The ''Sidney'' class consisted of two

roll-on/roll-off Roll-on/roll-off (RORO or ro-ro) ships are cargo ships designed to carry wheeled cargo, such as cars, motorcycles, trucks, semi-trailer trucks, buses, Trailer (vehicle), trailers, and railroad cars, that are driven on and off the ship on their o ...

ferries A ferry is a ship, watercraft or amphibious vehicle used to carry passengers, and sometimes vehicles and cargo, across a body of water. A passenger ferry with many stops, such as in Venice, Italy, is sometimes called a water bus or water taxi ...

, ''Queen of Sidney'' and ''Queen of Tsawwassen'', built for the British Columbia Ferry Corporation in service from 1960 to 2008. The design for the ships was based on the ferry with changes made to accommodate loading of vehicles through the bow of the vessel. Both vessels serviced different routes throughout their service lives.

Design and description

Design of the two

, ''Queen of Sidney'' and ''Queen of Tsawwassen'', was based on a ferry that was under construction for Black Ball Transport, for international service along the

British Columbia British Columbia (commonly abbreviated as BC) is the westernmost Provinces and territories of Canada, province of Canada, situated between the Pacific Ocean and the Rocky Mountains. It has a diverse geography, with rugged landscapes that include ...

and Washington coasts. ''Coho''s design was altered by the original naval architect Philip F. Spaulding and his Canadian partner Arthur McLaren to allow the Canadian vessels to accept vehicle loading at both bow and

stern The stern is the back or aft-most part of a ship or boat, technically defined as the area built up over the sternpost, extending upwards from the counter rail to the taffrail. The stern lies opposite the bow, the foremost part of a ship. Ori ...

. Both ships were long overall and between perpendiculars with a beam of . The ships were powered by 16-cylinder Mirrless twin

diesel engine The diesel engine, named after Rudolf Diesel, is an internal combustion engine in which ignition of the fuel is caused by the elevated temperature of the air in the cylinder due to mechanical compression; thus, the diesel engine is a so-ca ...

s creating turning two

screws A screw and a bolt (see '' Differentiation between bolt and screw'' below) are similar types of fastener typically made of metal and characterized by a helical ridge, called a ''male thread'' (external thread). Screws and bolts are used to f ...

with a maximum speed of . The ships had different tonnages when built; ''Queen of Sidney'' was initially measured at and , while ''Queen of Tsawwassen'' was measured at and . As built, the vessels had a car capacity of 108, however in 1971, additional platforms were added to the car decks increasing capacity to 138.

Ships

Construction and career

In 1958, the

premier of British Columbia Premier is a title for the head of government in central governments, state governments and local governments of some countries. A second in command to a premier is designated as a deputy premier. A premier will normally be a head of govern ...

W.A.C. Bennett William Andrew Cecil Bennett (September 6, 1900 – February 23, 1979) was a Canadian politician. He was the 25th premier of British Columbia from 1952 to 1972. With just over 20 years in office, Bennett was and remains the longest-serving prem ...

authorised the creation of a provincial ferry service. The new service, known as the British Columbia Ferry Corporation ordered two ships constructed from shipyards in

. ''Sidney'' was ordered from

Victoria Machinery Depot Victoria Machinery Depot Ltd. was a historic metalworks and shipyard in Victoria, Canada. Establishment From the late 1850s, with the Fraser Canyon and Cariboo Gold Rushes, British Columbia was dependent upon Californian supplies and ships. To p ...

in Victoria, with the

yard number __NOTOC__ M ...

85 and was

laid down Laying the keel or laying down is the formal recognition of the start of a ship's construction. It is often marked with a ceremony attended by dignitaries from the shipbuilding company and the ultimate owners of the ship. Keel laying is one ...

on May 9, 1959. The vessel was launched on October 6, 1959 and completed in May 1960. ''Tsawwassen'' was built by Burrard Dry Dock in

Vancouver Vancouver ( ) is a major city in western Canada, located in the Lower Mainland region of British Columbia. As the most populous city in the province, the 2021 Canadian census recorded 662,248 people in the city, up from 631,486 in 2016. Th ...

with the yard number 309 and was laid down on May 9, 1959. The ferry was launched on November 28, 1959 and completed in May 1960. Both ships began service on June 15, 1960 servicing two terminals linking Victoria and Vancouver. In 1962, ''Tsawwassen'' was renamed ''Queen of Tsawwassen'' and in 1963, ''Sidney'' was renamed ''Queen of Sidney''. This was due to change in fleetwide naming policy based on

CP Ships CP Ships was a large Canadian shipping company established in the 19th century. From the late 1880s until after World War II, the company was Canada's largest operator of Atlantic and Pacific steamships. Many immigrants travelled on CP ships fr ...

naming their vessels "Princess". As a result, the larger vessels of the British Columbia Ferries fleet would have "Queen" placed in front of their original names and the smaller ones have it added to the end. The two ships spent almost all of their service life identical to when they were constructed, except for an expansion of the restaurant areas, due to unexpected food demand shortly after they commenced service. ''Queen of Sidney'' was retired in November 2000. The decommissioned ferry was sold to Bob and Gerald Tapp for

CAN$ The Canadian dollar (symbol: $; code: CAD; french: dollar canadien) is the currency of Canada. It is abbreviated with the dollar sign $, there is no standard disambiguating form, but the abbreviation Can$ is often suggested by notable style ...

100,000 in 2002 and renamed ''Bad Adventure''. The ship was sent to a shipyard in

Mission, British Columbia Mission is a city in the Lower Mainland of the province of British Columbia, Canada. It was originally incorporated as a district municipality in 1892, growing to include additional villages and rural areas over the years, adding the original T ...

, where it has sat ever since. ''Queen of Tsawwassen'' was taken out of service in 2007. This was due to the ship no longer capable of meeting government regulations and a refit being cost prohibitive. An was ordered to replace the ship. The vessel was put up for sale in 2008.

Citations

References

* * *

External links

* In 2014 ''Queen of Sidney'' can be seen here {{BC Ferry Classes 1960 ships Ships built in British Columbia Ferry classes