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Post by Mike C on Apr 14, 2024 15:50:50 GMT -8
Last week, during a two week long trip to the UK and Ireland, my partner and I traveled on the overnight crossing from Liverpool to Belfast on the Stena Embla. The trip left Liverpool at 2230 and arrived at 0630 in Belfast, so I didn't do a ton of exploring beyond a quick lap around the ship before hitting the pillow, and a quick stop off at the cafeteria for a late night snack and at the gift shop for some souvenirs. We spent the night in a four-berth cabin that turned out to be reasonably comfortable for the trip, and the two bunks up top made for good storage of our packs. These Stena Line ships look dated from the outside, but the ship is only a few years old. The interior is exceptionally well-appointed with wide corridors, wide centre stairwells, and lots of amenities, all of which were open and serving at the time of boarding. It surprised me how similar in feeling the ship is to our Northern Expedition with a similar layout and familiar cabins, however the Embla having a couple extra decks and am on-board bar. These sailings are definitely geared towards people traveling with vehicles. I think given the cheapness of UK plane tickets, most potential foot passengers travel by air. So amenities at the terminal for walk-ons were limited. There were maybe a couple-dozen of us, and we were subject to a passport check and some minor security screening questions after check-in and before the boarding lounge. At time of boarding, maybe around 2100 or so, we were herded on to a bus that drove us to the lower vehicle deck (Deck 3) and dropped us in front of the midship stairs. Upon arrival, a bus came and picked us up at the same set of stairs in Belfast to drive us to that terminal building. This procedure is identical to the one on Marine Atlantic, and is meant to compensate for the lack of any foot passenger walkway, and keeps pedestrians out of the way of the extensive cargo operations that take place on the main deck. The trip was fairly uneventful and unfortunately since it was dark the entire time, and not enough room in the pack for a camera that is good enough to compensate for the lack of light, I don't have very many photos. But once I put our trips' iPhone photos through Lightroom, I'll re-evaluate and see if there are any worth contributing.
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Post by Mike C on Apr 1, 2024 7:09:43 GMT -8
mods, admins, senior officers... i have a story to share (w/ some good photos), but cannot find a proper place to post it in. couldnt find on the search function, but does there exist a thread for "idiot passengers" ? This is our general thread for all things BCF that do not fit well anywhere else, but would ask you to refrain from posting photos of someone or anything identifiable about a particular person. Just exercise some discretion - thanks.
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Post by Mike C on Mar 4, 2024 14:56:11 GMT -8
The City of Halifax, Province of NS and Feds announced jointly today a plan to expand Halifax’s harbour ferry system to Bedford, using a new fleet of five electric ferries. The scope of the project also includes rebuilding the existing terminal in downtown Halifax, and the new terminal in Mill Cove to serve the Bedford area. This article includes some interesting renderings, including the new downtown terminal and the new ships: halifax.citynews.ca/2024/03/04/downtown-halifax-getting-new-high-speed-net-zero-commuter-ferry-service/amp/I had the opportunity to take the Halifax harbour ferry about a year and a half ago and really enjoyed it. Those who have posted about it here note the views, and outdoor seating access making it a great way to see the city from the water. A SeaBus-like operation, but with a lower-key, more personal feel. Good to see it being expanded (though the new ships don’t have the same outdoor space, looking at the renderings).
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Post by Mike C on Mar 3, 2024 20:12:44 GMT -8
I’ve had this in my photo library on my phone for well over a year. Compared to the renders we saw about a week ago now, I honestly thought this was what we were going to see. Forget where I found it exactly, but I remember snapshotting it to help me build some 3D model on Sketchup. Has anyone else seen this? This concept looks much more like a Coastal Class, but, like the recent renders, has windows below the upper car deck (which may be a sign that the new boats may have gallery decks). Personally I think this is what they should have gone with. It’s a much cleaner design. Thanks for sharing - I do recall seeing this rendering and went looking for it during the early days after we received the finalized design from BCF of the new class, but was unsuccessful. I think there have been a couple versions of this "Coastal Plus" that have made the rounds, but this one is one of the sharper looking ones. It looks like an attempt to address some of the issues on the existing Coastals, such as better placement of the bridge, larger crew spaces among other things. One thing I haven't seen much reference to in communications from BC Ferries is how this advances their goal of fleet standardization, which is something that was really emphasized during the introductions of the Salish and Island Class. Making this newbuild program "Coastal Plus", similar to that rendering, would bring this somewhat into alignment with that goal, but it is looking like we are going to end up with a whole new class. Not to really engage in rampant speculation, but maybe the intent is to use this design down the road for replacments of the Spirits, as well.
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Post by Mike C on Feb 28, 2024 9:22:13 GMT -8
A model of what the original C-class was supposed to look like - circa 1974. Notice any differences ...
Sharp looking livery for the C’s. I like the coat of arms on the side and would have added some nice accents to the light blue / white. Might have looked a little wonky on other ships, though.
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Post by Mike C on Feb 23, 2024 15:21:28 GMT -8
For a few years there, these low-cost carriers really over-saturated the discount travel market. It was never sustainable to have all these carriers (Swoop, Flair, Lynx, Canada Jetlines) all operating alongside each other and the market is now subsequently correcting itself. I don’t expect there will be too much of a market effect here given that Flair mostly operated alongside Lynx on the low-overhead routes to cheaper, outlying airports. It will be interesting to see if Flair goes through with the acquisition of their assets, though this time through bankruptcy auction rather than a merger. Personally I’m more encouraged by Porter’s expansion west and positioning itself as a sustainable third main national carrier. WestJet’s pullback from major eastern destinations means that Air Canada has had the ability to monopolize service to some big markets like Montreal and Halifax, and with Porter now being a serious contender in the west, and sights set on central and Atlantic Canada, that has unlocked some competition finally.
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Post by Mike C on Feb 13, 2024 5:21:57 GMT -8
When I traveled on her this past weekend, Francois Lake was completely frozen over, with the exception of a trail that she had created to travel back and forth. After evaluating the ice thickness, I determined it to be safe to walk out on to the lake a short distance and snap some unique photographs. I'm not aware of another place one could step out on to ice to photograph a ferry from a unique angle. Wait ... you're an expert evaluator of ice thickness, now? Haven’t fallen through yet! Mike, if the Omineca Princess was decommissioned in '09, what has Waterbridge been doing when the ' Forester is out for refit? Going solely by what’s posted on Drive BC, instead of extended refit periods, they just cancel sailings in advance to conduct needed maintenance, usually at the beginning or end of the day. This was (probably still is?) also the case with the Columbia back when I lived in that part of the province, and for that ship it seemed to be a couple times per year, but I’m not sure about the intervals for the FF.
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Post by Mike C on Feb 12, 2024 21:10:44 GMT -8
Ever since I moved to PG nearly a decade ago, every six months or so I punch the Omineca Princess into the 'news' section of Google to see what comes up. Finally, my patience and persistence has paid off. The ferry that has sat dormant on Francois Lake for two decades, spending about 40% of her life mothballed, will officially be scrapped. This was unceremoniously announced back in November, so it is possible that the ship has been moved to Southside already. The actual dismantling process likely won't begin until after the ice on the lake thaws. One more interesting semi-related note is that both the Colleymount (Burns Lake) and Southside terminals are two of the handful of remaining wooden structure berths in BC, and I believe are the last in the Inland Ferry system. The Omineca Princess has been occupying the Colleymount side for some time, and I'm going to speculate that this could be part of a broader plan to rehabilitate or replace these structures. The Francois Forester has been using a landing-craft-type setup to dock on the Colleymount side while the OP has taken up the only proper berth. Story here: www.burnslakelakesdistrictnews.com/news/the-omineca-princess-will-be-dismantled-after-20-years-6843162
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Post by Mike C on Feb 7, 2024 10:45:09 GMT -8
It’s good to see them develop a policy. The fees are surprisingly high though, and in alignment with some air carriers. I believe that if you are to charge for things like this, there should be some way around it through loyalty (like most airlines, again with similar fees), or a higher tier ticket or something else.
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Post by Mike C on Jan 20, 2024 10:18:50 GMT -8
So, how will the second half work? Stay tuned
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Post by Mike C on Jan 10, 2024 14:17:41 GMT -8
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Post by Mike C on Jan 4, 2024 17:16:39 GMT -8
How do you know they haven't? I think you're making some broad assumptions which may or may not be true. If you have some evidence that WSF hasn't updated their safety equipment over the years, then please present it. Don't just make a general comment that WSF hasn't updated their safety systems, or that they don't change and/or upgrade their vessels over the years, as you stated earlier. Look at Cowichan, Spirit Class and Queen of New Westminster they went from one safety system to completely different one? I am not saying they don’t. Safety equipment has a lot to do with the regulatory environment and operating conditions where the ships are. I think you’re making too broad of a comparison where a lot of different external factors are at play - completely different regulations, jurisdictions, and operating environments. There’s a lot more to on board safety systems than what the public sees, it’s what’s under the hood that counts.
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Post by Mike C on Jan 3, 2024 21:36:42 GMT -8
The Inspiration is indeed running way behind schedule. BC Ferries gives on today's arrivals/departures page at BCF.com the following as one reason for this: The Inspiration is now slower than the SoBC?
Why don't they use the Queen of New Westminster instead? It is not being used right now and it's faster than these broken Coastals. They are both Tsawwassen based so there shouldn't be any problems with the crewing. I would suspect the reason is capacity - the CI is a fair bit larger than the QNW and offers a capacity that is closer to what one would expect on the odd-hour sailings. But you do have to wonder what the trade-offs are given the significant operational constraints currently put on the Coastals on Route 1. Late edit, just checking Current Conditions and Marine Traffic, it appears she's running about 100 minutes behind at the moment. It looks like she did transit Active Pass on this trip. It looks like she's taking about 110 minutes on each sailing. The delays will continue until morale improves!
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Post by Mike C on Dec 22, 2023 8:55:42 GMT -8
Looks like she's on the approach to Little River to me. Does that background landscape look right for Little River? I think the curveball factor with this photo is the unusual angle/location in which it’s taken at LR, or the unusual approach of the ship. If the ship was following normal course, that means the photo was either taken from somewhere to the north, either from the rocks at the north end of the terminal, or along the northern beach of Wilkinson Road. The typical photo spots in that area are to the south along the beaches. That said I think this is LR, and the ship is in front of the distinctive mining operation that would give away Texada’s south side in the background.
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Post by Mike C on Dec 4, 2023 12:24:09 GMT -8
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Post by Mike C on Nov 17, 2023 13:50:47 GMT -8
BC Ferries is currently undertaking a long-term visioning process, which includes six strategic principles for decision-making. It sort of reminds me of a strategic visioning process that would be undertaken by a local government, or an official community plan. The objectives are (as copied from the survey): Reliability and Convenience: Ensuring that coastal ferries operate on schedule, with seamless connections that make travel predictable and stress-free. Integrated Transportation: Aligning ferry services as a seamless element within the broader regional and provincial transportation networks. Safety: Prioritizing the well-being and security of all users and employees within our system. Environmental Responsibility: Striving for a sustainable operational footprint, with infrastructure that stands resilient in the face of climate change. Affordability and Financial Sustainability: The ferry system provides good value to the public. Customer Experience: Focusing on accessible, comfortable, and modern travel experiences, supported by the latest technology and amenities. I'm not sure that this has been done before, most engagement has come from things like FAC meetings and customer satisfaction surveys. It will be interesting to see what kind of report or document comes out of this process. I'm stuck at home after messing up my back, so I decided to do the survey myself with my extra time. Mostly they are looking for feedback on the really broad stuff. Given that the goals themselves are so broad, it can feel a little daunting to provide feedback on what to make of them, and I struggled a bit with exactly what kinds of things they were looking for. The FAQ for the plan is available here, and the survey is available here.
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Post by Mike C on Nov 17, 2023 13:38:43 GMT -8
Over the summer I met up with WettCoast after my random on the new Hullo ferry. We were discussing how the flagship photos should be updated more often then once a year. I think we would be happy of this was updated to semi-annual. It might even spark some of our older, less active members back into creative genius! What is everyone's thoughts here? I think that if there is an increase in interest, we can definitely explore this. Our biggest challenge is the amount of work involved on the back end. When there isn't a ton of interest year-round, it makes it tough to justify expending the time to operationalize. We'll use this thread to gauge interest, so if you're willing to contribute on a twice-annual basis let us know below, and we will give it some consideration. Since we're towards the end of the year, the timing on implementing a twice-annual flagship would have a good clean start on Jan 1 24, so the timing of this discussion is ideal.
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Post by Mike C on Oct 29, 2023 19:11:15 GMT -8
I think part of the reason this is rightly a relevant topic is that these three are major vessels, which creates an environment where mechanical failures are far higher profile than similar failures on other ships. They are additionally vulnerable by the fact that there is no 'spare ratio' for the major fleet, meaning that any mechanical issue that results in the ship being unable to sail, results directly in lost service until the ship is back online.
Media outlets in Vancouver, Victoria, Nanaimo and elsehwere have been tuned to these failures, and report on them. However they are far less likely to report on sailing cancelations of, say, the Tachek, unless there was some event of significance that had ripple effects across the system. Issues with the Coastals have been making news here in Prince George, which tells you something.
These three ships carry a substantial portion of traffic between some of the provinces largest urban centres and the public has a fair expectation that they should be reliable. I think that, in hindsight, BCF will be reviewing some of the asset management decisions with regard to the major fleet, and hopefully try to move forward on a plan where we have a fleet with greater resilience.
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Post by Mike C on Oct 27, 2023 7:51:38 GMT -8
Just wanting to point out based on both the service notice and the news article state that it's the rotors inside the drive motor assembly that need to be replaced. The entire drive motor assembly doesn't need to be replaced on all vessels. Good point. There was something about “drive motor rotor” that my brain didn’t process right away in that paragraph
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Post by Mike C on Oct 26, 2023 19:08:18 GMT -8
Good point! Not really sure, their statement: “While the vessel is safe to operate, we are taking action as a precautionary safety measure to guard against the unlikely event of a propulsion failure in the confined waters of Active Pass,” the corporation said in a statement. “B.C. Ferries knows customers’ time is valuable and apologizes for any inconvenience this may cause.” Then should they apply to the Coastal Inspiration too? I still think the best option is do no vessel swap until the Coastal are truly fixed. According to the article, all three will need to have their drive motors replaced before Summer ‘24. That seems like a tall order, and I’m guessing will necessitate time in the dry dock for all three prior to next May?
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Post by Mike C on Oct 5, 2023 15:50:18 GMT -8
This hasn't been widely reported on, but did see some reporters Tweeting about it - BC Ferries has added three new operating divisions, each with its own new VP. I've included the press release on it below, but only really because I haven't found any other reporting on this item.
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Post by Mike C on Oct 5, 2023 9:26:11 GMT -8
Several slightly different rumours circulating in local maritime circles is that BC Ferries is looking at feasibility of leasing, chartering or purchasing a used but near new major vessel to provide resiliency until new builds are in service. It seems that when the Holiday Isle, servicing PEI and NS was lost due to an engine room fire there were several vessels readily available. Maybe….. This is interesting and I’d be curious to know what the feasibility of acquiring a used two-deck vessel would be. I imagine the height specs of the upper deck terminal ramps are fitted to BC Ferries custom standards, unless it’s more industry-standard than I realize…? Anecdotally, I took Marine Atlantic last year, and their upper deck ramps appeared higher and larger than ours (more European-style).
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Post by Mike C on Sept 28, 2023 8:04:18 GMT -8
This doesn't apply to anything I'm planning on doing, but I'm curious... I take it that the NorAd only loads from the stern. If you're clueless about backing a car/trailer combo any distance, can you get someone to do it for you when they load? And... I assume this wouldn't be an issue on the NorEx, which I think loads bow and stern? I’ll speak for my own experiences driving on both: The NorAd, most of the time, has standard passenger vehicles turn around like on the QoNanaimo as Mr Ferryman indicated. The bow end of the vehicle deck has a raised turnaround horseshoe type thing, where one can drive up one side, complete a 180-degree turn and drive down the other. On a sold-out sailing driving on at Bella Bella (having connected from the Nimpkish), my car was shoehorned into this space, right at the point of the bow. Larger vehicles were either backed on by the driver, or hostled by capable crew. The NorEx is far more like a standard ferry with a bow vehicle deck entry. There isn’t really anything abnormal about that experience compared to southern routes, except for the time they take to load the ship, which allows them more time to get vehicles right where they want them. On both ships (and presumably the NSW) loading is a bit of a tedious process, if you’re used to the speedy procedures of the southern routes.
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Post by Mike C on Aug 20, 2023 8:45:02 GMT -8
hi gents, is there a mod following/ on this thread? We’re omnipresent in all sections of the forum, like a gentle wind next to the ocean, or the voice that gives you instructions on how to properly don a lifejacket
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Post by Mike C on Jul 26, 2023 15:54:33 GMT -8
Now we're hearing that there never was a nine sailing wait on route one today; it was a website error. Maybe the Langdale cancellation was too, as well as the reservable sailings that their site describes as 100% available. Broken down ships, staffing shortages, and even their communication doesn't work. Kind of a hot mess. Oh dear, the keys to the liquor stores have obviously fallen into the hand(s) of that cadre of 200+ "managers" ! (That's observation/comment #1) Unless my memory is beginning to fail me, back in the day when the initial B.C. Ferry & Toll Authority fleet was built at VMD and Burrard Dry Dock, I don't recall any ongoing problems with mechanical failures such as leaky shafts etc. that necessitated the periodic cancellation of sailings on either route one or two. The "Spirit" vessels, also built locally haven't experienced such problems either. Come to think of it, all the vessels built locally have been, or continue to be very reliable. ( Groundings/total vessel losses not included) Since I know basically nothing about this (which would probably make me well equipped to comment on the matter on other social media sites), I decided to Google around and see if there was any history of ships having this issue (at least as far back as the internet allows us to look). Turns out, this has happened before in BC, though it seems to be exceptionally rare: A nearly identical issue happened to the Queen of Burnaby in 2017, necessitating removal from service a handful of times for extended periods. The article notes that the ship had to be brought into the drydock numerous times over the course of a year for the same or similar issues. This may not be a fair comparison to the CC, however, since a matter of months after this incident, she was replaced by the Salish Orca. So it is possible that the issue was not repaired to the same extent one would expect on a ship not facing pending retirement. While not explicitly part of the BC Ferries fleet, the Osprey 2000 was out for a month when she experienced a similar issue. This seemed to be more of a 'burst' rather than a gradual leak, leading to a health advisory for swimming in Kootenay Lake. I tried to find a breakdown of, well, breakdowns by ship. The closest I could get would be to search the total downtime a route experienced in the annual reports to the ferry commissioner - this could also be due to weather or other issues, so do not take this as necessarily an indication of mechanical reliability. But I felt it was interesting nonetheless. The reports break down this data by services delivered as required in the Coastal Ferry Act, and whether the routes were delivered at the minimum service levels dictated in the Act. The top three routes in FY 2021-22 for falling short of this requirement were (with primary ship assignments in parenthesis): - Campbell River to Quadra (Powell River Queen) - Quadra to Cortes (Tachek / QQII) - Port McNeill to Alert Bay / Sointula (Island Aurora) In 2020-2021, these were: - Port McNeill to Alert Bay / Sointula (mostly Island Aurora, took over for the QQII in June) - Mill Bay to Brentwood Bay (Klitsa) - Quadra to Cortes (Tachek) In 2019-2020, these were: - Mill Bay to Brentwood Bay (Klitsa) - Port McNeill to Alert Bay / Sointula (QQII) - Swartz Bay to Fulford Harbour (Skeena Queen)
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