BC Ferry Sinks
Mar 23rd, 2006, 03:53 AM
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BC Ferry Sinks
Horrific story...almost unbelievable. Just heard about it now - the Queen of the North which runs the inside passage from Prince Rupert to Port Hardy sank last nite after hitting a rock. I believe everyone was rescued by fishing and speedboats of a nearby village, Hartely Bay.
Can you imagine being on a boat this size (capacity of 700 passengers, 115 cars), have to really evacuate in a rain squall into liferafts, and watch the entire ship sink with all the cars in it? Makes me think about all the stuff I carry. I usually leave my passport somewhere safe (not with me as I'm more likely to lose it than if it's tucked somewhere in the car). I'll have to re-think that.
I'm just in shock.
Can you imagine being on a boat this size (capacity of 700 passengers, 115 cars), have to really evacuate in a rain squall into liferafts, and watch the entire ship sink with all the cars in it? Makes me think about all the stuff I carry. I usually leave my passport somewhere safe (not with me as I'm more likely to lose it than if it's tucked somewhere in the car). I'll have to re-think that.
I'm just in shock.
Mar 23rd, 2006, 05:41 AM
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I'm so sorry for everyone who was caught up in this event, but on the other hand relieved that everyone survived.
>>>>>>Makes me think about all the stuff I carry. I usually leave my passport somewhere safe (not with me as I'm more likely to lose it than if it's tucked somewhere in the car). I'll have to re-think that.<<<<<<
Two words : Tilley pants.
>>>>>>Makes me think about all the stuff I carry. I usually leave my passport somewhere safe (not with me as I'm more likely to lose it than if it's tucked somewhere in the car). I'll have to re-think that.<<<<<<
Two words : Tilley pants.
Mar 23rd, 2006, 06:10 AM
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It was a tragic event. Those waters are more treacherous than their calm exterior reveals. The Queen of the North was a special ferry for me. We took the trip from Prince Rupert to Port Hardy in the summer of 2004.
I never dreamed that something like that could happen to a sleek long distance ferry like that one.
In reading the description of the ship, it did have a single hull, which made it somewhat suspect. But the route it traveled is well known and well charted.
I suspect that the heavy winds must have caused it to veer off course just enough to strike the disastrous rock. Some of the passageways between the mainland and the islands are very narrow and even a minor deviation could cause major problems as we just learned.
Given all of the water tight compartments where the cars and trucks are parked for the voyage and all of the water tight doors leading down from the passenger decks, I am amazed that the vessel took on enough water to sink.
I remember that people who wanted access to their vehicles during the voyage were allowed to go down only at specific times. Finding your vehicle was dependent on knowing which sector it was in because the vehicle decks were sealed off in sections with huge doors that were supposed to be water tight. The doors leading to the stairs were all water tight and they were opened and closed by crew members to make sure they were properly sealed.
Something very drastic must have gone wrong, far more than I have read so far in the press reports. As it is, with sketchy knowledge at best, I just don't see how it happened.
I am thankful that so many people escaped the disaster, but the loss of the ferry is devastating to tourism and to people who live there who used the vessel for transportation.
I never dreamed that something like that could happen to a sleek long distance ferry like that one.
In reading the description of the ship, it did have a single hull, which made it somewhat suspect. But the route it traveled is well known and well charted.
I suspect that the heavy winds must have caused it to veer off course just enough to strike the disastrous rock. Some of the passageways between the mainland and the islands are very narrow and even a minor deviation could cause major problems as we just learned.
Given all of the water tight compartments where the cars and trucks are parked for the voyage and all of the water tight doors leading down from the passenger decks, I am amazed that the vessel took on enough water to sink.
I remember that people who wanted access to their vehicles during the voyage were allowed to go down only at specific times. Finding your vehicle was dependent on knowing which sector it was in because the vehicle decks were sealed off in sections with huge doors that were supposed to be water tight. The doors leading to the stairs were all water tight and they were opened and closed by crew members to make sure they were properly sealed.
Something very drastic must have gone wrong, far more than I have read so far in the press reports. As it is, with sketchy knowledge at best, I just don't see how it happened.
I am thankful that so many people escaped the disaster, but the loss of the ferry is devastating to tourism and to people who live there who used the vessel for transportation.
Mar 23rd, 2006, 06:28 AM
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I saw this on the news yesterday. Very sad, but also great in that everyone is ok! I did wonder if cars were on this ferry as our news did not mention it. We will be on the Coho ferry this weekend, and after this I will make sure we do not leave our passports in the car without us.
Listening to the first hand accounts of this was just amazing. The people seemed so calm. It was disturbing to hear how fast it sank though. Sounds like since everyone got off ok and was rescued, that at least emergency procedures had been practiced. Just so happy to hear that everyone was rescued!
Listening to the first hand accounts of this was just amazing. The people seemed so calm. It was disturbing to hear how fast it sank though. Sounds like since everyone got off ok and was rescued, that at least emergency procedures had been practiced. Just so happy to hear that everyone was rescued!
Mar 23rd, 2006, 06:42 AM
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http://www.theglobeandmail.com/servl.../National/home
If you want to read a story of real heroes, a story of brave men and women who were willing to risk their lives to save others, then follow the above link to the news story.
It is one of the most dramatic stories I have ever read. I recommend with all my inner being that you read the story.
It describes in graphic detail how the people of an isolated village hurried to the scene of the ferry disaster. They are probably THE reason why so many people were rescued from the lifeboats.
If you want to read a story of real heroes, a story of brave men and women who were willing to risk their lives to save others, then follow the above link to the news story.
It is one of the most dramatic stories I have ever read. I recommend with all my inner being that you read the story.
It describes in graphic detail how the people of an isolated village hurried to the scene of the ferry disaster. They are probably THE reason why so many people were rescued from the lifeboats.
Mar 23rd, 2006, 06:53 AM
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Hi bob_brown. That was the story I read that caused me to post.
You're right about the courage of the entire village to help with the rescue effort. I applaud them, and sadly most of the time they are marginalized.
I can't believe the Coast Guard told the first-to-arrive to not transport for another 20 min until they arrived - good thing the some of the locals used their common sense and ignored that instruction. With the locals being in small boats themselves, waiting during a squall could have been tragic for more than the ferry passengers.
Your personal experience was interesting to read...thx for sharing it.
You're right about the courage of the entire village to help with the rescue effort. I applaud them, and sadly most of the time they are marginalized.
I can't believe the Coast Guard told the first-to-arrive to not transport for another 20 min until they arrived - good thing the some of the locals used their common sense and ignored that instruction. With the locals being in small boats themselves, waiting during a squall could have been tragic for more than the ferry passengers.
Your personal experience was interesting to read...thx for sharing it.
Mar 23rd, 2006, 07:05 AM
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Thanks Bob. I had not seen that story. I just saw our local news. The story is very sobering. Small towns are so great in coming together when there is a need, so it was great to hear of that happening.
Mar 23rd, 2006, 07:10 AM
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Thanks for the link, Bob. What a moving story.
A touching novel that is set in that part of the country is "I Heard the Owl Call My Name" by Margaret Craven. Although it's fiction, it gives you a good sense of what it's like there. I highly recommend it.
I'm sorry to hear that two people are missing.
A touching novel that is set in that part of the country is "I Heard the Owl Call My Name" by Margaret Craven. Although it's fiction, it gives you a good sense of what it's like there. I highly recommend it.
I'm sorry to hear that two people are missing.
Mar 23rd, 2006, 10:29 AM
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There seems to be conflicting accounts of those missing. Has there been any final word? Any definitive word?
The only thing I read was a news report that said that the two made reservations at the last moment and there was some tought that the two never boarded the ferry. I don't know if that is wishful thinking, supposition, or fact.
The only thing I read was a news report that said that the two made reservations at the last moment and there was some tought that the two never boarded the ferry. I don't know if that is wishful thinking, supposition, or fact.
Mar 23rd, 2006, 10:42 AM
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The latest reports I could find say that the two people are missing with no real knowledge of what happened to them.
The fear is that they went down with the ship.
A friend of mine who was in the US Navy suggested that those water tight doors that compartmentalize the vehicle parking decks might be good doors, but very poor floors.
Even though chocks were placed undere the wheels of my car after we drove on board, the car could well slide off of them if the ship began to list.
If two of the vehicle compartments were breached by the collision with the rock, then considerable water could come in.
As the ship slanted more and went down in the prow, the vehicles would begin to slide with some velocity because they are in essense falling. If they all piled up against the doors, the weight of the vehicles, particularly trucks, could buckle the doors because they are now essentially floors.
In essence a chain reaction sets in as all the weight becomes vertical.
I don't know in any way that is what happened, but my friend says it often happened with cargo ships that had been topedoed. What had been horizonal becomes vertical and the whole dynamics of the ship change radically.
Whatever the cause, it is a tragic event that will have an impact far beyond the loss of the ship. For many people in that part of BC it was their highway.
The fear is that they went down with the ship.
A friend of mine who was in the US Navy suggested that those water tight doors that compartmentalize the vehicle parking decks might be good doors, but very poor floors.
Even though chocks were placed undere the wheels of my car after we drove on board, the car could well slide off of them if the ship began to list.
If two of the vehicle compartments were breached by the collision with the rock, then considerable water could come in.
As the ship slanted more and went down in the prow, the vehicles would begin to slide with some velocity because they are in essense falling. If they all piled up against the doors, the weight of the vehicles, particularly trucks, could buckle the doors because they are now essentially floors.
In essence a chain reaction sets in as all the weight becomes vertical.
I don't know in any way that is what happened, but my friend says it often happened with cargo ships that had been topedoed. What had been horizonal becomes vertical and the whole dynamics of the ship change radically.
Whatever the cause, it is a tragic event that will have an impact far beyond the loss of the ship. For many people in that part of BC it was their highway.
Mar 23rd, 2006, 12:31 PM
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>>>>>>>As the ship slanted more and went down in the prow, the vehicles would begin to slide with some velocity because they are in essense falling. If they all piled up against the doors, the weight of the vehicles, particularly trucks, could buckle the doors because they are now essentially floors.<<<<<<<
Bob, your friend's hypothesis sounds plausible to me. It seems to be confirmed by the account of someone who was there when the ship sank, whose words were quoted in the article to which you provided a link:
<i>"You could just hear all the cars in the car port crashing down on each other. When it went straight up and down you could hear every one just hit. It was loud.</i>
As mms said, small towns often pull together wonderfully.
But there are many kind people, in small towns and large ones.
I recall how people in relatively small cities and towns in the Martime provinces of Canada took in passengers from diverted planes on 9/11. Actually planes also were diverted to Vancouver, Calgary and other Canadian cities. However, in the case of the larger cities, the impact was less dramatic, because the number of stranded passengers was not so large in relation to the cities' populations.
A couple of years ago when Alberta was experiencing a bad drought, I was touched that farmers in Ontario donated cattle feed to their Alberta counterparts.
I've read that when there was that terrible explosion in Halifax Harbour in 1917, the first relief supplies to arrive were those that came from Boston.
Anyway at this point my thoughts and prayers are with the two people who are missing from the Queen of the North.
Bob, your friend's hypothesis sounds plausible to me. It seems to be confirmed by the account of someone who was there when the ship sank, whose words were quoted in the article to which you provided a link:
<i>"You could just hear all the cars in the car port crashing down on each other. When it went straight up and down you could hear every one just hit. It was loud.</i>
As mms said, small towns often pull together wonderfully.
But there are many kind people, in small towns and large ones.
I recall how people in relatively small cities and towns in the Martime provinces of Canada took in passengers from diverted planes on 9/11. Actually planes also were diverted to Vancouver, Calgary and other Canadian cities. However, in the case of the larger cities, the impact was less dramatic, because the number of stranded passengers was not so large in relation to the cities' populations.
A couple of years ago when Alberta was experiencing a bad drought, I was touched that farmers in Ontario donated cattle feed to their Alberta counterparts.
I've read that when there was that terrible explosion in Halifax Harbour in 1917, the first relief supplies to arrive were those that came from Boston.
Anyway at this point my thoughts and prayers are with the two people who are missing from the Queen of the North.
Mar 23rd, 2006, 06:44 PM
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It's a horrific tragedy something we in this country see little of.
The people of Hartley Bay are all Tsimshian-indigenous to the area for thousand of years.A carving done by local artist Jessel Bolton hangs in my living room and no doubt Jessel was out all night he's a keen fisherman and superb boat handler.
I've seen what a southerly can do in those channels and very nearly came to grief one sunny morning in June when winds swept down on my boat from the south.Only the presence @ the wheel of someone younger stronger than myself with nerves of steel enabled us to punch through 20+ miles of towering seas and shrieking winds to safety.
It' a terrbile blow to tourism operators everywhere on the mid and north coast their season is shot.
The people of Hartley Bay are all Tsimshian-indigenous to the area for thousand of years.A carving done by local artist Jessel Bolton hangs in my living room and no doubt Jessel was out all night he's a keen fisherman and superb boat handler.
I've seen what a southerly can do in those channels and very nearly came to grief one sunny morning in June when winds swept down on my boat from the south.Only the presence @ the wheel of someone younger stronger than myself with nerves of steel enabled us to punch through 20+ miles of towering seas and shrieking winds to safety.
It' a terrbile blow to tourism operators everywhere on the mid and north coast their season is shot.
Mar 24th, 2006, 04:02 AM
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Sam_Salmon interesting to hear your personal connection to the area, and take on the tourism impact. I hadn't thought about that side of it yet but I thought they were going to have a replacement ship ready in about a week.
And re: the Halifax Explosion...that's true and every year Nova Scotia sends one of its finest Christmas trees to Boston as a show of continued gratitude. It's set up annually with a big lighting ceremony at the Prudential Centre in Boston.
And re: the Halifax Explosion...that's true and every year Nova Scotia sends one of its finest Christmas trees to Boston as a show of continued gratitude. It's set up annually with a big lighting ceremony at the Prudential Centre in Boston.
