BC Ferries closes Duke Point until further notice

I wondered why there was no 3.15 departure from Duke Point today. Now we know!

My perspective

No matter how long I spend gazing our from our home across the Georgia Strait to the Sunshine Coast, I still cannot reconcile the fact that this view is pretty much the same distance away as the French coastline is from the cliffs of Dover. 

There's not much of the Pas-de-Calais to see from Dover Castle - and even from Cap Gris Nez, the cliffs of Dover seem incredibly distant and small.

So I'm still blown away by the sheer scale of the view from our window - and in some light conditions it's just begging for a photo. And yes, I can cheat a little using a telephoto lens.

Yet there remain so many unanswered questions. Where is the horizon?  My guess is that the sea ends about 8-10 miles out. But how much of the Sunshine Coast is hidden below the horizon? And most perplexing of all, how many trees are there in this picture? Answers on a postcard please. You may need to click on the picture to view it larger.

As others see us......

After three years, I'm still discovering Gabriola - and it's often difficult to describe the place to those who've never been.


Such was the challenge set to a group of ethnology students enrolled at Royal Roads University in Victoria - to describe the meaning of Gabe in a postcard and 400 words. 



The result? Well, take a look for yourself here on the Royal Roads website.



This series offers a view of our island culture that maybe we're all still discovering........

Halloween on Gabriola

Under clear skies, Gabriola celebrated Halloween this evening - with bonfire, fireworks and its very own 'golden mile'.  For one night only, the tunnel (North Road's tree-canopy) attracted a constant stream of families driving at walking pace enjoying the spectacle of hundreds of carved pumpkins flickering in the dark. Our own offering joined a small, select group marking the start of the display.

For a short while, the line of traffic was vaguely reminiscent of that other 'golden mile' in north-west England. The difference?  In Blackpool, the illuminations don't get eaten by the deer!

Flying in the face of reason

We're always being told that flying from Vancouver is expensive - but it seems that's only if you start your flight in Vancouver. Take a look at this price comparison -  based on the same Air Canada flight from Vancouver to London Heathrow and back.....

The basic price - including taxes - is $1,126 for a return flight from YVR to Heathrow. That's $545 in fares and a massive $581 in taxes.

But we're also told there are great deals for flying out of Seattle, where the taxes are lower.... or are they? Let's have a look:

.....yes, that's a full $350 saving on the same flight if you make the journey to Seattle before boarding your Air Canada flight from YVR.  But just look - the taxes are only $6 less than flying from Vancouver - but the round trip fare has dropped to just $187!!!  Now far be it from me to ask why.....


Mind you, you don't have to look that far before you find similar "deals" for local flyers.  Have you noticed that Tofino Air's Silva Bay flights now continue to Nanaimo?  And that a flight from YVR to Silva Bay is now $82 + taxes?  

Not bad, you may think - but did you realise that if you stay on the same plane for the extra 15 minute flight into Nanaimo, you could save yourself nearly $20 each way? Even with the cost of a ferry ride, that's still a round trip saving of more than $30!!

Someone's taking us for a ride.........

A visit to Seattle's Museum of Flight

Time to spare in Seattle?  Down opposite Boeing Field is the Museum of Flight - a great place to while away a few hours, with an awesome collection of aircraft from more than a century of aviation.

Mister Boeing's Airplane Company has recreated the original woodworking benches in the "Red Barn" on which the first production airplanes were handcrafted

Meanwhile, across the road are some of the icons of modern aviation - including the prototype 747 Jumbo Jet, Air Force One - the presidential aircraft used by Presidents Eisenhower, Kennedy, Johnson and Nixon, and one of the world's 18 remaining Concordes, donated to the museum by British Airways.

Reflected in the windows of the Museum's latest addition, the new space gallery (opening soon), this magnificent aircraft has lost none of its magic.

In the Personal Courage wing are fighters from World War I and World War II 

Ten fighter planes from World War II 
represent all the major combatants.

Iconic images at every turn - like this Lockheed Super Constellation of Trans Canada Air Lines

and the Douglas DC-2 of Trans World Airlines.

Just look at that for luxury - real curtains!

Among the 'flying' exhibits in the Great Hall is this lovely DC-3 of Alaska Airlines

And, not to be forgotten, the ubiquitous deHavilland Canada Beaver DHC-2. Designed as a bush plane, many were subsequently fitted with floats.  A museum piece, maybe,  but with more than 1,600 built between 1947 and 1967, it's amazing to think that there are hundreds still in daily service along Canada's coastline today.

Dozens of DHC-2 Beavers still ply the islands and inlets of the BC coast - a tribute to the rugged simplicity of the original design.


This Tofino Air Beaver flies regularly to and from Silva Bay on Gabriola.




Read more about this fascinating museum at www.museumofflight.org

First signs of fall?

 

New colours are emerging as our short summer draws to a close.

Creature comforts

Labour Day weekend brought wall-to-wall sunshine on Gabriola. A leisurely walk through the island's trails revealed just a few of the many species who live side-by-side on this island.

There can't be too many places in this world where such varied wildlife co-exist - but Gabriola's campground is one of them.  It was a little early in the day for the deer to return to their pitch, and the turkeys were too busy playing chicken with the traffic on North Road to pose for the camera. Too bad they weren't around to read this cautionary sign so beautifully posed by this island ape....

Undeterred by such frivolity, the turkeys continued to evade the public eye - but the island's guinea fowl population just carried on regardless - shaving whatever they could find from the lawns around the retirement village. No sign that these guys are undernourished.....

 Further from the hubbub if village life, the woodland sunshine brought out many smaller species - though you had to look a little harder to spot some of them, like this grasshopper....

Not everyone stays home on a holiday weekend, but there's still the opportunity to gaze in awe at the creative genius (or is that engineering expertise?) displayed in many island homes.

Most of all, the sunshine encouraged species out of their natural habitat in what, for many, was the first time this summer. Even homo sapiens could be seen poking their heads out of the chilly pacific waters. Some were even brave enough to climb out onto the shore!

Duke Point reflected.......

Waiting in line

The great Gabriola ferry debate

Let's be honest.... Gabriola has a much better ferry service than most of the gulf islands. Why? Well, for one thing, we live on the only gulf island with a ferry that takes us right into town, where we can shop, eat out and so much more within walking distance of the ferry terminal. And, with an experience card, the round trip passenger fare is only a buck more than a round trip on Nanaimo Transit. 


OK, nothing's perfect - and some believe that our ferries should be free because they are our highways - and we've already paid for the highways through our taxes haven't we? Well, maybe so..... but the reality is that ferries (and bridges, for that matter) take a whole lot more maintenance than highways and if we value living on a small island so much then we should expect to pay something for the privilege.


Love'em or hate'em, BC Ferries provides a service that is important to all of us - and which has to be paid for somehow. True, they aren't the world's greatest at customer service - and the ethos of the organisation seems increasingly to put profit before service. But the reality is that there is no profit any more - and BC Ferries is faced with having to cut costs just to stay afloat (sorry, no pun intended). No surprise then that the corporation favours moving the Gabriola ferry to Duke Point, where it already employs terminal staff (who, let's face it, are not exactly rushed off their feet dealing with one ferry every two and a half hours) and from where the crossing to Gabriola is only about half the distance from Nanaimo Harbour. 

To their credit, BC Ferries acknowledges that the community has given this idea a big thumbs down and has said as much to the Ferry Commissioner. Yet, just because some hapless truck driver manages to close down the Nanaimo Harbour terminal by ignoring warnings that (so we are told) he was given about the structural integrity of the ferry ramp here we are, with the terminal closed, a ferry to Duke Point, a water taxi to Nanaimo ....  and conspiracy theories galore. 

At least we have been given an alternative - if the same thing had happened at Chemainus or Buckley Bay, how would residents of Thetis, Penelakut, Hornby or Denman get into town?  In all probability the answer is they would be provided with a water taxi for foot passengers, maybe a barge service for essential supply trucks - but no means of taking their car on or off the island. We're lucky here on Gabriola, and maybe that's worth remembering.


So here we are, three days into an emergency transport plan that has actually worked remarkably well, thanks to the good weather (smooth crossings so far on the water taxi) and the fact that the kids are home from school for the summer - so that, at the drop of a hat, the Scholarship can be released from its normal school run duties on Salt Spring Island to provide a day-long service for Gabriola. No-one questions how long the Scholarship's crew worked on Friday (best not maybe) or how much they, or Gulf Islands Water Taxi, were being paid for their efforts. Let's just say that the company will likely make a comfortable profit out of BC Ferries' misfortune. But we don't mind that, do we? After all, it's a private business isn't it? Just like BC Ferries. Or maybe that's different. But why so?


Back in the UK, the conservatives privatised the National Bus Company in 1986 and British Railways in 1993. In both cases, screams of public outcry echoed round the country for more than 10 years until suddenly we started to realise that the quality of service we were getting from the private companies was, in many cases, far better than had been the case while the industry was in government hands. Yes, there were the Fat Cats along the way who had walked away with millions - but generally, that was because they had taken the financial risk by re-investing in new, more efficient infrastructure and had actually listened to what customers said they wanted. Result? A more reliable service, fewer complaints - and (usually) happier customers. 

Few now believe that a return to government-run buses and trains would benefit anyone. The private sector has proved itself capable of running services more efficiently and at lower cost. Yet still the argument rolls on that these are public services and the public should have a greater say in how they are run. In a sense, the public does have a say, since it elected the local and national governments that are tasked with regulating the systems. If the system falls down, it's just as likely to be through lack of expertise and poor contract management on the part of the government than through any malpractice by the private contractor.

All of which sounds horribly familiar in the context of BC Ferries, doesn't it?  Have BC Ferries really done such a bad job of meeting their obligation to government under the Coastal Ferry Act? Or is it the Act itself that has failed to adequately protect public interest?  In reality it's probably a little of both, and maybe it's time that the Province and the Ferry Commission took a long hard look at whether the Ferry Advisory Committees - supposedly the public watchdogs for ferry users - are really achieving what they should. 

Critics point to a lack of impartiality since FAC members are appointed by BC Ferries, and not by public nomination. Little surprise, therefore, that the public's confidence in the role of FAC's is wearing thin. To be effective, FAC members need to be adequately briefed by BC Ferries on how the business is run, and the financial implications of any proposed change. But that doesn't mean that the FAC should be run as if it was part of the company.  Public watchdogs should function independently of the service provider, but within clear terms of reference to ensure that the viability of the business (and therefore the service to the customer) is not prejudiced.  

The Ferry Commission should take advantage of the extra time allowed for its review of the BC Ferries contract to make one simple change to the constitution of FACs - to give them true independence in their role, and regain the confidence of their customers. It works with the privatised railway and bus industries in the UK, and it can work here in BC with the ferry system.