.,,..
Prince
Rupert: Gateway to Skeena Country, Inside Passage
and Alaska
by
Jerry W. Bird
Back
in the days when my parents and I sailed the Inside
Passage between Vancouver, British Columbia and
Skagway, Alaska, we always looked forward to our
stop at the port of Prince Rupert, a city I've
always felt was destined for greatness. Yet that
dream that has been a long time unfolding. However,
the news we hear from the Port Authority and
general observation shows signs of exciting days
ahead for the Northern Port City. Prince Rupert has
been a strong supporter of Air Highways magazines,
having been featured in 3 editions since 1996, and
thus we hail their efforts and achievements. Much
has to be said in terms of location.
As
a transportation hub, Prince Rupert is on the
Alaska Cruise Route, the Coastal flyway, Via Rail's
Skeena Express, and Western Terminus of the
fabulous
Yellowhead Highway
that links the coast and Queen Charlotte Islands
with Winnipeg, Manitoba, 3 provinces to the
east.
Being
close to raw resources, with easy access by ship to
world markets, (closer than Vancouver in some
cases) Prince Rupert hugs the northern edge of a
five mile long island, which has two large peaks.
The dominant mountain is called Mt. Hays, after the
president of the railway company that developed the
port. Charles Melville Hays, who is remembered in
many other place names in Western Canada, died in
the sinking of the Titanic in 1912 before the
planning of Prince Rupert was completed. Named
after the first governor of the Hudson's Bay
Company, Prince Rupert, which bills itself as "The
City of Rainbows," is a mere 64 km south of the
Alaska border.
Air Update: Terrace - Smithers-Prince Rupert,
Northwest BC
Hawkair Daily Service from Terrace Airport.
Hawkair will be doubling its flights in late
October, 2001, providing a new daily service for
Smithers, increasing service to Prince Rupert from
twice-weekly to daily, and adding more business day
flights in Terrace. Toll-free 1-866-429-5247 and
1-800-487-1216. Web page http://www.hawkair.net
mailto:reservations@hawkair.
Prince
Rupert Port Authority
Update:
The Prince Rupert Port Authority has now completed
two successful shipments of barley malt using the
new ship loading equipment at Fairview Agport.
Recently upgraded with a state-of-the-art mobile
ship loader and an improved receiving system,
Agport is now positioned to be a leading facility
on the West Coast in the handling of specialty
agricultural products. Shipments in May and July
loaded aboard Gearbulk Shipping Canada's around the
world liner service clearly demonstrated the
performance enhancements of the new equipment. For
information on shipping your product through the
Port of Prince Rupert's Fairview Agport, contact
Lorne Keller at 250-627-7545. For information on
Gearbulk's around the world liner service, contact
Jim Bedard at 604-647- 2112.
Port Information: http://www.rupertport.com/
About
Prince Rupert
The Northern BC city (pop. 16,000) is a port
for cruise ships heading to Alaska and for British
Columbia Ferry Corporation sailing through the
scenic Inside Passage to Vancouver Island. Ferries
also take travelers to the Queen Charlotte Islands,
the scenic homeland of the Haida people. Though it
rains often and heavily, when the weather is good,
Prince Rupert is a fine place for walking along the
waterfront, past its several fish canneries, ships'
chandlers and colorful fishing boats. For an indoor
pastime, the top attraction is the Museum of
Northern British Columbia, with an excellent
collection of modern aboriginal art of the region,
artifacts as old as 10,000 years and a totem
carving shed.
Prince
Rupert Airport: The
City of Prince Rupert owns the Prince Rupert
Airport and the Prince Rupert Airport society is
the operator and holder of the certificate for the
Prince Rupert Airport. The only runway is 13/31.
The runway is 6000 ft. in length and 200 ft. wide.
Runway 13 is equipped with ILS to Category 1
landing limits, and runway 31 is a non-precision
runway. The Airport is located on Digby Island,
across the harbor from Prince Rupert. Access to the
island is by car ferry, operated by the City of
Prince Rupert. Generally, access is available by
ferry from 0800 hours until 2100 hours, however the
ferry schedule is subject to seasonal change. A
pilot lounge and briefing area is provided with
access via phone and fax to the Flight Service
Station, which is located in Prince Rupert.
Cascadia Gourmet Cafe opened its doors on July 1,
1997, and provides an assortment of gourmet coffee,
snacks and soups. Prince Rupert Airport:
250-624-6274, fax 250-624-6893.
A
year round playground: The climate here is
quite mild year-round, but rainfall averages a
third more than Vancouver. The natural Inside
Passage to Alaska, beauty of the area has always
charmed visitors stopping off on Alaskan cruises
and is giving rise to increased tourism. Outdoor
activity includes boating, sailing, fishing,
hunting,hiking and camping. There's an 18-hole golf
course, several marinas, a yacht club and a large
recreation center with a pool and courts for
racquetball, basketball and squash.
North
Pacific Cannery Museum: North Pacific is the
oldest remaining salmon cannery on the BC Coast.
The facilities are being restored as a living
museum of the west coast fisheries. The cannery
village is typical of the turn-of-the-century,
isolated coastal company town, complete with
management bunkhouses and a company
store.
..
Prince Rupert (pop. 16,000) , is a port for
cruise ships heading to Alaska and for British
Columbia Ferry Corporation sailing through the
scenic Inside Passage to Vancouver Island. Ferries
also take travelers to the Queen Charlotte Islands,
the scenic homeland of the Haida people. Though it
rains often and heavily, when the weather is good,
Prince Rupert is a fine place for walking along the
waterfront, past its several fish canneries, ships'
chandlers and colorful fishing boats. For an indoor
pastime, the top attraction is the Museum of
Northern British Columbia, with an excellent
collection of modern aboriginal art of the region,
artifacts as old as 10,000 years and a totem
carving shed.
New
Prince Rupert based cruise: The "Pacific
Aurora", an 80 passenger cruise ship sails from
Prince Rupert to Vancouver. In the plans is a
Cruise-Rail tour package linking up with a rail
tour operator. That's thinking multimodal ... and
is the kind of idea we at Air Highways applaud.
Prince
Rupert - Queen Charlotte Islands
Prince Rupert makes a fine starting point for
fishing, boating and kayaking, or for exploring the
superb Khutzeymateen Valley, a famous grizzly near
sanctuary. The city is also a major ferry and
cruise-ship terminus, with vessels leaving
regularly to Port Hardy and Alaska, and to
the
Queen Charlotte
Islands,
where the Yellowhead Highway (Hwy. 16) ends. On
Haida Gwa'ii (Queen Charlottes), adventurers can
head out from Queen Charlotte City or Sandspit to
explore this far-flung archipelago. Board a flight
or a boat to the abandoned Haida villages of South
Moresby Island (special permission required), or
explore the endless sand dunes of Graham Island's
Naikoon Provincial Park.
Cruise
West announces weekly port calls in
Prince Rupert for 2001
Seattle-based
cruise company Cruise West has announced weekly
port calls to Prince Rupert for the 2001 season.
The newly acquired Spirit of Oceanus, Cruise West's
latest addition to their fleet, will be stopping in
Prince Rupert as part of their Alaska itineraries.
The Spirit of Oceanus is 295 feet in length and
accommodates 114 guests. The vessel is the largest
and most luxurious of the Cruise West fleet and
fits well with company's up-close, small ship
cruising experience. The ship will be calling at
Prince Rupert's Atlin Terminal starting in June
2001.
Atlin
Terminal Building project proceeding
The Board of
Directors of the Prince Rupert Port Authority
approved the tendering for the refurbishment of the
Atlin Terminal building at the Port's small ship
cruise facility in Cow Bay on July 20. The project
will see the former fish processing facility
transformed to accommodate passenger handling
facilities, retail, commercial, and office space on
the Prince Rupert waterfront. The construction
project will be going out to tender over the next
month. For information on how to obtain tender
packages, call 250-627-7545.
Brian
Mitchell announced as new user-group
appointee to Port
Board
Above
items are from Prince Rupert Port Authority
110 3rd Avenue West. Prince Rupert. BC. Canada. V8J
1K8
Phone; (250) 627-7545 . Fax (250)627-7101
e-mail: pcorp@rupertport.com
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