Editor:
Since the ferries have been in the news for being late, I thought I would dip my toe in to the conversation with a couple of observations and a story. Story first.
I was on the last ferry back to Langdale on a Friday night at the beginning of the spring break. The ferry was a half hour late. I wasn’t in any hurry. Once I was ensconced in a comfortable seat, the captain came on the intercom and gave us a quiz to which the answer was Ladysmith and Kitimat, both having 8,359 inhabitants. (wild guess). He went on to say that that was the exact number of riders that the Langdale run had served that day. This was an interesting fact and an entirely plausible reason for being late and was delivered in a friendly, chatty manner which helped rider acceptance of the situation. The captain continued, however, by saying that as he was a replacement driver, er, captain, he was familiar with all the runs that the ferry serves and he noticed that the Sunshine Coast crews were the hardest working and most efficient crews that he has worked with. He said we should be proud of our crews and let them know they are appreciated when we have contact with them. Hurray. What a nice thing to say. I wanted to applaud. This captain had nothing to gain or lose, he was just telling the truth that he saw. I believed him and would like to add my meagre commendation to his ringing endorsement.
But while the right hand gives, that thief, the left hand, sneaks in to take away. The ferry schedule changes on holiday weekends, but the bus schedule doesn’t. The bus gets you to the terminal in time to watch the ferry pull out into Howe Sound, leaving you on the dock facing a two-hour delay. It is also shocking to arrive late to the terminal in Langdale and find you have an hour wait as the bus has already departed. People with more experience than I had secured rides while on the ferry or at the terminal. Some kind drivers offered rides. Once I realized what was going on I shared a cab into town, making this an expensive ride. Waiting for an hour on a windy black rainy night wasn’t within my tolerance limit. What a goofy system.
Doug Ives, Gibsons
