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The Galena Bay Ferry
by John MacFarlane 2018
The Galena Bay Ferry (Photo from the John MacFarlane collection.)
There are a lot of lakes and rivers in British Columbia that both present opportunities and obstacles to speedy transportation links through the highway system. There is a car and passenger ferry that you might normally expect to see on the west coast of the province. It fills the gap across Upper Arrow Lake, 49 kilometres south of Revelstoke on Highway 23, between Shelter Bay (west side) and Galena Bay (east side).
The Galena Bay Ferry (Photo from the John MacFarlane collection.)
It is a 20 minute duration voyage between one terminal to the other and the vessel can carry 80 vehicles and 250 passengers. This ferry is well used, and on a sunny day it presents some stunning scenery and a long ride down the lake.
The Galena Bay Ferry (Photo from the John MacFarlane collection.)
The Galena (ON 329232 IMO 6922937) is a vehicle passenger ferry fabricated in 1968 by Allied Shipbuilders Ltd. In 1968–1999 she was owned by Minister of Transportation and Highways, Victoria BC. She is powered by 4–300bhp diesel engines. She is 50.29m x 18.59m x 2.65m steel hulled 571gt 381nt. In 2011–2020 she was owned by the BC Transportation Financing Authority, Victoria BC.
The Galena Bay Ferry (Photo from the John MacFarlane collection.)
In every respect this is a sea–going capable vessel and an indication of the size of water body that it is traversing. The ramps are permanent installations. Although there are no tides to contend with the water levels do fluctuate from the annual high of the freshet (after snow melt) to the lows of late summer and winter.
It is possible to visit 5 or six of these freshwater ferry routes in one day through careful route planning and timing. Well worth doing at least once as part of a tour of British Columbia. On the shorter routes it is possible to do the crossings on foot although passage by automobile is free of charge.
To quote from this article please cite:
MacFarlane, John (2019) The Galena Bay Ferry. Nauticapedia.ca 2019. http://nauticapedia.ca/Gallery/Galena_Bay_Ferry.php
Site News: May 07, 2024
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