On a warm, clear Friday morning, B.C. Ferries Coastal Inspiration captain Behzad Safarizal looks out at the busy waters ahead of the Duke Point ferry terminal.
Boats of all shapes and sizes criss-cross the pathway of the 160-metre German-made vessel, which has just begun a more-than-two-hour journey to Tsawwassen.
B次元官网网址淲hatB次元官网网址檚 this guy doing? HeB次元官网网址檚 all over the place,B次元官网网址� Safarizal suddenly says to a member of his crew as a recreational boat crosses the path of his ship.
With Seaspan, three cargo-ship terminals and a cruise ship terminal nearby, the waters around Duke Point, Gabriola Island and Protection Island are some of the busiest to navigate, according to Safarizal, who has been a captain with B.C. Ferries for five years.
B次元官网网址淭his is a busy strait of water B次元官网网址� but all of our crew are trained to deal with it and we have a plan and we follow our plan,B次元官网网址� he said.
Dealing with recreational boats is just one of the many activities that goes on behind the scenes every single sailing.
Late last month, the Nanaimo B次元官网网址 Bulletin and Black Press Media was given exclusive access onboard the Coastal Inspiration. B.C. Ferries employees showed reporter Nicholas Pescod and videographer Arnold Lim what goes on behind the scenes during a typical sailing.
The Coastal Inspiration is part of the B次元官网网址楥oastal classB次元官网网址� of ships operated by B.C. Ferries, delivered a few years before the 2010 Winter Olympics.
B次元官网网址淚 love showing off this ship, it is a big part of my life,B次元官网网址� said Cpt. Robert Nelson, senior master of fleet operations for the Coastal Inspiration.
Anyone who has ever taken the Coastal Inspiration may have noticed that desite having seven decks, there is no deck three button on the shipB次元官网网址檚 elevators. ThatB次元官网网址檚 because, as Nelson explains, deck three doesnB次元官网网址檛 exist. At least not yet.
B次元官网网址淒eck three was going to be a platform deck. It was an option when we were going to design the ship that we would be able to take cars on the main deck on two levels,B次元官网网址� Nelson said, adding that they designed the Coastal Inspiration in a way where deck three could be installed and used as a car deck in the future.
The summer season is far and away the busiest time of the year B.C. Ferries, which means a lot more mouths to feed for Catherine Schmidt. Head chef with B.C. Ferries, Schmidt said the last sailing in the morning and the first two sailings in the afternoon are usually the busiest.
B次元官网网址淲e are definitely busy at this time of the year,B次元官网网址� she said.
When it comes to food, the staff on board the Coastal Inspiration serves up a lot of it. B.C. Ferries, which offers White Spot meals during afternoon sailings, estimates that it serves mor than 500 customers per day on the Duke Point route alone.
Schmidt couldnB次元官网网址檛 say exactly how many pounds of food kitchen staff go through in a day. But she did say it includes about 10 boxes of hash browns and and anywhere from 15 to 20 boxes of fries.
B次元官网网址淲e get about eight to 12 pallets of food per day,B次元官网网址� she said.
The hardest item on the menu to cook can vary according to Schmidt.
B次元官网网址淵ouB次元官网网址檝e got to watch salmon that you donB次元官网网址檛 overcook it,B次元官网网址� she said. B次元官网网址淏ut you donB次元官网网址檛 want to undercook it, so that is one of the ones youB次元官网网址檝e got to watch right down to the seconds.B次元官网网址�
What makes B.C. FerriesB次元官网网址� onboard restaurant unique from a typical White Spot is that B.C. Ferries staff are not only trained in food preparation, but are also required to have their seafarerB次元官网网址檚 medical certificates and are trained to deal with a variety of emergency situations.
B次元官网网址淚tB次元官网网址檚 not like working in a regular kitchen where it is just food, we are also here for safety and sometime safety issues arise so we get called to do that,B次元官网网址� Schmidt said.
The Coastal Inspiration has a maximum capacity of 1,600 people and is equipped with four medium-speed diesel 5,361-horsepower engines. Each engine is coupled to a 4,800-kilo-volt-ampere synchronous alternator at 6,600 volts. The ship also has two 11,000-kilowatt electric drive motors and can burn anywhere from 3,300 to 4,000 litres of fuel in a single trip.
Down in the engine room a team of five B.C. Ferries engineers are responsible for ensuring the Coastal Inspiration sails smoothly each day.
Robert Malinowski, chief engineer with B.C. Ferries, said the biggest challenge is working on the ship without impacting customers, which is not an easy task as the Coastal Inspiration is in service for more than 20 hours a day.
B次元官网网址淵ou sort of have to sort of juggle the schedule for maintenance with the schedule for sailings. We have five engineers on board and they are busy all the time,B次元官网网址� he said. B次元官网网址淚tB次元官网网址檚 a big boat for five engineers to maintain.B次元官网网址�
Greg Jackson, first engineer with B.C. Ferries, oversees a crew of three individuals. He said although the Coastal Inspiration is 10 years old, it is still considered modern as it has far more electronics than older vessels.
B次元官网网址淭here are a lot of electronic and electrics that you have to investigate and study,B次元官网网址� he said.
Jackson, who grew up in Nanaimo and previously worked as an engineer aboard cruise ships, said the Coastal Inspiration isnB次元官网网址檛 a whole lot different from the much larger cruise ships heB次元官网网址檚 worked on.
B次元官网网址淭echnically it is the same thing just in smaller size, same equipment. Not all cruise ships are running diesel electric B次元官网网址� but a lot of cruise ships run propulsion motors just like we have.B次元官网网址�
When it comes to fire safety, the Coastal Inspiration is outfitted with a sophisticated fire suppression system known as Hi-Fog.
B次元官网网址淭he average sprinkler system has one drop full of water,B次元官网网址� Jackson said. B次元官网网址淭his Hi-Fog [system] is a water mist. For every one drop is about 5,000 droplets of mist. It is like a fog. It actually takes out two sides of the fire triangle, it removes the heat and smothers the oxygen, so it is very efficient.B次元官网网址�
Passengers interested in seeing the engine room can request a tour by visiting the chief stewardB次元官网网址檚 office. Mostafa Nateghi, senior chief engineer for Costal Inspiration, said staff are always happy to take people down to the engine room, provided theyB次元官网网址檙e not busy.
B次元官网网址淚tB次元官网网址檚 very possible but depending on what we are doing in the engine room. We could be having an emergency, we could be working on the main engine, we could be on standby, in these B次元官网网址� times we prefer not to have any visitors,B次元官网网址� he said. B次元官网网址淏ut all throughout the year if we are doing just general sailing and nothing important is going by all means we welcome people to come and have a look around.B次元官网网址�
Nateghi said people may not truly appreciate how much maintenance work is required for the Coastal Inspiration, explaining that engineers are working on the ship even when itB次元官网网址檚 docked. He said the Coastal Inspiration and its sister ships are extremely complicated to operate and occasionally issues do happen.
B次元官网网址淣ormally the ships are very very reliable, but at times we have challenges and we have to deal with it,B次元官网网址� he said.
Since its founding in 1960, B.C. Ferries has grown to become the third-largest ferry service in the world. The company employs more than 4,800 people on approximately 470 sailings every day and estimates that than an average of 21 million passengers and 8.7 million vehicles travelled with them each year on roughly 174,000 sailings.
Over the course of the B.C. FerriesB次元官网网址� 58-year history, 58 babies have been born onboard a vessel according to Deborah Marshall, B.C. Ferries executive director of public affairs, who said when that happens the child automatically receives free ferry rides for life. The most common route for births is Port Hardy to Prince Rupert.
B次元官网网址淲eB次元官网网址檝e even had one baby born on the Gabriola run,B次元官网网址� Marshall said, adding that the child was named Quinsam, in honour of the ship it was born on.
Of course, there has been no shortage of items from clothes to retainers to wallets to cellphones that have been accidentally left onboard by passengers over the years. Dimond, senior chief steward with B.C. Ferries, said passengers and crew often find items.
B次元官网网址淲e get a lot of passengers and crew that turn in wallets, which is great. We had a wallet that had been lost for a couple days. It managed to get stuck way down in the seats on deck five and a passenger brought it up and it still had everything inside,B次元官网网址� she said.
Meanwhile, Marshall said one of the strangest items she can recall being left behind was a box with an unexpected destination.
B次元官网网址淎 lost and found item came off the ship and it was a plastic bag with a box inside B次元官网网址� and the sticker on the outside of the box said Vancouver crematorium,B次元官网网址� Marshall recalled.
One thing B.C. Ferries staff have witnessed over the years is that occasionally individuals will spread the ashes of their loved ones at sea, but donB次元官网网址檛 factor in which way the wind is blowing.
B次元官网网址淲eB次元官网网址檝e had that happen where people have not notified anybody and gone to the outside deck and the wind, of course, as you can imagine, it blows the ashes all over car windows,B次元官网网址� said Dimond.
Surprisingly, the No. 1 complaint received by B.C. Ferries is not the fare prices, but the poor onboard WiFi service.
B次元官网网址淚ts definitely been a challenge for us and it is something we know we need to satisfy to our customers,B次元官网网址� Marshall said. B次元官网网址淲e are working on it but unfortunately we donB次元官网网址檛 have a solution yet.B次元官网网址�
However, B.C. Ferries is planning to roll out a new redesigned and mobile-friendly website very soon, according to Marshall, who said the corporation is looking forward to the update.
And for those wondering whether former MLAs still get to ride on B.C. Ferries for free, Marshall said that isnB次元官网网址檛 the case.
B次元官网网址淎ny MLA or government personnel would just pay for their fare,B次元官网网址� she said.
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CORRECTION: An earlier version of this article contained incorrect information. The Spirit class vessels are B.C. FerriesB次元官网网址� largest.
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