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Prince Rupert
Ferry LoadingThe rain was falling softly when we awoke to mist covered hills once again. The weather didn’t look particularly inviting for a sail down the infamous Inside Passage to Port Hardy, the northern most town on Vancouver Island. Still we have been blessed by good weather so far, so why should today be any different?
It was with trepidation we boarded the Queen of Prince Rupert this morning, as the ferry we were supposed to take, The Queen of the North, sank six weeks ago during the night travelling down the Inside Passage killing two! We only heard about the sinking purely by chance in Glacier National Park when watching the news. The news story was about the first sailing following the accident. Gail asked if that was our ship, and I responded that sure was our ship. What would we be sailing on now, did we need to rearrange our plans? I hopped on the internet to search for information regarding the sinking, but all I could find was that it hit an outcrop of rock during the night and everyone was rescued apart from two who were missing presumed dead.
The Queen of the North had been
Prince Rupert
Ferry Loading replaced by a much smaller ship to make the journey twice weekly through the Inside Passage, The Queen of Prince Rupert. Reading the information about it, we saw that it only had one cafeteria and a small gift shop. The probability of them having vegetarian fair was slim and so not to be left starving for the duration of the journey, which was 21 hours, we stopped at Subway to pick up our usual tasty sub to see us through on the trip. Veggie Deluxe with cheese, tomato, cucumber, lettuce, jalapeno peppers, green peppers, and lashings of olives, pickles, sweet onion sauce, mayo, and mustard all on a honey oat sub.
The lady at the booth checked us in and confirmed we had a stateroom (a pokey little dark room with bunks and a Bible - just in case?) then she hesitantly wished us a good trip with a dubious look on her face. Uh oh! Should we worry? We drove on board the ferry and grabbed our gear before going to the purser’s office to collect the key for our stateroom. We were on the seventh floor, so above the waterline. Had a brief look around the cabin
and then noted where our life jackets were and tried them on, then read the emergency procedures and walked the emergency route to our meeting point out on deck noting that there were two life boats which could carry 53 passengers in each as well as the inflatable rafts with a covering nearby.
With the necessities done, we bought a hot chocolate and ate our muffins before heading outside on deck to take pictures. Once on the way the air had a nasty little nip to it making it very cold standing at the front of the boat with the breeze hitting your face. As we were out we reflected on an experience that the Pastor and his wife at Smithers SDA church had.
They told us of their trip on that fateful night when they took the Queen of the North down to Port Hardy. They turned in and were asleep when they were woken by a loud bang and then followed by shortly after shuddering and grinding sounds. The Pastor told his wife to don her clothes and they dashed out with life vests in hand to the deck into the pitch black coldness of the
night. As there weren’t many people on board, it was a pretty straightforward emergency exit off the ailing ship, women with children and the infirmed were asked to get into the first life boat. Once that had filled then the elderly and people with difficulties were into the second boat and so on until all were off the ship. Apparently though, there were members of the crew in their cabins below the waterline who were trapped, so they needed rescuing. I heard that the crews are now refusing to sleep below the waterline which I can understand. Where the ship ran aground, there was a First Nations village not far from there on that island, and when they heard the noise from the ship, they hopped into their boats and speed around to help people disembark from the sinking ship. They were a huge help, and it was good fortune that they ran aground in that particular place. A big tribute is being made to that village and its people. The pastor’s wife said after about an hour from impact they witnessed the ferry sink into the dark cold murky depths of the sea. She said it was an incredibly
Inside Passage
Leaving Prince Rupert. frightening experience; they lost car, possessions, but thankfully not their lives. As to what happened that fateful night, we still haven’t heard too much. From reports it sounds like the captain or officers on duty failed to notice that the ship had gone marginally off course and didn’t see the rocks ahead. Were they asleep? Perhaps we will find out one day?
What can I say? The journey was wonderful! Such pristine beauty surrounding us as we sailed down through the narrow passages encompassed by forest covered mountains either side, some topped by snow. Waterfalls crashed through the forest down into the passage at frequent intervals, made mysterious by the shrouding mist. There were a couple of settlements that we passed, but through the mist it was difficult to see them clearly, but one of them looked as if most of the houses or buildings had been squashed by a giant foot. The weather was changeable, from shrouding fog to lofty mists, glimpses of blue sky to dark ominous clouds bringing forth lashings of rain. As we were sailing though a passage, the water was calm and still and quite tranquil, until we moved out into the open areas
Inside Passage
Leaving Prince Rupert. of the sea where the wind whipped up the waves making for a rollercoaster experience. Not much wildlife was seen, but a few bald eagles were spotted, the Orcas were hiding once again.
I have to say taking a ferry is a much preferable to a cruise ship through the Inside Passage. With the ferry, you get all types of passengers, from those like us to those who are workers and enroute, locals off to the city for shopping, and nature enthusiasts who are travelling along with canoe/kayak stopping at the various moorings to enjoy a paddle up the passage. Everyone was extremely friendly and it was nice to mix with passengers like these. We spent most of our time chatting with two fellow travellers from the States. Beth and Susan. Susan was originally from England but had immigrated to the States years before. They were both on a road trip like us exploring what North America has to offer, but were doing it camping as opposed to us with hotels. After them sharing their camping experiences with us, we feel revved up and ready to rent an RV and head off to the unknown and to the prospective
Inside Passage
Enjoying the views. night bear ambushes after food has been left out by mistake. As we were out on deck taking pictures we also met a fellow British traveller called Guy, who was spending four months travelling through Canada pretty much on his own by hitchhiking and camping. He was heading the same direction, so we offered him a lift with us for as far as he wanted to go on Vancouver Island. He said thanks, and we would meet up later if he decided to bum a ride.
Nearing nightfall we were out in open water and the tossing around on the waves began to make us feel queasy. Looking at the map the open stretch wasn’t for too long, so perhaps we wouldn’t need those nice little thoughtful barf bags left all over the ship!!! By the time each of us was tucked up in our prospective bunks the waves flattened and the queasiness settled and sleep over took us. Hopefully it wouldn’t overtake the captain of the ship though, need him to keep nice and alert!
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david evans
non-member comment
ladies , i read your article and found it very interesting, you say you took that trip in 2006 and the Rupert was a replacement ferry. I just want to set the record straight a little for you. As my dad would have said, it\'s a ship. And one more thing, The Queen of The North was the replacement ferry for the Rupert. You see my dad and I both worked on the Rupert, my dad in 1969 and myself in 1974. Ah! those were the days to ride the ferries, ya they actually had dining rooms with real food not fast food. Even the ships down south had dining rooms.But anyway getting back to the Rupert, I was a steward working in the dining room, and like you said, there was a mixture of all kinds of people even back then. I can remember serving hippies at one table and really rich folks at another. OH ya, they even had good food for vegetarians back then. Just to let you know you had nothing to worry about, that ship was as safe as anything on water. It was so safe that I would take my old cabin back any time, It was aft (back) just above the starboard (right) propeller shaft. Man did it make a lot of noise. Boy, i\'d give anything to sail the inside passage on the Rupert again, that was one hell of a good job,I really miss it. There are some things that don\'t get better with time, taking a trip, or as you said a mini cruse down the inside passage on the BC ferries is one of them. Ladies, you rode on one of the best ships the BC government will ever own, you see I envy you, you sailed on the best the BC ferries ever had or will have. It\'s just such a shame that you didn\'t have the privilege of sitting in a dining room (which was forward with a view) when you were on your trip. The Queen of Prince Rupert in my mind always was and always will be a grand lady that I had the privilege of working on. And what can you say about the inside passage,a post card view at every window. if you would like to respond i would look forward to it David Evans