In Praise of Batteries (or Returning from Parksville on June 8)

1.5 hours for the 36 kms from Parksville to Departure Bay ferry terminal. That's an average speed of 24 km/hour. Not bad at all ;-)  I wanted to make the 10:40 ferry and consequently was using the battery quite a bit, but could have taken my time, as shown by my arrival time of 9:15 am.

The view inland

Not my pic; Costal Renaissance, built in Germany in 2007

I woke up at 6:30 and was ready to roll at 7:45, so that is what I did.  Catching the 10:40 ferry in Nanaimo might get me to my motel before my room is ready (1:20 pm vs 3pm), but at least I get to ride one of the 'new' ferries, the Coastal Renaissance, instead of just another worn-out old Queen of Somewhere or other ;-)

For $5.25 I finally get breakfast in form of an egg, cheese & bacon bagel from S4 inside the BC Ferries terminal.  It's edible and the staff is very friendly.

Thar she blows !

At 10:20 I get to board one of the new ferries.  Nothing too special; the deck layout more resemble the ferries crossing the English Channel (lots of wide stairs) than that of the usual BC Ferries Queens.  I like the club-like sitting arrangement in the front, but decide to check out the rest of the ship.  

The sundeck passenger area seems definitely wider than on the old ferries,

and finally someone had the good sense of putting the smoker's corner into a wind-shaded deck area (Ever tried lighting a cigarette in an non-sheltered area of a sundeck with typical Salish Sea wind conditions?).



The ride from HS Bay to Vancouver is uneventful as ever, only the hills seem less steep today; all that pedaling of the last week must be paying off ;-)