by Andrew Morrison | The next cool thing is a ride on one of BC Ferries’ older vessels, many of which were named after unlikely monarchs.

For example, there’s the 1,488 passenger Queen of Surrey which goes a maximum of 20.5 knots between Langdale and Horseshoe Bay; the 6,422 tonne Queen of Alberni that came off the line in 1976 and currently cruises between Duke Point and Tsawwassen; and the stately 1964 Queen of Nanaimo that ferries 192 cars at 6,000 horsepower around the southern Gulf Islands.

In all, 17 out of the 35 ferries plying our waters were named after some sort of fanciful Queen. Oh, there’s also a Princess: the 49 car, “no amenities” North Island Princess that runs between Powell River and Texada (built right here in Vancouver in 1958).

So what is there to like about them, if there’s anything at all to like about BC Ferries these days?

Fair question. The newer, larger, and far more modern ferries have everything a ferry passenger could ask for (notice how we’re not asking for slot machines), except for really cool names. I mean, what the hell is a Coastal Renaissance? It’s a stupid name is what it is. The Queen of Tsawwassen, on the other hand, is an awesome name. In the end, however, what really makes it charming are our memories of it, and the many other vessels like it.

I was lucky enough to grow up with one foot in Victoria and the other in Vancouver (with my tail getting wet in the Gulf Islands), so the old Queens and I are big buddies. I love the older wooden doors with their old brass knobs and the higher pitched “whistles”, and I would do anything the voice of Kerry Campbell (the lady who recorded the “welcome aboard” safety announcements in 1991) told me to do. The older ferries also look cooler in profile, with many of the smaller ones shaped like floating palindromes (the same silhouette back to front).

THE NEXT COOL THING