6647 replies to this topic

[Mike K.]

That’s very helpful, thank you.

[Mike K.]

Oh dear. soVI has not departed:

The Spirit of Vancouver Island is currently holding in dock at Swartz Bay due to a mechanical issue. The 7:00 am sailing from Swartz Bay to Tsawwassen will be delayed as we investigate the problem with the ship’s electrical system.

We are working to fix this and will keep you informed as more information becomes available. As soon as the problem is resolved, the vessel will resume service.

Despite the delay, please arrive during the check-in window noted in your booking confirmation email to maintain your reserved status. This ensures we can stage your vehicle at the terminal ahead of standby customers and those reserved on later sailings. If you are travelling without a booking today, check Current Conditions to see how much space remains available on today’s sailings.

We appreciate your patience and apologize for any inconvenience you may experience as a result of this sailing delay. The crew is doing everything they can to get us back on schedule.

[Nparker]

"We apologize for any inconvenience" really has become the new motto of BC Ferries. 🙄

[Mike K.]

34 minute delay.

[splashflash]

BC Ferries repeated missed dates make Hullo more alluring...

 

https://www.youtube....h?v=uz6hLZzLoO0

 

 

I could stick around and get along with you
Hullo, oh, oh, oh, oh
It doesn't really mean that I'm into you
Hullo, oh, oh, oh, oh

[Victoria Watcher]

Decommissioned BC Ferries vessel sinks in Sechelt Inlet

 

Coast Guard and Sunshine Coast RCMP responded to an activated SOS beacon on Nov. 4.

https://www.timescol...t-inlet-7793908

[Victoria Watcher]

B.C. Ferries is hoping there’s a buyer out there interested in keeping three 58-year-old recently retired ferries working into the future.

 

Failing that, the vessels could be recycled or dismantled or used on land in some way, the company said.

The Mayne Queen, the M.V. Bowen Queen, and the Powell River Queen, all built in 1965 in Victoria, are all part of a new request for expressions of interest closing Dec. 13.

 

B.C. Ferries could issue a formal request for proposals after the current invitation closes.

 

The workhorse ferries were all retired this year or last, after carrying thousands of passengers and vehicles between coastal communities, ferrying kids to school and island residents to appointments and delivering goods from island to island.

 

 

https://www.timescol...ferries-7838226

[Mike K.]

Can't we just burn them at max's house?

[Nparker]

Even at more than half a century old, I bet these vessels are more reliable than the newest additions to BC Ferries' fleet.

[max.bravo]

Park them end to end in Saanich inlet, after a century we might have half of a floating bridge to mill bay.

[FogPub]

Park them end to end in Saanich inlet, after a century we might have half of a floating bridge to mill bay.

I think you mean we'd have half of a sinking bridge to Mill Bay...

[Victoria Watcher]

Seattle Times:

Prepare for long WA ferry waits over Thanksgiving weekend

Officials with Washington State Ferries warn travelers to pack their patience if their holiday includes crossing Puget Sound and to consider leaving earlier than they may have otherwise. The late November rush would be straining any year, but in 2023 it comes as WSF deploys just 14 workable boats out of a fleet of 21.

[Victoria Watcher]

B.C. Ferries planning for seven new hybrid ferries to replace retiring Queens

 

Call for shipyards interested in designing and building the ferries closes Dec. 1, with the first vessel in the new ferry class expected to be ready for service in 2029

https://www.timescol...-queens-7866542

[Mike K.]

In Campbell River folks were saying the new electric ferry they have running there to Quadra can’t operate in certain tides. Not sure what to make of that, I had not previously heard of issues.

[Victoria Watcher]

The Coastal Renaissance won’t be back in service for the busy holiday season as hoped, since motor repairs on the ferry are taking longer than expected.

 

The vessel, which has been out of service since August, had been expected to resume sailing in mid-December in time for the peak travelling season.

It’s currently undergoing a scheduled refit at Departure Bay, said B.C. Ferries spokesperson Deborah Marshall.

 

B.C. Ferries said Wednesday it does not yet have a date when the Coastal Renaissance will return to service, but remaining ferries will be able to handle the high demand next month.

 

 

https://www.timescol...-season-7901191

[Victoria Watcher]

In Campbell River folks were saying the new electric ferry they have running there to Quadra can’t operate in certain tides. Not sure what to make of that, I had not previously heard of issues.

 

They are no more an "electric ferry" than the Coastal Class ferries.

 

They are diesel-electric, like train locomotives.

 

 

 

 

 

 

Extreme high and low tides can affect the severity of the angle of the ramp between shore and a vessel, said spokesperson Deborah Marshall in an email.

 

“On these infrequent occasions, some low-clearance vehicles are not able to safely transit the ramp until the tide rises or falls,” she said.

 

Marshall said the situation is not unique to the Island Class vessels, which began serving the Campbell River-Quadra Island route this year.

 

There were “isolated incidents” of the same issue with the previous vessel on the route, the Powell River Queen, and it has also happened on the Horseshoe Bay to Langdale route, she said.

 

The tides are especially low during the day this week because the moon and sun are lined up to make a larger tide range, said Dave Riedel, acting supervisor at Canadian Hydrographic Service.

 

 

https://www.timescol...google_vignette

Edited by Victoria Watcher, 30 November 2023 - 02:41 AM.

[Mike K.]

At a meeting yesterday people were making remarks about travel to the mainland, and saying how you need to seriously consider your time availability due to cancellations and capacity issues.

It’s a hindrance now for business travel to rely on BCF, dealing with a failing system. Never would I have imagined the system would start buckling so quickly. Is the solution a large uplift in cost to temper demand? Can ferry departures every 30 minutes (which is being planned, I hear) and/or much larger ferries?

[Victoria Watcher]

At a meeting yesterday people were making remarks about travel to the mainland, and saying how you need to seriously consider your time availability due to cancellations and capacity issues.

It’s a hindrance now for business travel to rely on BCF, dealing with a failing system. Never would I have imagined the system would start buckling so quickly. Is the solution a large uplift in cost to temper demand? Can ferry departures every 30 minutes (which is being planned, I hear) and/or much larger ferries?

 

One solution (to the staffing issues) is to over-staff them.   But I'm not sure what that does to fare, maybe not much.

[Victoria Watcher]

Coastal Renaissance won't be back on Swartz Bay-Tsawwassen run until March

 

The vessel has not been in operation since Aug. 17, when its number two drive motor failed

https://www.timescol...l-march-7948108

 

That's quite the thing.  

 

It was later expected to be back on the route by mid-December, but in late November, the return date was pushed back because motor repairs at an authorized repair facility in Indiana were taking longer than expected.

 

[Victoria Watcher]

B.C. Ferries cancels some sailings as high winds hit Vancouver Island

 

A frontal system is headed toward B.C.’s south coast, bringing with it wind, rain and snow.

 

 

 

 

Four sailings servicing Victoria and Vancouver, including the 11 a.m. and 1 p.m. sailings out of Swartz Bay and the 11 a.m. and 1 p.m. out of Tsawwassen had been cancelled as of 11 a.m.

 

 

In Nanaimo, four sailings had been cancelled, including the 10:15 a.m. and 12:45 p.m. sailings out of Duke Point and the 10:15 a.m. and 12:45 p.m. sailings out of Tsawwassen bound for Nanaimo.

 

 

 

 

https://www.timescol...-island-7949308

Edited by Victoria Watcher, 09 December 2023 - 02:09 PM.