SOUTHERN VANCOUVER ISLAND

 on july 13 2018 i went to VICTORIA  to see the biggest cruise ship in the world the NORWEGIAN BLISS  wich came into ogden point wich i  saw her and she was realy big. the other reason i came to VICTORIA was also to see the new JOHNSON STREET BRIDGE that i walked acroos it there and back it was a intresting bridge to see and the best part i was able to get photos of ships in the POINT HOPE SHIPYARD near by wich i got photo of both the fishboat STAR WARS and the BC FERRY TACHEK  the bridge was only two blocks from my hotel  that was great. after i saw the NORWEIAN BLISS wich arived at 3pm i took a transit bus from ogden point to DOWNTOWN VICTORIA and onto ESQUIMALT  to get two cruise ships ariving between 5pm and 6pm wich i went to MACAULY POINT PARK. the ships were the EURODAM and the RUBY PRINCESS and only took me hour to get there wich was great.. after that i left the park in ESQUIMALT and went back to DOWNTOWN VICTORIA and my hotel wich only took 15 min wich i was amazed at. then the next morning i meet my dads friend LORNE CAMPBELL  and we went to CROFTON and ride the BC FERRY HOWE SOUND QUEEN for the last time wich she is beening replaced in 2019 then after that we went into DUNCAN to see the world biggest hockey stick wich is a land mark in DUNCAN. we left DUNCAN at 3,30pm and heaed for SWARTZ BAY wich we got there at 4.45pm and i was able to get the 5pm ferry home. on the way home i got photos of the two new BC FERRIES that serive the GULF ISLANDS from TSAWWASSEN . there were the SALISH RAVEN and the SALISH EAGLE  i was very happy to get photos of both of them on my way home. overal i got to see wanted to see in VICTORIA and SOUHTERN VANCOUVER ISLAND in two days wich was great

USCGC MELLON

THE USCGC MELLON was built at AVONDALE SHIPYARDS near NEW ORLEANS LA in 1966. she was launched on feb 11 1967 and commissioned on jan 9 1968. the USCGC MELLON is named after ANDREW W. MELLON  the 49th U.S. SECRETARY OF THE TREASURY from 1921-1932. the MELLON was one of 12 HAMILTON CLASS HIGH ENDURANCE CUTTERS built for the UNITED STATES COAST GUARD between 1967-1972. the other 11  that were built were the HAMILTON DALLAS CHASE BOUTWELL SHERMAN GALLATIN  MORGENTHAU  RUSH MUNRO JARVIS MIDGETT.  in oct 1980 the MELLON assited in the rescue of 400 passengers and crew off the MS PRINSENDAM wich caught fire in the gulf of alaska  on a cruise from VANCOUVER to ASIA unfortunaly the PRINSENDAM sank and everyone surived and were taken to SITKA ALASKA. the USCGC MELLON has personal of 167 and its based in SEATTLE WA. i got onboard the MELLON in VICTORIA B.C. in june 2001 and her sister ship BOUTWELL in PORTLAND OR in june 1995 and found these ships very interesting and neet looking. from 2011 -2016 the US COAST GUARD decommissioned 6 of the 12 HAMILTON CLASS ships in there fleet and transfured them to three navies. the HAMILTON DALLAS BOUTWELL went to the PHILPPINE NAVY. the CHASE GALLATIN went to the NIGERIAN NAVY and the JARVIS went to the BANGLADESH NAVY. since then the US COAST GUARD has built new ships to replace its aging fleet but overal the HAMILTON CLASS ships were a great service to the people of the UNITES STATES

MV KLITSA

THE KLITSA was built in vancouver as the DENMAN QUEEN  in 1972 for the DENMAN ISLAND TO BUCKLEY BAY route on VANCOUVER ISLAND for the MINISTRY OF TRANSPORTATION and HIGHWAYS of the PROVINCE OF BRITISH COLUMBIA. in 1973 the MINISTRY OF TRANSPORTATION renamed the DENMAN QUEEN to KLITSA  wich is named after a mountain near SPROAT LAKE on  VANCOUVER ISLAND. in 1985 the KLITSA along with her sister ships KAHLOKE and the KWUNA wich runs from SKIDEGATE to ALLIFORD BAY on HAIDIA GWAII  fromley the QUEEN CHARLOTTE ISLANDS were transfured from the MINISTRY OF TRANSPORTATION and HIGHWAYS  to BC FERRIES . in 2011 the KLITSA replaced the MV MILL BAY on the MILL BAY TO BRENTWOOD BAY route wich is north of VICTORIA  wich goes across SAANICH INLET. when the KLITSA replaced the MV MILL BAY that year BC FERRIES put the MV MILL BAY up for sale and was later sold to a logging company on the BC COAST. the KLITSA carries 26 cars and 195 passengers and the trip from BRENTWOOD BAY to MILL BAY takes 25 min. in july 2011 i rode the KLITSA from BRENTWOOD BAY to MILL BAY and found the ferry a intresting ship and the trip across SAANICH INLET is very senic

OMINECA PRINCESS

THE OMINECA PRINCESS was built in 1976 at allied shipbuilders in NORTH VANCOUVER B.C.  for the PROVINCE OF BRITISH COLUMBIA MINISTRY OF TRANSPORTATION and HIGHWAYS. on there FRANCOIS LAKE ROUTE. FRANCOIS LAKE is located in the BULKLEY VALLEY in NORTHERN BRITISH COLUMBIA wich the route runs from the community of FRANCOIS LAKE  across the lake to SOUTHBANK wich takes 15min and gives you great vieus of FRANCOIS LAKE. the OMINECA PRINCESS carries 200 passengers and 39 cars all inland ferries in the PROVINCE OF BRITISH COLUMBIA  are free because there part of the B.C. highway system under provincal law. in 2004 the OMINECA PRINCESS was replaced by the FRANCOIS FORESTER on the FRANCOIS LAKE ROUTE. in sept 2008 i rode the FRANCOIS FORESTER across FRANCOIS LAKE  and found her a interesting ferry and got onboard the OMINECA PRINCESS wich is now a backup vessel wile i was on the OMINECA PRINCESS i can tell she was showing her age and was a interesting ferry to see . for more info on BRITISH COLUMBIA INLAND FERRIES go to ww2.gov.bc.ca

QUEEN OF ALBERNI

THE QUEEN OF ALBERNI was built at vancouver shipyards in NORTH VANCOUVER B.C. in 1976. the QUEEN OF ALBERNI joined with her fellow c-class ferries QUEEN OF COQUITLAM and QUEEN OF COWICHAN were also beening built in 1976 for BC FERRIES. the QUEEN OF ALBERNI was built to carry trucks from TSAWWASSEN south of VANCOUVER to SWARTZ BAY north of VICTORIA B.C. the trip on that route takes 1hr 30 min . in feb 1984 the QUEEN OF ALBERNI was added a top deck for cars and her capasity increased to it is now 1200 passengers and 295 cars. in the 1990s the QUEEN OF ALBERNI was put on the mid island express wich runs from TSAWWASSEN to DUKE POINT  in NANAIMO B.C. wich takes 2 hours on that route. the QUEEN OF ALBERNI has had 2 major accdents. one was on aug 9 1979 were she ran aground in active pass in the gulf islands. one horse died in the accdent but no other people onboard were hurt. then on march 12 1992 around 8am the QUEEN OF ALBERNI left TSAWWASSEN for departure bay in NANAIMO in heavy fog collied with the japan regestry bulker SHINWA MARU wich left the ROBERTS BANK coal terminal at the same time. luckly two pepole onboard the QUEEN OF ALBERNI were seriously hurt and no one onboard the SHINWA MARU were hurt. overal the QUEEN OF ALBERNI has had a good safety record and i have been on the QUEEN OF ALBERNI and she is a interesting looking ship and been on the mid island express wich you see the part of the east coast of VANCOUVER ISLAND and the LOWER MAINLAND of BRITISH COLUMBIA

PITT LAKE

on june 24 2017 my sister ROSEMARY and i took a trip from NEW WESTMINSTER to PITT LAKE on the tour boat BETA STAR. we left NEW WESTMINSTER at 9.50am and headed up river along the way we passed two laid up NOAA ships that came up from SEATTLE WA a month a ago. they were the SURVEYOR and the MILLER FREEMEN wich were both built in 1959 and 1960 wich looked very old. then when we went by the port mann bridge and entred the PITT RIVER we came across the old albion ferries that use to run from FORT LANGLEY to ALBION wich they were the KULLEET and the KLATAWA wich are now up for sale wich now a bridge was built to replace the ferries  in 2009 and make it easier to get across the fraser river. . then around 12.15pm we entred the PITT LAKE  and the lake is very big and had lots of  boaters around wich is a very popular place for boaters wich they come up the PITT RIVER and enter the lake from there. along the tour of PITT LAKE we came past a resort named WILLAMS  LANDING wich is a  place for boaters and passed two islands  wich one is named jail island then  after that we headed down the lake and down the PITT RIVER and back to the FRASER RIVER wich we arived back at NEW WESTMINSTER at 4pm overal the trip to PITT LAKE was worth it and on the boat they servied us lunch and got great vieus of the lake and the PITT RIVER . the PITT LAKE is one of the biggest lakes in the lower mainland and is worth seening.

SALISH ORCA

the SALISH ORCA was built at REMONTOWA SHIPBUILDING in GDNASK POLAND in 2016. on JAN 11 2017 the SALISH ORCA made her madien arival to BRITISH COLUMBIA and delivered to BC FERRIES. on may 16 2017 the SALISH ORCA made her madien voyage from COMOX on VANCOUVER ISLAND to POWELL RIVER on the SUNSHINE COAST. the SALISH ORCA carries 145 vehicles and 600 passengers .on may 23 2017 i rode the SALISH ORCA from COMOX TO POWELL RIVER with retired chief steward LORNE CAMPBELL and formor wss member NEIL ENGLAND and found the ferry intresting wich had two level car decks. the trip on the SALISH ORCA was worth taking and her sister ships the SALISH EAGLE wich starts running on the TSAWWASSEN TO GULF ISLANDS route in july 2017 and the SALISH RAVEN wich wil run on the SWARTZ BAY TO  GULF ISLANDS  route in the fall of 2017 wich both be the new ships in the BC FERRY FLEET