Attessa IV

[Putterdude]

So if it isn't Tiger's yacht wonder who it might have been?

 

Cheers!

 

Dennis

 

I don't know for sure....but I suspect it may still belong to D.DUB but when we get home I will try to find out.

[Putterdude]

Temps look so good at home we have started to fold the tent here and expect to answer the call of the north a week Friday. We haven't hit 100* here but have got close. Looking forward to being home.

[porsena]

We're back to light rain and more seasonable temperature today but that may be more comfortable than 100!

[Urban trekker]

Well that big monster yacht in Cabo owned by a Russian is apparently no longer the king or is that queen of the seas according to this article:

 

http://ca.finance.yahoo.com/news/590-foot-mega-yacht-eclipses-151234917.html

 

Cheers

 

Dennis

[Putterdude]

Well there you go....the Attessa IV is only some 330 ft. .... so there is no comparison.

[Putterdude]

Arrived back home in Sechelt on Monday afternoon after 1500 miles and 24 hours of actual driving time. Fortunately I hired someone to mow the lawns while away....but now I need a weeding person.;) Thanks for turning on the rain, it sure feels like home.

[Urban trekker]

Back just in time to take in the election campaign and listen to a lot of ads promoting more spending of our money.

 

I have been hired as a Supervisor at one of the polling locations - will be responsible for everything happening at that location and will be the direct link to the District Returning Officer - once I start training on Tuesday and take the oath it will be no political discussions for me until after the election is over. Wondering where the $40 M to freeze the ferry rates will come from.

 

Wondered why you weren't posting then I remembered you indicated you were pulling up stakes and voila now you are back.

 

Cheers

 

Dennis

[Putterdude]

I guess that is akin to be neutered....politically that is.:D

 

Where is the $40m coming from.....the same place TransKlunk gets their subsidy from.....the public purse.

 

Back to my weeding.:eek:

[porsena]

Those weeds have had a good chance to grow a welcoming show of green and yellow (or whatever) this year. I've lost track of the number of grass-cuttings already but spring growth has been brisk. We started weeding in Feb but it's the very definition of a constant struggle.

[Putterdude]

Hey, remember weed(s) are our biggest cash crop up here on the Sunshine Coast.;) Back to my patch.

[Putterdude]

Hey Victoria People, whats going on over there re the shuttle from Ogden Point to downtown? Looks like the harbour commission may have taken over the service from CVS Cruise Victoria using buses leased from BC Transit (sans unionized drivers) and increased the round trip fare to $10??? It would also appear that the commission also asked for tenders for a ferry service, did anything come of that?

[porsena]

Yes, the Victoria Harbour Commission has contracted the shuttle service for 2013, though BC Transit's routes 30 and 31 continue to provide scheduled service to the terminal area. I've read in the paper that the service was contracted to Wilson's Transportation. Wilson's has its own bus fleet and drivers and may not need to run afoul of BC Transit's union, but the article I read did not make that clear.

 

There's been recent friction between the union and management at BC Transit over the latter's proposal to replace some service by the "regular" sized buses with service by smaller vehicles, whose drivers would be paid at a lower scale. There was also the usual contracting-out objection by the union to the trial balloon of a contractor using buses owned by BC Transit for the shuttle. As you may have heard, the James Bay Residents' Association has also been vocal about impacts of the cruise industry on their neighbourhood. Partly in response, the Victoria Harbour Authority piloted shuttle service with smaller buses last year. I don't know what is actually being provided and I don't know what the fare is this year but can look into it if you're interested and nobody else here is better informed.

[Putterdude]

Thanks for the update....it will be interesting to learn how this all unfolds as the cruise season gets underway. If I read the CVS site correctly they are going to offer tours directly from Ogden Point in competition with the cruise lines and are the contractor to Princess for the shuttle service...pre-booked with Princess of course.

 

The Harbour Authority is showing the shuttle fare to be $10.

 

Edited April 22, 2013 by Putterdude

[Putterdude]

Just a little note re BC Ferries as I have been riding them a bit this past week and will be on one again later this week. I am really enjoying the free Wi-Fi on the ships and in the parking lots...although I found it very slow in the H.B. lot last night. I sold my Toshiba Thrive on e-Bay this winter and bought an i-Pad which I should have bought in the first place....the difference between the two is like night and day (and before someone asks, yes I did declare it on returning to Canada).

[porsena]

I suspect, but don't know, that the WiFi on BC Ferries runs off one of the major's cellular networks, because their internet is surely faster than it is on board a cruise ship.

 

I have a Samsung Galaxy tablet, which seems to connect well to unsecured sites but has issues talking to sites that require password verification when I'm outside the Telus network. I was quite frustrated with its recent performance in AZ and CA for that reason, and it was essentially unusable with Amtrak's WiFi. I don't know the cause, but I've had similar trouble with my also Android LG cell phone on and off in Europe.

[Putterdude]

Here is a link to a 1935 travelogue of Victoria and Vancouver which I found very interesting....there certainly have been a lot of changes.

 

http://www.youtube.com/embed/OYZyqUVYaTc

[Putterdude]

I am not sure that we should get excited yet but here is a link to the YVR re "US Direct" from YVR to Canada Place, however I can find no such information on the port's site re a return to YVR for disembarking passengers.

http://www.yvr.ca/en/navigating-yvr/cruise_ship/cruise_ship_arrivals.aspx

[LeftcoastBC]

Leaving out of CP tomorrow . So will ask if there looks like there is anyone around who might have the answer.

 

Heading to the wild and wooly Holiday destination of Port Alberni and the the big city of Seattle. 3 nighter.

yippee two long weekends back to back one in the middle.

[LeftcoastBC]

Fun cruise with a power failure (while at the pier) in Seattle. Blew breaker(s) Sailed 5 hrs late....but arrived ontime in Vancouver.

 

CBSA agents that I asked knew nothing.

 

Reading that Info in link seems to me it works only going one way ?

 

BTW three ships .....we got off at 9 went to P2 garage got into car and home by 10.10 in the Wack. Love the new Port Mann.

 

Long lines and a mad house in the terminal with everyone leaving. My two CBSA agents took customs form a quick glance and everyone hardly slowed down. Mostly Canadian on the boat of course.

 

Port Alberni and the inlet was a nice stop. Got to see a Martin Mars Drop a load of water along side the Ship. Really cool.

[Putterdude]

Thanks for the update...that was kind of my take on it as well. Glad you made it back to the 'wack in good form.

[Urban trekker]

I was going to post this on the other thread but didn't want to hi-jack it any more or risk it getting pulled but here are some thoughts about being qualified to post about Vancouver

 

Distance from Sechelt to Downtown Vancouver 69KM

 

Distance from Abbotsford to Downtown Vancouver 72 KM

 

Distance from Squamish to Downtown Vancouver 67 KM

 

Wonder if a certain poster will be as critical about people who live in the latter two cities posting about Vancouver.

 

I occassionally in walking in the downtown core come across people looking for directions who live in Coquitlam or Langley or even White Rock and who don't work downtown and don't know where the Art Gallery is etc yet someone who grew up and spent all his working career in the downtown core is unqualified to give advice and who lives closer to the city than many of the so- called "locals" whose advice a certain poster doesn't seem to have a problem with.

 

Some of us have spent most or all of our lives living and working in Vancouver while one other only in the last decade or so.

 

Now back to hockey or dinner at the White Spot etc.

 

Finally got my cruise plans for the fall and next year finalized and Amtrak has been booked for the trip to Boston and back.

 

There I included some cruising conversation to make this an on-topic post.

 

Cheers!

[Putterdude]

Thanks Ut, I have rewritten this post several times now...but I think you have said it very well .... and I will leave it at that.

Happy to hear that your next cruise is coming together for you. We are working on our fall Mediterranean junket but there is still a lot of planning to do.

[LeftcoastBC]

I have simply given up even thinking about others like that and will not become involved any more. Not worth it.

 

UT the train ! Adventures ahead. Lol

 

Not same as cruising regardless of how big a room you get. ...

[scottbee]

I was going to post this on the other thread but didn't want to hi-jack it any more or risk it getting pulled but here are some thoughts about being qualified to post about Vancouver

 

Distance from Sechelt to Downtown Vancouver 69KM

Distance from Abbotsford to Downtown Vancouver 72 KM

Distance from Squamish to Downtown Vancouver 67 KM

 

Wonder if a certain poster will be as critical about people who live in the latter two cities posting about Vancouver.

 

I'm not sure I follow your logic, but I'll play along

Distance from Victoria to Downtown Vancouver 99KM

Distance from Arizona to Downtown Vancouver 1700KM

 

Somehow those of us that

1. Work in the downtown core, and see ships every day
   
2. Have lived within 100km of Vancouver for nearly half a century
   
3. Continue to interact with a heck of a lot of things discussed here on a daily basis (transit, local restaurants, local attractions, etc)
   

However, a couple of people here believe that myself and some others have less valued opinions than someone who hasn't lived/worked in Vancouver for 10ish years, and spends 1/2 of their time living the other side of another country?

 

Someone said "Steamworks isn't the cheapest", I agreed, and apparently neither of our opinions are valid, despite both of us working and/or living in the downtown core.

 

I've also been told, by the same poster that my opinions aren't as valid as theirs because I don't live in Vancouver, but one municipality over... by someone who's entire superiority of opinion when they also lived 'one municipality over'. Heck I posted a thread/picture of the "Start of Cruise Ship Season" (because I was nearby), and despite the port itself having a press conference for the "Start of Cruise Ship Season", the same two posters here had to disagree and say "No that's not the start of the season".

 

Everyone has an opinion, and not everyone's is going to agree, but trying to discredit a local, who lives and/or works in the area, by claiming they somehow don't have enough 'tenure' is just downright silly. Also trying to pretend they're an expert on something like Skytrain, while in another thread calling cruise people who take it "shleppers" or "Gypsies" is just downright insulting.

Edited May 26, 2013 by scottbee

[Urban trekker]

Looks like some good news on the bridge replacement - there's a link to a KOMO story on the latest developments - could be back in service within three weeks.

 

http://www.komonews.com/news/local/Temp-bridges-planned-for-fallen-I-5-209008501.html

 

Cheers!

 

Dennis