Fall Creek Ferry celebrates its 40th anniversary

They don't go very fast, many people don't carry it And their trip is over before you know it.

But for many Vancouver citizens and tourists, theFalse Creek Ferryis a citizen's treasure. After a few minutes of water, the day changes and passengers can relax from the hustle and bustle of everyday life.

"It's very calm," said Jeremy Patterson, Ferry Operations Manager. "You disconnect from your phone and focus on your surroundings."

This year marks the 40th^anniversaryanniversary of George McGinnis and his family taking over the ferry. .. Therefore, on July 1st, the Fall Creek Ferry Fleet will celebrate a special "ferry ballet" at Fall Creek from 8:30 am to 10 am.

Synchronous operations include classics such as "Flying V". "Figure Eight" and "Ring of Death".

Patterson describes the latter.

"We place two concentric circles, one inside the other," he said. "One spins clockwise, the other spins counterclockwise, and there is a series of ferries. Then we jumped out of it at the same time — everyone suddenly bends like fireworks. "

Ferries have been doing ferry ballet on special occasions for decades. Usually just before theLight FestivalFireworks Festival.

"A man sketched on a piece of paper and came down and handed me a sheet," he says.

"We saw it and said," OK, I think I know what he means, "and tried it. All of us have a radio on the boat, so when one says "OK, do this in 5, 4, 3, 2, 1", that happens. The

service began in the summer of 1981, when Brian Beasley and Laura Gibson commissioned four small electric ferry boats to take people around Fall Creek for 50 cents.

Unfortunately, they encountered financial problems and McGinnis bought a fleet. In 1985 his former partner Geoff Platt left to start his rival ferry, Aquabus.

Currently, both companies operate a fleet in and around Fall Creek (17 on the Fall Creek Ferry and 14 on the Aquabus). But during the pandemic, business was difficult.

"We were closed for three months," Patterson said.

"Our business was off by more than 90% and then slowly rose, but now it's busier than ever."

In fact, False Creek Ferries The busiest in May, with an estimated 120,000 passengers. The record will be about 250,000 in the month of July or August.

Patterson began working at the Fall Creek Ferry in 1990 as a summer job. He tried other maritime gigs, but for many years after his death he was seduced by McKinnis, whose family is still in business.

It's a unique job.

"I was driving a ferry when the gray whale came to the stream in 2010," Patterson recalls.

"It was a little weird. I don't know what I'm looking at. I saw it inhale, exhaled, and had a little spout, but when I saw it, My mind didn't handle it completely. While I was thinking it was coming towards me and I'm doing it right. "

He laughs.

"The gear was spinning very slowly. Eventually I understood what it was, but by that time it went under the boat. Avoidance actions etc. I didn't have a chance to take it.

"When the words came out, people looked down from the top of the bridge and stood up along the seawall. It went just above the stream, and police and aquarium staff said. I tried to escort it from the stream. While it was happening, we had to stop the ferry service. As soon as they left, it came back again. "

The electric ferry is very small and has retired. The Fall Creek fleet now includes two diesel-operated ferries, including a 20-foot ferry built in Port Hardy and designed by "pretty famous naval architect" Jay Benford. ”

The new version of the fleet was built by the West Bay Shipyard in Delta and is slightly larger (22 feet).

" It's a little easier to get on and off, and a little more room. "He said. "It's a little more stable and more stable."

Business slows in winter, when mostly locals gather, but one hour in summer, when 70% of tourists are there. There is a potential for a surge of 2,000 passengers. Each ferry can carry 12 passengers and tickets range from a one-way fare of $ 3.50 to a one-day pass of $ 16. You can also charter a ferry for a private trip, as Bono did when U2 was rehearsing in Vancouver a few years ago.

"There are nine different stops," he said. "Our westernmost stop is at the Maritime Museum in Kitt and English Bay on Sunset Beach (the easternmost) up a stream to Science World."

This encourages his standard joke. "Climb the stream without the need for a paddle."

jmackie@postmedia.com

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