It's all in the writing

It's been said that travel broadens the mind - and our recent journey around the Gulf Islands certainly highlighted the very different atmosphere of the various island communities that we visited. Although not by any means the definitive guide, the initial impression created as you land by ferry offers just a hint of what to expect. 

As a benchmark, take the approach to Saltery Bay, the northern terminal on the Sunshine Coast's ferry link from Earls Cove. Simple, business-like and informative. Just in case you've forgotten that you are, in fact, aboard one of BC Ferries' fleet, the sign is there to remind you.

The same corporate image announces your arrival at Sturdies Bay. For the well infomed, it will be evident that you are about to land on Galiano Island. For the uninitiated, however, you could be just about anywhere. It is rumoured that the local businesses maintain this anonymity as a way of convincing the rookie ferry passenger from the mainland that he has actually arrived on Vancouver Island.

Within sight of Galiano Island is Mayne Island - a community so proud of its twin ferry docks that the nation's flag flies high above dock #1 to welcome travellers from the mainland. Since our visit, one BC Ferry made a 'hard landing' at (read: crashed into) the dock and for a couple of weeks this proud island community was down to just one landing.

Just yards away under the Provincial flag is dock #2, offering a more informal (or is that informative?) welcome to fellow islanders arriving from the other Southern Gulf Islands, possibly tempting them to rest awhile at Village Bay while they summon up the energy to travel onward to the mainland. Or does it say something more significant about a community with a split personality?

Further north, the same formality - minus the corporate image - welcomes visitors to Denman Island, conveying the atmosphere of a fiercely independent community that likes to present a well ordered and respectable face to the traveller. No surprise, therefore, that so many would-be explorers continue straight on across Denman to sample the less formal, if ever-so-slightly disorganised atmosphere of Hornby Island.

 

    

This welcome sign says it all!

Sailing ......... but not as it should be

After the delights of a 55 minute mini-cruise aboard MV Island Sky, expectations were high for the next part of our journey around the islands. 

The 1hr 20m crossing from Powell River to Comox runs just four times a day, so a reservation is recommended. The most northerly of the four short crossings from the mainland to Vancouver Island, this route passes close to Texada Island - the largest of the gulf islands, but with a full time  population of just over 1,100 - and nearby Harwood Island, an uninhabited reserve of the Sliammon First Nation. 

Arriving early in Powell River, we watched in disbelief as the earlier departure slipped quietly out of the ferry terminal en route to Comox. Disbelief at the abysmal appearance of the Queen of Burnaby. Built back in 1965 and sister ship to the respectable Queen of Nanaimo, the Queen of Burnaby really is the dog-end of the BC Ferries fleet.

Click on the photograph to see a larger image.

The Queen of Burnaby in her heyday

At first sight, she looks like a rusting hulk - with upper deck windows carrying so much grime that, from a distance she gives the impression of being a burnt-out shell. I recalled that BC Ferries having closed the cafeteria earlier this year on discovering asbestos powder seeping from the ceilings, and began to wonder what we were letting ourselves in for?

We boarded the Queen of Burnaby later that day with some trepidation; at least she was running to schedule on what had been one of the busiest days of the year so far. Yet the mezzanine platform car decks were only half deployed - was that to provide extra capacity for high vehicles on the main deck below, or because they would no longer support two lanes of cars? I preferred not to think too much about that.  At least the cafeteria (or a cafeteria) was now open and serving a full menu. 

A walk around the open decks was taken (with care) as the steelwork beneath our feet was buckled and distinctly spongy in places. Towards the bow, all access doors into the deserted lounge(?) area were locked, sealed with polythene sheeting and hazard tape. The asbestos problem in the cafeteria had not been resolved, but simply sealed off, and a new cafeteria created in another lounge area.

Fortunately the sun was shining and we spent most of the crossing on deck; feeling ever more convinced that this was a ferry that should no longer be in service. Ironically, BC Ferries seem to have removed all details of the Queen of Burnaby from the fleet profile page of their website. Maybe they, too, would rather this particular Queen would abdicate.

The Coat of Arms bears the motto "Splendor Sine Occasu" - loosely translated as "Brilliance without setting".  It surely must be close to setting aboard the Queen of Burnaby.

It would be good to finish on a more enthusiastic note; surely the scenery would make up for the less than exciting ferry experience. There must be some beautiful areas on Texada Island, but there was little beauty to be seen from the deck of the Queen of Burnaby.

 

Sailing.......through a little bit of paradise

A week travelling around on car ferries may not be everyone's idea of paradise - but as a means of experiencing the beauty of British Columbia some ferries are hard to beat.

On Day 2 of our recent trip we boarded the MV Island Sky - BC Ferries' newest "little" ship - to complete the "missing link" on the Sunshine Coast's Highway 101. Taking just under an hour, the journey from Earls Cove to Saltery Bay must rate as one of the most spectacular ferry journeys on the west coast.

Boarding the Island Sky, we had no idea what to expect. Externally, the design is not unlike her smaller, more venerable cousins, Bowen Queen and Mayne Queen - except for the addition of a mezzanine car deck to provide extra capacity. Once aboard, however, the passenger accommodation is of the same standard as Coastal Renaissance. But as soon as you leave the Earls Cove terminal, the real treat begins.

Initially travelling northeastwards, the route follows the coastline of Nelson Island, then turns  through the narrow channel between Nelson and Captain Island before finally heading west down Jervis Inlet towards Saltery Bay.

From the sundeck, passengers sit back and enjoy some of the best scenery in British Columbia

Mountains, forests, inlets and magical views at every turn

If any ferry journey can be rated as a mini-cruise, this must certainly be one.