Ferries, Ferries, and still more Ferries

[NS VIA Fan]

Have you ever sailed under the Confederation Bridge? I did, several years ago aboard the HAL Maasdam enroute from Charlottetown to Quebec City.

Interesting.....thanks for posting that.

If you go to this link and scroll down to 'Events' There's a photo here of a cruise ship sailing under the bridge and I think it just might be the Maasdam!

http://www.confederationbridge.com/media-room/photo-gallery.html

I've never sailed under the bridge, but I've walked across....13 KM from PEI to NB. It was the day before the bridge opened to traffic so the ferries were still operating. You took a ferry over then walked back. They estimated about 75,000 participated in the Bridge Walk/Run that day.

There's also a photo in the above 'events' folder of a similar Bridge Walk/Run in 2005. Masses of people.....guardrail to guardrail!

 

[railiner]

That is indeed the MS Maasdam!

The crowd is like the start of the New York Marathon on the Verrazano Narrows Bridge....

 

[NS VIA Fan]

Marine Atlantic has purchased the two ferries they have been chartering from Stena for the past four years and used on the run between Nova Scotia and Newfoundland.

http://www.marine-atlantic.ca/uploads/file/Marine-Atlantic-Purchases-MV-Blue-Puttees-and-MV-Highlanders(1).pdf

Here's a few shots at North Sydney NS of the MV Highlanders:.

 

[NS VIA Fan]

......and the MV Blue Puttees with the new Terminal Building:

 

[railiner]

Interesting.....thanks for posting.

Just curious...who provided the crews while the vessels were chartered from Stena? Was it a 'mixed bag' of Stena and Marine Atlantic, or some other arrangement?

I suppose what ever it was, it will now be all Marine Atlantic.....

 

[Bob Dylan]

Canadians know how to do Ferries!

 

[NS VIA Fan]

Interesting.....thanks for posting.

Just curious...who provided the crews while the vessels were chartered from Stena? Was it a 'mixed bag' of Stena and Marine Atlantic, or some other arrangement?

I suppose what ever it was, it will now be all Marine Atlantic.....

I believe they’ve always had all Marine Atlantic crews. The only time I remember a European crew was the summer they chartered the Max Mols Fast Ferry

It could do the 100 mile crossing in 2 1/2 hours vs: the usual 5 to 6 hours but it wasn’t made for the open Gulf and quickly earned the name the Vomit Comet !

http://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/max-mols-gets-shakedown-crossing-1.237494

 

[railiner]

So it was more like a lease, then a charter, I suppose, if the crews were not supplied....

 

[NS VIA Fan]

Bay Ferries new 'Fundy Rose' has entered service on the Saint John, New Brunswick to Digby, Nova Scotia run replacing the 45 year old former Canadian Pacific Railway 'Princes of Acadia'.

The Princess of Acadia and its predecessors were the CPR's connection across the 40 mile wide Bay of Fundy between the 'Atlantic Limited' at Saint John and the Dominion Atlantic Railway at Digby... providing an alternative route between Montreal and Halifax to the CNR's Ocean Limited.

The Fundy Rose is the former Blue Star Line 'Ithaki' that first entered service in 2000 running between the Greek islands. It was purchased by the Canadian Government in 2014.

I was working in Saint John and decided to take the long way home yesterday......so instead of the straight 400 kilometer, 4 hour drive.....a nice 2 1/4 hr cruise on the Fundy Rose... and then the drive from Digby. The ferry cost me $140.....but I did save a $4 highway toll!!

Heres a few pictures:

There's plenty of seating on board. In Fundy Roses former life it operated more as a bus between the Greek islands with lots of walk-on passengers.....whereas here it will mainly handle cars, trucks, RVs and tour buses.

 

[NS VIA Fan]

There's also an open sundeck bar that will probably see limited use to 4 months of the year (can't see it being too busy during a winter gale!)

 

[NS VIA Fan]

The transfer bridge at the dock in Digby is designed to allow for the extreme differences between the high and low tides in the Bay of Fundy.

.....and here's the Yacht-like Princess of Acadia that the Fundy Rose replaced.....

 

[railiner]

Very interesting, thanks for posting!

I don't think I would want to spend my time on the crossing in those seats in your 4th photo...too much like being on a wide-body airliner...

Next time you are looking for "the long way" home....how about driving down to Portland and taking the Nova Star to Yarmouth?

 

[Bob Dylan]

Thanks for sharing, nice pics as always! Makes me nostalgic for the old days when I used to ride the BC and Washington State Ferries, but they weren't as "plush"!

And spending $140 to save $4 is something we travel junkies can relate to! Normal people can't! LOL

And railiners points about the airline type seating is a good one ( looks more like Greyhound to me), and taking the " "short" way home via Maine is a great idea!

 

[NS VIA Fan]

I don't think I would want to spend my time on the crossing in those seats in your 4th photo...too much like being on a wide-body airliner...

Next time you are looking for "the long way" home....how about driving down to Portland and taking the Nova Star to Yarmouth?

Like I said....it operated more like a bus in the Greek islands and in fact the seats are quite comfortable. But you have plenty of seating options......heres the observation lounge up front:

>>>>

And I still plan a trip on the Nova Star.....maybe mid-September (but its been a busy summer at work)

 

[Blackwolf]

It is sad to see the Princess go, as she was a very attractive ship with gracious lines. She was looking her age this last winter in Digby, with peeling paint and large rust stains along her hull along with other neglected maintenance in the looks department (and probably a fair share in the mechanical one too, since Bay Ferries knew they were about to decommission the ship.) But things are not built with an eye toward aesthetics any longer, and so it goes that the new-er vessel is much more utilitarian in design. I'll casually pay attention to what news feeds I can on what the Princess' fate will be, but I imagine it'll end up at the breakers without much fanfare.

Inside the new vessel looks modern and simplistic, nothing fancy and very "IKEA-like" in the decor. I wonder if her European construction and machinery will make for an easier or more difficult time to the crews working her. I have a hunch that, even if the ship was completely sold-out and no tickets were available to purchase at the peak of tourist season, that the vessel would still feel somewhat empty with lots of vacant seats. I say that because, with her being Canadian-flagged and subscribing to North American SOLAS standards, the capacity of persons aboard would be substantially reduced verses her former Grecian operation. This thought was borne by the photo of her promenade while along-side at Saint John, in which half of the inflatable raft deployment racks are empty and unused. This might change at peak season, but it would seem odd to me that the boat would be given a Seaworthiness Certificate by the Coast Guard with only a portion of her life safety equipment aboard unless the number of persons she was allowed to carry was reduced.

 

[railiner]

Those seats I mentioned are definitely coach airliner seats....you won't find that particular type on any Greyhound....the tray tables that pivot out on arms rather than the seatbacks are one giveaway....the forward cross bar near the floor (to prevent carryon bags stowed under the seat from sliding forward are another.

 

[NS VIA Fan]

Those seats I mentioned are definitely coach airliner seats....you won't find that particular type on any Greyhound....the tray tables that pivot out on arms rather than the seatbacks are one giveaway....the forward cross bar near the floor (to prevent carryon bags stowed under the seat from sliding forward are another.

The Fundy Rose was built by Deawoo in South Korea. Perhaps they got a good deal on airline seats at the time…..but like I said…..when operating between the Greek islands…..it was more like a bus service having lots of walk-on passengers and if you go to around 3:30 in this YouTube video…..









....…you will see beside the stern vehicle ramp, the foot-passenger ramps lowering….something they do not use here. Here in NS & NB the walk-ons board a mini bus in front of the terminal and are driven aboard to the bottom of the escalator on the car deck. And looking at this video….that docking operation in Greece appears pretty causal compared to regulations in Canada where there dock-workers fully secure the vessel before anything moves.

 

[NS VIA Fan]

It is sad to see the Princess go, as she was a very attractive ship with gracious lines. She was looking her age this last winter in Digby, with peeling paint and large rust stains along her hull along with other neglected maintenance in the looks department (and probably a fair share in the mechanical one too, since Bay Ferries knew they were about to decommission the ship.) But things are not built with an eye toward aesthetics any longer, and so it goes that the new-er vessel is much more utilitarian in design. I'll casually pay attention to what news feeds I can on what the Princess' fate will be, but I imagine it'll end up at the breakers without much fanfare.

Yes the Princess has the classic lines of her Canadian Pacific heritage and it’s hard to say what her fate will be but I imagine it’s to the breakers. She’s currently tied up in Saint John and there are calls for it to become a floating museum but I can’t see that happening. Although It would be nice to see it go to a Yacht Club where the vehicle deck could be used for indoor winter boat storage…..just like the Columbia Yacht Club in Chicago did with the old CN Prince Edward Island railcar ferry “Abegweit” on the downtown lakefront there.

http://www.columbiayachtclub.org/Default.aspx?p=DynamicModule&pageid=390676&ssid=311683&vnf=1

We had just about a full load out of Saint John. Several trucks and RVs took up lane length for cars but as you can see from the photos….wide open spaces with plenty of seating options aboard.

(And Blackwolf…..what a nice drive home Saturday evening on the 101 compared to what you probably experience last January!. A warm, sunny evening with little traffic and the first time I’ve crossed Bear River since the old Dominion Atlantic trestle was removed. Strange not seeing it parallel to the highway bridge anymore)

 

[NS VIA Fan]

I had to make a quick trip over to Charlottetown, Prince Edward Island on Saturday and the shortest route is a 50 minute drive to the ferry terminal at Caribou, Nova Scotia and a 75 minute crossing on the NFL Ferry “MV Confederation”…….Breakfast, Coffee, read the paper…..then another 50 minute drive into Charlottetown. The crossing going over to PEI is free but you pay $75.00 upon leaving the Island. Map here:

http://tinyurl.com/psgz2lb

The Trans Canada Highway ends at the Caribou Ferry Terminal (that’s PEI…14 miles across in the distance)

Below….the Confederation is on the left and the Holiday Island on the right. With its open decks…..the Holiday Island is a summer boat and is now tied-up for the season.

 

[NS VIA Fan]

And below…..the Wood Islands, PEI Ferry Terminal.

Saturday evening I left Charlottetown in time to make the 6:15pm crossing. A nice dinner onboard and I would be home by 8:30pm.

But as I made my way to Wood Islands I noticed the winds picking-up and when I checked in at the Terminal….I found out the evening crossing had been cancelled. The winds were now almost at gale force out on the Northumberland Strait.

It wasn’t a question of what to do now? I knew…..drive around via the Confederation Bridge over to New Brunswick and a 400 km, 5 hour drive to get home. Even while on the Bridge (9 miles/13 km long)….speed was reduced to 60 km/h due to the high winds and high sided trucks were being restricted.

http://tinyurl.com/pnt62u6

An interesting day to say the least! What should have been a quick round-trip….. ended up touching three provinces. I did save $75.00 on the Ferry but the Bridge Toll was $45.00 plus the additional gas.

 

[railiner]

As always.....thanks for the great post!

Was there a reasonable airline alternative for your trip?

 

[Bob Dylan]

As always thanks for sharing great pics and your adventure! Long way home indeed!

If you don't have the money to leave PEI via Ferry or Bridge do you just become a resident? LOL

 

[railiner]

As always thanks for sharing great pics and your adventure! Long way home indeed!

If you don't have the money to leave PEI via Ferry or Bridge do you just become a resident? LOL

Good point....it would seem more logical (to my way of thinking)...that one would pay to get to an island, (albeit an entire province), and have the return to the mainland, free...

Unless the businesses believe that paying first to get there, would discourage some from going....

 

[fairviewroad]

But as I made my way to Wood Islands I noticed the winds picking-up and when I checked in at the Terminal….I found out the evening crossing had been cancelled. The winds were now almost at gale force out on the Northumberland Strait.

How long in advance do they cancel these runs? Is there a way to check before you leave Charlottetown?

Railiner wrote:

Good point....it would seem more logical (to my way of thinking)...that one would pay to get to an island, (albeit an entire province), and have the return to the mainland, free...Unless the businesses believe that paying first to get there, would discourage some from going...

.

I think that the psychology of it has a lot to do with it. PEI must surely rely a lot on tourism dollars, and if you've already paid $45 or $75 on the way over, you might have less money in your pocket to burn once you get there (figuratively speaking, of course, since most people are using credit cards anyhow).

OTOH, people fly to Vegas/Orlando/Paris etc, spending hundreds or thousands of dollars to get there, but don't seem to have any problem dropping many hundreds or thousands more once they arrive. So it's a matter of perspective, I guess.

But the current "pay as you leave" system reminds me of "Hotel California."

"You can check-out any time you like,

But you can never leave! (unless you have $45)"

 

[BCL]

As always thanks for sharing great pics and your adventure! Long way home indeed!

If you don't have the money to leave PEI via Ferry or Bridge do you just become a resident? LOL

Good point....it would seem more logical (to my way of thinking)...that one would pay to get to an island, (albeit an entire province), and have the return to the mainland, free...

Unless the businesses believe that paying first to get there, would discourage some from going....

Washington State Ferries has something like that. Seattle to Bainbridge Island charges for adult passengers. The return trip is free for passengers. They will charge for a vehicle with driver. However, it's not quite landlocked since there are bridges. We came from the other side (the Olympic Peninsula) and took the ferry rather than going all the way south to Olympia to get to Seattle.