found-out regarding his history of photo-theft dating back to the very early years of this here forum]

I'm baffled, Mike. What clued you in and jogged your memory about this fellow's posting history? You had originally welcomed his writings.

He was Biff Fisticuffs?

Does this mean we can hope for the return of dear old Cascade, too? He never stole anyone's photos.

I was curious to see where he was going to go with his familiar sounding postings, and I wasn't sure it was him until I did my "Forum Search" research today.
The 2007 post that I quoted is so similar to his posts from this month, with same family trip memories.

I did originally enjoy his writings from earlier this month. What ruined it for me was his use of other peoples' photos a few days ago, and the realization today that he was notorious for doing that same thing back in the early days of the forum. So his "sorry, I didn't know" rang hollow, as did his "I never knew this forum existed until today" comment. Honesty is a good thing. Dishonesty, not so much.

...and it helps to have a quirky memory for odd detail.

I'd have been happy to see him stay as a member, if he was honest with us and if he also stopped his bad habit of using other peoples' photos without permission. He had a lot of interesting stories to tell about an era of ferry travel that many of us love. It was the same era that I grew up with.

[WettCoast]

That is quite the bit of sleuthing work, LLM.  I am impressed.  I would never have thought that my cautioning "oldsalt" on use of other people's photos without any effort to credit them would lead to this today.  And I was enjoying his stories, too ...

[Starsteward]

Jan 30, 2019 16:09:03 GMT -8 WettCoast said:

That is quite the bit of sleuthing work, LLM.  I am impressed.  I would never have thought that my cautioning "oldsalt" on use of other people's photos without any effort to credit them would lead to this today.  And I was enjoying his stories, too ...

   In retrospect, I'm somewhat relieved that I was dragging my tush on replying to a couple of questions posed by 'oldsalt'.
   Maybe there's a spot in Robert Mueller's office for a sleuth of 'LLM's voracity.

[straddieferrycaptain]

Jan 30, 2019 11:04:58 GMT -8 Low Light Mike said:

[Self-Delete of membership done by member "OldSalt" upon being found-out regarding his history of photo-theft dating back to the very early years of this here forum]

That is some good detective work! I must say it is a shame people still have to do this kind of thing, at least it's one less person now. Good work.

[princessofvanfan]

Jan 29, 2019 8:43:12 GMT -8 @oldsalt said:

So now we turn to 1976. THIS Ferry trip I can remember with far greater detail thanks to a song, which I’ll disclose later on. That’s one thing for sure. Smells & songs seem to be the greatest memory triggers for me. I can’t tell you the number of songs I hear from yesteryear and instantly, I’m transported back in time. It’s like an audio Time machine for me. And if you hit me with a song I like & I’m doing something I enjoy, you’ve got a Lifetime memory for me.



So I’ll start with what I remember. I know it was around Fall of that year. I had just gotten home from School & Mom & I were once again off to visit Aunt Agnes. This time, however, we would be taking the city bus to Park Royal, West Vancouver where we would wait and eventually transfer to the Pacific Coach Lines bus that would end up taking us out to Horseshoe Bay and on to the Ferry.
This time it was the Queen of Coquitlam. My first ride on the ferry I had watched the launch of just last year.

And 70’s? You couldn’t GET any more 70’s than the interior:




Yes. Believe it or not, in the 70’s this was thought to be acceptable. I thought I was on some sort of Spaceship. But there was no denying, she was a true, blue BC Ferry and I quickly adopted her as one of my own. The Newsstand was almost literally a Stand. Enclosed in a room not much bigger than a Telephone booth, they somehow managed to stock it with all kinds of Newspapers, Magazines & of course, Postcards. Another interesting thing about the design was the Cafeteria was more in the center portion of the ship, which I guess made sense as the ship was a Double-ender. There was no rear to speak of. Only a No.1 and and No.2 end.



Once again, we arrived safely at Nanaimo. This time, we took a cab downtown to rent a car & after Mom & the Salesman hammered out the details, we were off down the Highway in a Sporty Blue Ford Pinto. I guess Mom had spent whatever funds she had maybe allocated for accommodations on renting the car because instead of staying at any kind of Motel, we stayed instead at Aunt Agnes’s. When we arrived, instantly I could tell there was some tension, if not some distance between Aunty Agnes & myself. She still carried bad feelings toward me for ruining her model boat. She wasn’t hostile or anything though. Just distant. I really came to regret having hurt her so with my STOOPID childish antics. I mean, if I had known my obsession with a little toy boat would come to potentially cost me the relationship with my own Aunt, I would never have even LOOKED at the damn thing. But, the damage had been done & I had to adjust to the reality I had set for myself. I think I was so disturbed about how I had affected my relationship with her that I seem to have erased, or at least blocked out any details of that visit there. I remember spending the night with Mother in the Guest Room, but that’s pretty much it.

Of course, we would also visit Aunty Dorothy while in town as well & I got to see Cousin Cheryl. Cheryl too was already growing away from me, if she ever was close to begin with. She was now into boys, while I was still into toys. There really was no connection with her. But it was at their house I heard the most beautiful song; With Your Love, by Jefferson Starship. I guess someone had the radio on in the background, but my ears picked up on this magical progression, the interplay of the electric piano with Marty Ballin’s soaring vocals. This song had me hooked! Like I say, our visit to Aunty Dorothy’s didn’t yield very much else, but hearing this song would be an audio bookmark on my life.



It was about 3pm when we set off back to Nanaimo to return our rented car. Just outside Cassidy Mom would discover to her horror that the car had not been gassed up. Fortunately, yours truly was too young & too little to be of any great help, so I sat idly in the car while Mom went hiking off to the nearest Gas Station. She returned a short while later, refueled the car and we were off once again. After she returned the car to the Dealership & gave them an earful, I’m sure; we were on our way back out to Departure Bay to catch the ferry home. This time it would be the Queen of Burnaby.



One of the Seven Sisters & the namesake of her class, this ship was in the prime of her life back then. Certainly the Workhorse of her day, she had everything I had come to love about BC Ferries.





The thing I remember in particular about this crossing was the final leg of it. All the foot passengers had just been paged to proceed down to the Car Deck (They didn’t have the Overhead Walkways @ Horseshoe bay back then) We were still a good 10 minutes out & they had already opened the big bow doors, & I was standing at the front watching the sea rush beneath the front lip of the ship as we glided across the eerily stagnant sea with all the lights of the houses, sporadically placed throughout the bay in the night. It was like the calm sea was almost made of glass as we sped towards Horseshoe Bay. I had; With Your Love still reverberating in my head with this scene & this yet another personal moment for me. It was really of such indescribable beauty, it almost makes me weep. It’s deep-rooted memories like this why I will be forever so tied to our ferries.

Great pics of the original C-class interior! I believe that interior was shortlived (gone by 1980-81, as I recall), due to the fact that it was designed for the proposed Gabriola-Iona Island route, which would have been about half the crossing time, requiring smaller, more efficient seating, like the Fastcats. As I recall, the Surrey and Oak Bay did not have these interiors when they went into service in 1981, but a more traditional layout.

[Low Light Mike]

Jan 31, 2019 18:54:22 GMT -8 princessofvanfan said:

Great pics of the original C-class interior!

Yes, great pics from member "ferryfanyvr"

[princessofvanfan]

Feb 1, 2019 7:13:55 GMT -8 Low Light Mike said:

Jan 31, 2019 18:54:22 GMT -8 princessofvanfan said:

Great pics of the original C-class interior!

Yes, great pics from member "ferryfanyvr"

10-4.

[Deleted]

Well, There is something I remember and it is probably not mentioned on the forum, well at least hardly ever.

When I did my few trips over to the Gulf Islands I Can remember at Village Bay terminal especially it is so quiet while waiting for your next sailing that you could hear the sound of the old V-class ships passing in the distance about to enter or just exiting Active Pass. Yes it is nice to hear the Horn echoing but I also like hearing the sound of the engines from afar. A few kms down the road at Miner's Bay is another cool spot to see and hear the ships.

You do not have to be onboard or even see a ferry to enjoy, just hearing the sound of the engine even as you walking down the road is enjoyable.

[princessofvanfan]

I remember live music in the forward lounges of the Burnaby class ships during the summer in the early-mid 70's on route 2. The musicians were usually in the front left corner of the lounge, and it was amplified! Full P.A. system. I think this was another one of NDP Premier Dave Barrett's ideas.