Being on an island has a tendancy to isolate you a little from the rest of the world. In today’s economic crisis this can sometimes be a godsend. I think islanders are a little more “self sufficient” than others and the idea of getting goods and services “NOW” just doesn’t really happen very often. We have all managed to slow our lives down and maybe spend more time enjoying our surroundings and spending time with friends.
Part of this “slow down” is the result of being at least a few hours away from the chaos and hustle of the urban centres that surround us. Within a two to four hour trip are Seattle and Vancouver with their 5 million? inhabitants (For those in a hurry you can always fly in 15 minutes to Vancouver and 45 minutes to Seattle plus the waiting times and security hassles, sounds like a few hours!). The link to these centres is generally ferries of one sort or another and as the population increases these ferries are getting larger and larger. Pictured below is one of BC Ferries latest, the Coastal Celebration.
These are big ferries, take a look at the stats:
| Built: | 2008, Germany |
| Overall Length: | 160 m |
| Maximum Displacement: | 10,034 tonnes |
| Car Capacity: | 370 |
| Passenger & Crew Capacity: | 1,600 |
| Service Speed: | 21 knots |
| Horsepower: | 21,444 |
