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: [...]
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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.
Filed in ferries,Gabriola Island 3 Comments so far
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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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
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
