The next time you’re on the Queen of New Westminster, one of the oldest vessels in the B.C. Ferries fleet, pay attention to the canny way the ferry is loaded.
It doesn’t really matter which traffic lane you are in as you head up the ramp; you could be directed to either side once you arrive on the vehicle deck. That’s quite different from the Spirit or Coastal ferries, where two lines of traffic hit the deck at the same time, with no crossing from side to side.
Capt. Jamie Marshall, the vice-president of fleet operations, assures me that there is a method to the Queen of New Westminster madness. The vehicle lanes are narrower than on the Spirits and Coastals, and one side of the vehicle deck is slightly narrower than the other, next to the elevators and the stairs.
As a result, the crews load passenger cars in four lanes on the wide side, and larger vehicles — pickup trucks, SUVs and the like — in three lanes on the narrow side. Marshall says the sort reduces the vehicle capacity by about 10 per cent, but ensures that people don’t have to crawl through windows to get out of their cars.
This is the kind of trivia that ferry regulars need to know, to impress the tourists if nothing else. But wait, I have more.
The Queen of New Westminster has been in service since 1964, but it can go faster than the largest ferries, the two Spirits, thanks to new engines installed in the 1990s. It is not as fast, however, as the three Coastal ferries, which are the newest ones on the Tsawwassen-Swartz Bay run.
If a Spirit falls behind schedule, it will probably remain behind schedule for the rest of the day, since it already runs at close to top speed. The Queen of New Westminster could recover five or 10 minutes.
When the Coastals fall behind, they can regain 10 or 15 minutes per sailing thanks to a higher top speed and a dual propulsion system, which means they can head straight out of Tsawwassen without turning around, and they don’t have to back in at Swartz Bay.
The Spirits only have power at one end. At Tsawwassen, it takes about six minutes for them to back out and turn around. The delay is worse when the weather is bad; the Spirits need to leave the dock slowly to ensure that they don’t smash into the dock. When it is really windy, the full turnaround might take 15 or 20 minutes. When it is really, really windy, the Spirits stay put.
That is one reason why the Coastals are more efficient. With propellers at both ends, they can head straight from one terminal to the other, which saves time. (They also burn about 7,000 litres of fuel on a round trip, compared to 8,400 litres on a Spirit.)
We all know that a sailing between Swartz Bay and Tsawwassen takes one hour and 35 minutes. That has been drummed into our heads for more than half a century. But it’s not as consistent as we might think; there are many reasons why ferries can run early or late.
The tides in Active Pass can help a ferry, or hurt it, depending on the time of day. A strong tide against the ferry can add six or seven minutes to the crossing time, while one with it can save that much time.
If you leave Tsawwassen on a Coastal on the last sailing of the night, don’t be surprised if you arrive at Swartz Bay 10 or 15 minutes early. No turnaround, a higher speed and favorable tides can be your friends.
Ferries are on time 91.5 per cent of the time, as Marshall notes, but the reasons for late ferries are worth mentioning.
There can be mechanical problems, and high wind causes obvious delays. Passengers can also be to blame.
Marshall says that every year, people drive onto the ferry, then walk off at their destination, expecting to find their car on shore. Meanwhile, ferry staff members are sweeping the ferry to find the missing driver, and worrying that possibly someone has gone overboard.
These situations are usually resolved when a driver asks terminal staff to retrieve his car, and learns that there is no valet service. Then he hustles back to the ferry to get his vehicle.
Drivers can lose their keys or lock their keys in their cars. Marshall says locked cars cause problems at least once a day in the busy summer season.
Drivers can drain the vehicle battery by watching videos or playing CDs, so they will need a boost. Sometimes, for whatever reason, cars just won’t start.
Children can get separated from their parents, and animals can get loose on the vehicle deck.
In 2010, hundreds of bees escaped from a transport truck on the Spirit of British Columbia, causing a long delay until they could be cleared.
There are also medical emergencies. If the emergency is life-threatening, the ferry will go to the nearest dock to get the person to help as soon as possible.
Ferries can also run late because of other marine traffic getting in their way. Big ships are usually not a problem, but people in pleasure boats are often less than aware of what is expected of them on the water.
Delays can also result from marine rescues, which occur about 20 times a year. If the ferry crew sees another vessel in trouble, they will respond. Ferries often serve as windbreaks to make rescues easier.
The Spirit ferries, the largest in the fleet, carry a crew of 48 people, as regulated by Transport Canada, and all of them have been trained to leap into action in an emergency. The staffing level takes into account all possible scenarios, from minor emergencies to fires to evacuation procedures to post-evacuation needs — when all of the passengers are in life-rafts waiting for help to arrive.
All of these employees are there for the safe operation of the ferry, and are assigned to jobs in the cafeteria, the buffet, the gift shop and so on.
There are usually three people in the bridge, with five there while transiting Active Pass and while docking, and three people in the engine room.
Here are some facts about food, by the numbers:
• The ferry system goes through 954,149 pounds of french fries a year, which works out to 2,614 pounds a day. It serves 187,887 bowls of clam chowder a year, or 515 bowls a day.
• Coffee is popular. There are 1,967,922 cups sold every year, or 5,392 cups a day.
• The ferries serve 1,185,774 burgers a year, or 3,249 burgers a day. On average, they serve 8,216 slices of bacon, which come from 17,136 cases.
• And if the buffet line seems long, take some consolation knowing that 384,818 people made it through last year.
And there you have it — some trivia to dazzle the tourists. But be warned: Marshall says this is one of the worst times of the year for medical emergencies, and the stress of the holiday season is likely to blame.
So just relax and enjoy the hour and 35 minutes (more or less) on board.
