From the Daily News: Ferry users guarded over impact of recent changes. Amendments made to the Coastal Ferry Act this week were greeted with enthusiasm Thursday by local stakeholders, while the conspicuous absence of other suggested measures, such as restraints on fare increases, were largely treated with guarded optimism. [continue] The article quotes three Gabriola [...]
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By now you’ve probably heard of Phillip Vannini, who lives on Gabriola, teaches in Victoria, and wrote Ferry Tales: Mobility, Place, and Time on Canada’s West Coast. Today the Bowen Island Undercurrent has an article on Philip and his work: Mind the gap (or not). It includes this bit: Vannini inquired about the various signs [...]
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Oh my. Here’s the latest from BC Ferries: Sailing Cancellation – M.V. Quinsam Please be advised that due to mechanical issues the M.V. Quinsam is currently holding in dock at Nanaimo Harbour until further notice. So I imagine we are back to foot-passenger-only watertaxi service, which is what usually happens when the ferry’s ill. UPDATES: [...]
Filed in ferries,Gabriola Island 8 Comments so far
BC Ferries says: Please be advised that the M.V. Quinsam has cancelled the following sailings due to mechanical difficulties: 1200 departing Nanaimo Harbour 1235 departing Descanso Bay Source: service notice on the BC Ferries site. UPDATE: for the latest, see the comment section of this post.
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BC Ferries has a new ferry simulator for training staff, says a Daily News article. B .C. Ferries’ $1.5-million investment in a computer simulation training system will likely provide long-term benefits that go even beyond basic safety. The number of accidents and so-called hard landings are expected to drop as crew members refine their abilities [...]
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First there’s this, from the Nanaimo Daily News: B.C. Ferries on-time departure rate hits 91%. It reads much like a press release. Then we have this article from The Tyee: Despite safety concerns, BC Ferries paying bonuses for keeping schedule. BC Ferries appears to still be paying bonuses for on-time performance despite having said perviously [...]
Filed in ferries,Gabriola Island No Responses yet
Do any of you prefer to use the Duke Point ferry terminal when you travel to the mainland? If so, you’ll be happy about this news from BC Ferries:
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I spotted this aboard the Quinsam. Have you noticed it? The sound powered telephone label caught my attention, and I spent some while wondering about how such a phone might work. Wikipedia’s sound powered telephone page explains: The microphone transducer converts sound pressure from a user’s voice into a minute electrical current, which is then [...]
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The Daily News reports that Travellers will soon get wireless internet access on BC Ferries: Travellers will soon be able to surf the net wireless devices such as laptops, tablets and cell phones while making the crossing between Departure Bay and Horseshoe Bay. [continue] BC Ferries’ Wireless Internet Service page has more details. Suppose we’ll [...]
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Yesterday BC Ferries announced that the waiting room and toilets at Descanso Bay would be closed until further notice, due to vandalism. Did I miss the further notice bit? Because the waiting room was open today, and looked like this. No huge amount of vandalism in evidence, eh? Some scratches in the paint on the [...]
Filed in ferries,Gabriola Island 2 Comments so far
Passengers waiting for the Quinsam are in for more inconvenience. BC Ferries announces that the waiting room and toilets are closed due to vandalism. Please be advised that the Waiting Room and Washrooms at BC Ferries’ Gabriola Island ferry terminal will be closed for an indefinite period of time while repairs are made due to [...]
Filed in ferries,Gabriola Island,Nanaimo 4 Comments so far
BC Ferries says: On April 2, 2012 planned work to comply with new regulatory changes will commence at the Nanaimo Harbour terminal, completing a ship to shore sewage pump out facility. Sanitary lines will be installed to connect the berth with the Nanaimo Regional District septic system. The necessary work is anticipated to be completed [...]
Filed in ferries,Nanaimo 3 Comments so far
If you’re waiting at Descanso for the Quinsam to arrive, wouldn’t you like to know exactly where it is? Is the ferry lingering in port at Nanaimo Harbour, half way across, or almost at Gabriola? Now BC Ferries offers a Vessel Locations page for Gabriola – the satellite map view there shows the ferry’s location. [...]
Filed in ferries,Gabriola Island 4 Comments so far
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
