Have you seen the new book by Phillip Vannini? … the ethnographer and Gabriola Island resident has travelled to every small community serviced by ferry on the coast, clocked 250 ferry rides and conducted some 400 interviews with ferry users on their relationship with the system. Vannini, a Royal Roads University professor, has formalized his [...]
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You’ve probably heard that the Ferry Commissioner’s report has been released. Every newspaper on the coast is sure to have a story about this; you might start at The Tyee: Taking Ferries Private Causes ‘Hardship’ for Many: Commission. If you’d like to read the report for yourself, wander over to bcferrycommission.com and view the Coastal [...]
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You’ve read other blog posts about the Atrevida, Gabriola’s first ferry. Here’s an account of the Atrevida’s more recent adventures. Sheila Gibbs wrote to say:
Filed in ferries,Gabriola Island,history One Response so far
This morning I just couldn’t remember the name of the catamaran that used to provide foot-passenger ferry service between Nanaimo and Vancouver. But in a blog comment, Bill posted the name: HarbourLynx! With that in hand, I looked around to see if anybody knew where the vessel went when it left Nanaimo. Wikipedia’s HarbourLynx page [...]
Filed in ferries,Nanaimo 3 Comments so far
Remember the foot-passenger ferry that used to travel between Nanaimo and downtown Vancouver? I can’t even remember the name of that vessel now, but it was a handy service, and much-used by a number of Gabriola residents. Many in Nanaimo would really like to see a similar service in operation now. Today’s news is that [...]
Filed in ferries,Nanaimo 2 Comments so far
Looks like Gabriola ferry service will be back to normal in a couple of days. Here’s BC Ferries’ news release on the topic: Regular ferry service between Nanaimo Harbour and Gabriola Island will resume in the morning of Thursday, September 1, following the re-opening of Nanaimo Harbour terminal. The terminal was temporarily closed on August [...]
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Here’s something to consider if you plan on taking the ferry between Nanaimo and Gabriola this weekend. BC Ferries says: Please be advised that high traffic volumes are expected between Nanaimo and Gabriola Island due to the Gabriola Theatre Festival held on the island from August 19 to 21. Customers are encouraged to travel to [...]
How long will it be until the Gabriola ferry service gets back to normal? BC Ferries says: Further to the thorough assessment of the structural damage to the dock at the Nanaimo Harbour terminal it is anticipated that the work required to re-enforce the existing structure will take approximately 16 days. As a result the [...]
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This is the water taxi that’s serving Gabriola at the moment, going back and forth between Descanso Bay and Nanaimo Harbour. (This because of the accident that damaged the trestle where the Quinsam normally docks in Nanaimo Harbour. The Quinsam is running as well, but it goes to Duke Point at the moment.) Here’s some [...]
Filed in boating,ferries,Gabriola Island 9 Comments so far
From the Times Colonist: Gabriola Island ferry service disrupted after truck plunges off terminal. Ferry service between Nanaimo and Gabriola Island is disrupted today after a paving truck damaged the terminal going into the water. The truck went off the Nanaimo Harbour terminal trestle and into the water during overnight paving work. The driver got [...]
Filed in ferries,Gabriola Island 7 Comments so far
An article about ever-rising ferry fares in one of the Nanaimo papers is mostly the same stuff we always read in these articles. But there is this Gabriola content, too: Rick and Dave Super live on Gabriola Island and they refuse to drive on to the MV Quinsam whenever they come to Nanaimo, preferring to [...]
Filed in ferries,Gabriola Island 12 Comments so far
You had a book of paper tickets for the Gabriola ferry, and were surprised when BC Ferries stopped honouring these tickets. I’ve already mentioned the class-action lawsuit for people affected by this. Now the Province reports: Probe launched into B.C. Ferries cash grab. [Source: sorry, article no longer available.] Well, it’s a start, I suppose.
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I blogged about Changes for Gabriola-bound ferry passengers a few days ago: BC Ferries has ripped down the waiting room building in Nanaimo Harbour. Today the Daily News has a bit more on that story. In their article, Waiting room at Gabriola ferry terminal gets upgrade, they say the renovations will cost $400,000. The new [...]
Filed in ferries,Gabriola Island,Nanaimo 3 Comments so far
You’re away, but planning to come home to Gabriola soon? Don’t plan to spend any time in the waiting room at the Nanaimo Harbour terminal, because it’s not there anymore. See that photo? The view shows Gabriola in the background, and one of those huge Machines of Destruction where the waiting room building used to [...]
Filed in ferries,Gabriola Island,Nanaimo 8 Comments so far
If you summer on Gabriola but live elsewhere, you may have been surprised last summer when you returned to the island. You’d saved a booklet of ferry fare tickets for the Quinsam from the year before… and nobody told you they’d expire before you returned to Gabriola. Money gone, and plenty of you were annoyed [...]
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This is the Quinsam’s on-deck telephone, which has come to us straight from some previous decade. The directions: Select your station. Turn crank clockwise until you hear a loud beeptone. Lift off receiver and keep button pressed during conversation. Are there other odd old phones on Gabriola, or on ships nearby? I’ve always wondered. The [...]
Filed in ferries,Gabriola Island 5 Comments so far
From the Gulf Island Driftwood: Petition seeks to make ferries an election issue. A Gabriola Island resident is seeking public support for a petition she hopes will make ferry affordability an election issue. Doris Gallas created the online petition calling for B.C. Ferries to return to public control as an essential service under the Ministry [...]
Filed in ferries,Gabriola Island 13 Comments so far
Looks like we can expect Gabriola ferry fares to keep going up. The Province explains: B.C. Ferries warns major fare hikes are on the way for minor routes. In the interview with Vancouver Sun columnist Vaughn Palmer, Hahn said his company’s submission, if accepted, would mean minor routes could see a 14- to 16-per-cent increase [...]
Filed in ferries,Gabriola Island One Response so far
