BC Ferries hit the news again with a blackout on the Queen of Capilano.
Sources say that when the online generator went down, the standby didn't start. This is bad enough on a coastal job, but on a ferry with passengers, it is enough to give you the heeby jeebies, especially with some of the spectacular accidents they have had in the last year. Somehow I don't think hot chocolate would exactly cut it for me, onboard a blacked out ferry.
WEST VANCOUVER, B.C. -- Residents of Bowen Island are heading to work without their cars as B.C. Ferries tries to fix the disabled Queen of Capilano. A water taxi service has been set up for commuters after the 96-metre ferry lost power on Sunday night.
The ship was carrying passengers and cars to the island in Howe Sound from West Vancouver's Horseshoe Bay ferry terminal. Dozens of passengers were stranded for several hours but were given free food and hot chocolate until they could finish their trip to Bowen by water taxi.
A B.C. ferry that lost power in June 2005 drifted into a marina at Horseshoe Bay, damaging more than two dozen pleasure boats. The Queen of the North sank in March after crashing into Gil Island south of Prince Rupert, taking two passengers to the ocean bottom.
Picture, with generators running, from Kevin Stapelton's website.
Queen of Capilano
Built: 1991, Vancouver
Overall Length: 96.0 m (314' 11")
Gross Tonnage: 2,856
Car Capacity: 85
Passenger & Crew Capacity: 462
Service Speed: 14.0 knots
Horsepower: 7,305
Route: Horseshoe Bay-Bowen Island
