sa国际传媒 Ferries is planning to install a cable ferry between Buckley Bay and Denman Island, a scheme some say is madness. A coalition of marine experts has come together to expose what they believe are potentially disastrous flaws.
The current ferry makes the two-kilometre crossing under its own steam. The new vessel will winch itself across using sea-bed cables attached at either dock.
sa国际传媒 Ferries managers expect to save $2 million annually. And they stand by their view that a cable vessel can safely operate in the waters between Vancouver Island and Denman. They say it has been studied more thoroughly than any other cable ferry, including once-in-100-years currents and winds.
But retired ferry captain Peter Kimmerly, who sailed the Denman route for many years and leads the opposition to this project, disagrees. He raises two issues.
First, wind speeds in the channel have been dramatically underestimated, he says. He and his colleagues have sifted mountains of data, and found evidence of much rougher conditions than the company is allowing for. The new boat might not survive those seas.
Second, the cable ferry cannot tack into the wind to meet waves head on, as the existing boat does, because it鈥檚 tethered to the cables below. This means it can鈥檛 handle the kind of conditions that occur perhaps 20 days each year. Cancellations that frequent would cause serious hardship to residents dependent on the ferry.
These are, of course, opinions. But they are backed up with data and professional reputations that should give sa国际传媒 Ferries cause to reconsider.
