The number of companies involved in marine ecotourism out of Victoria Harbour, on the southern coast of Vancouver Island, British Columbia, increased rapidly through the latter 1990s. A couple of large pods of Orcas (killer whales), resident year-round in the waters adjoining the southern Strait of Georgia and the eastern Strait of Juan de Fuca, plus the large tourist population in Victoria, particularly during the summer season, combined to support a burgeoning whale-watching industry based on the city's waterfront. As one of the earlier whale-watching companies in Victoria Harbour, Alan McGillivray's Prince of Whales Whale Watching started with the two 12-passenger water taxis and steadily expanded its fleet with high-speed, 12-passenger RHIBs, the vessel-of-choice with most whale-watching companies. Starting in the summer of 2005, Prince of Whales' newest vessel, the Ocean Magic, went into operation. With its bright fire-engine-yellow paint scheme and the arcing wake plume characteristic of its surface-piercing propeller propulsion, the Ocean Magic is turning heads wherever it travels. The 75-passenger Ocean Magic is a striking design and is one of the largest, both in size and passenger capacity, in the BC whale watching fleet. Credit must go to the builder, Sylte Shipyard in Maple Ridge, BC, for completing construction in a very tight 4-1/2 months and in time for Ocean Magic to participate in the peak tourism and whale-watching season. Erling Sylte had a full-time crew of eight on the job and they completed all fabrication and interior and systems installations on Ocean Magic with the exception of the electrical work which was sub-contracted to Comar Electrical Services of Port Coquitlam. The Ocean Magic, designed by John Simpson Ltd. of Delta, B.C., was inspired by the 48-passenger Naiad Explorer, Mackay Whale Watching's successful "RHIB derivative" design which is based in Port McNeill on northern Vancouver Island. "All it took was one ride to convince me!" says Alan McGillivray of his determination that a vessel like Naiad Explorer would be best for Prince of Whales Whale Watching. The Naiad Explorer started as a RHIB design acquired by Mackay Whale Watching from Naiad Inflatables (New Zealand), then modified to meet the requirements of the owner and Transport Canada Marine Safety by John Simpson. Bill and Donna Mackay are the distributors for Naiad designs in Canada and Bill provided his expertise on the Ocean Magic project during the construction, builder's and sea trials phases. The Naiad designs meet the ABS High Speed Craft rules and Ocean Magic has been certified Home Trade III by Transport Canada. The Ocean Magic logged a 34-knot top speed during sea trials and a 25-knot cruise speed with 70 passengers on board. Propulsion is Twin Disc-Arneson ASD12 BILU SPP (surface-piercing propeller) drives with NiBrAl 35" x 37" five-bladed propellers supplied by Pacific Surface Drives, Richmond, BC. The drives provide full trim adjustment to passenger loading. The SPP props also have a very low under-water sound signature, an increasingly important consideration in the whale/marine mammal-watching industry. (The SPP propeller's low sound signature was first noticed when picked up on hydrophones in Johnstone Strait as the Arneson SPP drive-equipped RCMP patrol catamarans were passing at high speed.) Ocean Magic's main engines are 800 hp (@ 2300 rpm) Caterpillar 3406 E diesels with mechanically-actuated fuel injection and engine control/monitoring with the Caterpillar ECM (electronic control module). The Twin Disc MGX 5114 2:1 marine transmissions are combined with the new Twin Disc EC 300 electronic engine controls. They have Twin Disc Express mode which achieves clutch control similar to a trolling valve. Automatic two-stage oil-pressure delivery allows the clutches to slip and propeller revolutions to drop to the 100 rpm range for slow-speed maneuvering near whales and in dock approaches. For the speedy planing-hulled vessels in the Victoria whale-watching fleet, it can be a one-to-two-hour round trip from Victoria to the waters frequented by Orcas, such as the US San Juan Islands. The intervening exposed waters of Haro Strait and the Strait of Juan de Fuca require seaworthy craft that can transport whale-watching customers, many of whom have spent next to no time in small boats, safely and in reasonable comfort. Alan McGillivray is confident his new vessel will accomplish these ends in all seasons. Following its leading-edge predecessor, the Naiad Explorer, the Ocean Magic has now established a new benchmark in vessel designs for the whale-watching and marine ecotourism industry as it continues to grow on both coasts of Canada.
Story by Rob Morris |
|
