509 replies to this topic

[gumgum]

Yeah but the current fleet is easy to get in and out of. A shorter stop time, the better.

[Holden West]

Monday editorial from last week (note the last sentence) with a follow up letter to the editor from this week.

A Convenient Truth

By JOHN THRELFALL
Mar 28 2007

With all the talk of late about the impact cruise ships and air travel have been having on the environment, it was a breath of fresh air to hear the news about the Portuguese-Canadian airship project that will soon be bringing a greener mode of travel to town. Tolo de Abril Airways, which has had great success flying tourist-laden airships along Portugal’s Algarve Peninsula for the past decade, recently announced a joint partnership with B.C.’s now-even-greener Campbell government to offer an environmentally friendly way of bringing travelers to our shores.

“It’s remarkable how similar Victoria and southern Vancouver Island are to the Algarve,” noted Portugal tourism official José Santos Almeida at a press junket last week. “The steady winds and lack of mountains are perfect for airships.” Also, says Almeida, local residents are already used to the idea of cruise ships, helicopters and sea planes landing in close proximity to downtown, which means passengers on the Tolo de Abril airships won’t need to be brought in from the airport by emission-producing land vehicles; instead, the airships will simply tether to the Ogden Point lighthouse so passengers can easily disembark and use the same facilities as the cruise ships.

Now, before everyone starts yelling “Hindenburg!”, it’s worth pointing out that modern airships are far less combustible than their early 20th century counterparts and pose less threat to the general public than the typical exploding car. Plus, Tolo de Abril’s ships run on a combination of solar power and biodiesel (produced by the deep fryers in the on-board kitchens), and their average air speed matches the cruising speed of BC Ferries. With an equal crossing time from the mainland and the added benefit of a bird’s-eye view, this new program should have the added benefit of easing traffic congestion (and pollution) on the Pat Bay Highway.

Granted, the introduction of this new-millennia approach to tourism is not thrilling our neighbours to the south of the border, who have cynically described the ships as “ideal terrorist targets” and “flying bombs” (not to be confused with America’s own flying bombs, of course). But gosh, when has Canada ever let American attitudes dictate domestic tourism policies?

I hate to say it, but for once it looks like the provincial Liberals have gotten something right. Well done, Mr. Campbell. Let’s hope they’ll soon be booking flights to Maui.

Watch for the inaugural Tolo de Abril Airways test flight arriving at Ogden Point at noon this Sunday, April 1.

[the print version was accompanied by a photo of a zeppelin tethered to the breakwater lighthouse]

----

Re: A Convenient Truth, March 29-April 4

“I’m not sure if you realize the effect the constant traffic to and from these Tolo de Abril Airways flights will have on our neighbourhood here in James Bay. We’re having a hard enough time controlling all the other traffic that goes through for the cruise ships, etc. Please reconsider your stand on just how environmentally friendly this will be for our neighbourhoods, and not just Campbell’s non-evergreen B.C. government.”

—Just one of the many calls that came in about last week’s April Fool’s story :roll:

[Mike K.]

James Bay and its victim mentality is legendary.

Even April Fools jokes peeve off residents.

[Galvanized]

Stena Lines of Sweden took over the running of the Princess Marguerite until 1989, when they replaced her with another ship on the Victoria/Seattle run. Stena operated the route for a few years before bailing out of the Victoria ferry business.

I found this here: http://ferriesbc.proboards20.com/index.cgi

[G-Man]

I wish this was still around...

So much cheaper than the Clipper though also much slower. It was an old BC Ferry wasn't it?

[Galvanized]

^That one was brought in by Stena. http://www.simplonpc.co.uk/SwedLloyd-Patricia.html

[Holden West]

G-Man, you're probably thinking of the [url=http://www.historylink.org/essays/printer_friendly/index.cfm?file_id=7478:59d25]Princess Marguerite III[/url:59d25] (aka BC Ferries' Queen of Burnaby), bought by Clipper in '97 and operated for three years out of Ogden Point.

Interesting pamphlet, Galv.

Just like Ikea, they insisted that No Americans have to like meatballs for their lunch, and thats what they served!

Ha! Look, it's true "Scandinavian-style buffet", it says!" Hmm, isn't that called a Smørgasbord? I wonder if a poor hoser could still get a burger and fries.

[G-Man]

^ That was the one I was thinking of. I really wish that it still existed...

Wonder how the Kalakala is doing I think it is in Tacoma now.

[renthefinn]

Too bad Stena left, they have some great ships running in the Baltic/gulf of bothnia

[Mike K.]

It's no ferry, but one of the cruise ships that docks in the inner harbour hit ground yesterday. Earlier reports said the vessel was sinking but thankfully that wasn't the case.

Vessel runs aground off Alaska
All crew and passengers safely evacuated after cruise ship hits rock, takes on water

BY HEATHER BURKE AND NANCY KERCHEVAL
Bloomberg

Ambassadors International Inc.’s Empress of the North cruise ship ran aground off the coast of Alaska early yesterday, forcing passengers and crew to evacuate.

The Empress of the North had 206 passengers and 75 crew members aboard when it sent out an emergency radio message at 12:35 a.m., the Coast Guard said.

All the passengers were transferred to the Alaska state ferry Columbia for transport to Juneau, according to U.S. Coast Guard Lieut. Dave Oney. One person was reported taken to a hospital for observation.

The 360-foot pocket cruise ship, which stopped in Victoria May 1 on a trip from Seattle and is scheduled to return here from Juneau on Sept. 25, hit a rock and began taking on water about 80 kilometres off the coast of Juneau in one-metre seas, Oney said.

It is now en route to Juneau with 33 crew members.

Empress of the North comprises 15 per cent of Ambassadors’ cruise capacity in 2007 and 6 percent of its revenue, according to Jaison Blair, an analyst at Rochdale Securities in New York. The company will lose $650,000 in sales each week the boat is out of service, he said.

“The lost revenue and cost to repair the vessel should be covered by insurance,” said Blair, who rates the shares “buy” and owns them. “It should have little or no earnings impact.”

The coast guard received a distress call at 12:35 a.m. Alaska time (4:35 a.m. in New York) and passengers were off the Empress of the North by 5:30 a.m., Oney said. They were picked up by “Good Samaritan” private vessels, a commercial tugboat and the 110-foot coast guard cutter Liberty and taken to the Columbia ferry, he said in a telephone interview from Washington.

The ship was listing at eight degrees. The Empress of the North has a doublehull structure and the outer hull was pierced by the rock, Oney said. The crew was able to use pumps to control the flooding, he said. There was no indication that fuel was leaking.

Passengers walked from the Empress of the North to other ships as they pulled up alongside, Ambassadors’ Majestic America division said today. The rescued passengers are headed to Juneau, where the company will arrange lodging and transportation home.

Shares of Ambassadors International fell $1.82, or 5.1 per cent, to $33.74 at 4 p.m. New York time in Nasdaq Stock Market composite trading. It was the biggest drop since the end of February. They have declined 26 per cent this year.

Majestic America is the largest river and coastal cruising company in the U.S., according to its Web site. It operates seven ships on the Mississippi and Ohio rivers, the Columbia and Snake rivers, and Alaska.

Empress of the North was on the second day of a week-long Alaskan cruise from Juneau, said Majestic spokeswoman Ann Marie Ricard. The ship has a threestorey paddlewheel, can carry 223 guests and features Russian artwork including Faberge eggs and American Indian totems and masks.

Ambassadors, based in Newport Beach, California, also offers event planning and marina design and management services. Last week, the company reported a first-quarter loss of $8.56 million, or 77 cents a share.

Empress of the North also ran aground in March 2006 in the Columbia River, 20 miles east of Portland, with 260 passengers and crew aboard, the coast guard said.

The U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention investigated the ship in March after 26 passengers and seven crew members complained of vomiting and diarrhea.

The ship had failed a CDC health inspection in February when it was cited for poor hygienic practices such as handwashing violations as well as improper storage of food items.

— With Times Colonist files

[G-Man]

Perhpas calling something * of the North is a bad idea?

[Holden West]

I heard it was a paddle-wheel replica and I thought it was that little "SS Beaver" replica that went on day cruises out of the harbour. Then I looked online and saw it was a big monster. I think I saw this in the harbour once or twice.

http://www.majestica... ... .aspx?ID=3



I was skeptical that this thing was actually propelled by a paddlewheel, and sure enough, the [url=http://www.nicholsboats.com/c_quote_empress.htm:88cc4]ship's manufacturer[/url:88cc4] says it's actually propelled by [url=http://www.schottel.de/eng/r_produkte/SRP/uebersicht.htm:88cc4]these[/url:88cc4]:

[Rorschach]

On Wednesday evening, I saw the Coho Ferry being pushed out of the Bellville St station by a tug boat. I can't recall ever seeing this before and my memory was that it normally backs out under its own power. Just becasue I don't remember seeing it before doesn't mean it's not a normal procedure. Does anyone here know if something happened to the COHO's engines?

[G-Man]

Good question. I was on the Coho last summer and we were aided by a tug and I wondered about it and then promptly forgot. Perhaps it is to do with how busy the harbour gets...

[Mike K.]

It was a bit windy yesterday, perhaps that has something to do with it?

[VicHockeyFan]

I've never seen that, and I lived in the Songhees for 9 months with a nice view.

[Galvanized]

PASSENGER FERRY SERVICE BACK FOR VICTORIA TO VANCOUVER TRAVELLERS?

Jul 20, 2007

THE PROJECT IS STILL IN THE PLANNING STAGES, BUT PASSENGER FERRY SERVICE FROM DOWNTOWN VICTORIA TO DOWNTOWN VANCOUVER COULD SOON RETURN TO THE SOUTH COAST.

LOCAL BUSINESSMAN DON STEIN OF NAUTICAL SOLUTIONS SAYS FERRY AND FLOAT PLANE SERVICES WON'T BE ABLE TO KEEP UP WITH DEMAND IN THE NEAR FUTURE.

STEIN SAYS APPROVALS AND DESIGNS ARE IN PLACE FOR A HYBRID CATAMARAN --PICKING PASSENGERS UP AT THE FOOT OF BROUGHTON STREET--GETTING THEM TO DOWNTOWN VANCOUVER IN LESS THAN 90 MINUTES.

HE SAYS MANY CITIES ARE TRYING TO CATCH UP TO THEIR POPULATION GROWTH. "THERE'S NEW BLOOD IN TOWN AND PEOPLE ARE THINKING OF THE FUTURE AND VICTORIA IS GOING TO BE LIKE A MINITURE MONACO FOR CANADA AND WITH THE MONACO, COMES A LOT OF PEOPLE."

STEIN SAYS THE TRIP WOULD COST 40-DOLLARS AND START SOMETIME IN 2009.

- NIKKI EWANYSHYN
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[Holden West]

That's the "surface effect" vessels mentioned earlier in this thread. I see the dock location has been moved from Reeson Park below Yates St. over to the docks below Broughton.

[Holden West]

"...VICTORIA IS GOING TO BE LIKE A MINITURE MONACO FOR CANADA AND WITH THE MONACO, COMES A LOT OF PEOPLE."

Also comes with wire rims and optional police pursuit package.


Dodge Monaco

[Ms. B. Havin]

Wow, I'd like something like this! Ninety minutes and forty dollars isn't bad -- presumably the $40 is one way?