Statistics:

M.V. Nicola / Spirit of Lax Kw'alaams
Previous Names	Quadra Queen (1960 - 69) Cortes Queen (1969 - 80)
Place Built	Vancouver, B.C.
Year Built	1960
Joined BC Ferries	1985
Left BC Ferries	1997
Vehicle Capacity	16
Passenger Capacity	134
Length	110 ft.
Gross Tons	255
Service Speed	10 knots

History & Notes:

• The Nicola is almost identical to her sister ships, the Nimpkish and the retired Albert J. Savoie.

  The Nicola along with her sister ships were the smallest car-ferries in the B.C. Ferry fleet.

  The Nicola played an important role in the early development of Quadra Island, and later Cortes Island.

• The Quadra Queen, not to be confused with the active Quadra Queen II, was built in 1960 for the B.C. Ministry of Transportation and Highways. She was the first ferry to operate under the Ministry on the Quathiaski - Campbell River route. Nine years later, she was replaced by the larger Quadra Queen II because of increased traffic volume (Clapp, 57).

• The Quadra Queen was renamed the Cortes Queen in 1969, and once again inaugurated a new car-ferry route for the Ministry of Transportation and Highways. This time it was the run between Quadra Island (Heriot Bay) and Cortes Island (Whaletown). The Cortes Queen remained on this route until 1979 when she was replaced by her sister-ship, the Nimpkish. (Clapp, 65-6).
• In 1980, the Cortes Queen was renamed once again, this time as Nicola. She operated as a relief or extra vessel after this time.

• B.C. Ferries bought the Ministry of Transportation and Highways coastal fleet in 1985, which included 14 ferries and several routes. Under new ownership, the Nicola likely continued to operate as a relief or extra vessel on the minor routes.

• In 1990 the Nicola along with the Vesuvius Queen went into emergency service between Horseshoe Bay and Squamish when a rockslide closed down the Sea-to-Sky highway ("Cleanup of Landslide...").

• The Nicola is still registered under B.C. Ferries ownership (2003), although she has been removed from the fleet list for some time. Last word was that she was operating under charter between Prince Rupert and Port Simpson. The Lax Kw'Alaams band, located in the Prince Rupert area, began chartering the ferry in 1997 for $1 a year. The benefit to B.C. Ferries was that they no longer had to subsidize the route and no longer had to pay for the ferry's maintenance (Daniels).

• The Nicola has been renamed the The Spirit of Lax Kw'alaams by the Lax Kw'Alaams band. However, it is still registered as the Nicola on the Canadian Ship Registry. Perhaps it has not been updated yet.

Origin of the Names:

• Quadra Queen - Named after Quadra Island, the largest of the Discovery Islands and across the Discovery Passage from the Vancouver Island city of Campbell River. Quadra Island was named after Bodega y Quadra, a Spanish explorer. (from Encyclopedia of British Columbia.

• Cortes Queen - Named after Cortes Island, a smaller Discovery Island located to the east of Quadra Island. Cortes Island was named after Hernando Cortes, known as the "Conqueror of Mexico." It was named this by Cayentano Valdez, a Spanish mariner who visited the island in the late 18th century (from Encyclopedia of British Columbia).

• Nicola - Nicola is a region near the B.C. Interior town of Merritt. According to Frank Clapp, "the name is derived from that of the Indian Chief N'Kuala" (Clapp, 79).

• Spirit of Lax Kw'alaams - The name Lax Kw'alaams means "Island of Wild Roses" in Tsimshian.

Works Cited & Sources:

Clapp, Frank A. Lake and River Ferries. Victoria: Queen's Printer for British Columbia, 1981.

"Cleanup of Landslide Delays Reopening of B.C. Highway." Windsor Star 23 October, 1990: B10.

Daniels, Alan. "Surplus ferry leased to Indian band: $1-a-year deal on Prince Rupert-Port Simpson run will save BC Ferries $50,000 a year, president says." Vancouver Sun 22 March, 1997: D3.

Francis, Daniel, ed. Encyclopedia of British Columbia. Madeira Park: Harbour Publishing, 2000.

Relevant Links:

Discovery Islands - Lots of information on the Discovery Islands, where the Nicola has spent much of her operational life.

BC Archives Photographs (By Call Number)

I-27509 - The Quadra Queen probably crossing the Discovery Passage.

---

Back to the Ferry Profiles Page
or
Ferry Terminal (Homepage)

---

Page by John Hammersmark.

Thanks to Ted Ryan for the contribution of the photograph of the Spirit of Lax Kw'alaams.

This page was last updated on September 3, 2003.

Hosted by www.Geocities.ws