Well, there she goes, sailing off into retirement 

After 57 years of service to us all

She carried us from island to island

Over the waves and decades of our lives

No more relentless early morning start-ups

No more slamming into head-seas and the leads

We trusted her and she always came through

Making remote island life possible for me and you

“Buku load guys, the parking lot is full

Funerals, Potlatches, or big soccer matches

We always tried to get them all 

The crew always knew just what to do  

As I gave the loading call

“Rack ‘em, stack ‘em, and pack ‘em,

but don’t crack ‘em!!”

There was great satisfaction

As the last car squeezed aboard

“All aboard for Sointula

Land of harmony and free love

Then on to Paradise Island Alert Bay

And the winter wood stove”

She heard the detractors and she saw the bad actors

But carried all loads with a will

Straining as garbage trucks and heavy cement trucks

Buckled her decks a bit

Just trying to make it to the next refit

Her lounge abuzz with surprise meetings

With folks we might not otherwise see

Conversations hummed and the diesels thrummed

As she parted the North Island seas

The runs were always new 

With something to do

The days somehow flew by

Storytime on the Bridge on the last run at night

Entertainment at times was high

She was always good to me 

And her classic old lines were pleasing

The new vessel’s capacity is easier to deal with

But her looks are somewhat less appealing

I’ll never forget the salty views 

Out my Mate’s office porthole

And have many fond memories aboard 

Of her faithful years of toil

Goodbye to an era on the Quadra Queen II

From the kids, captains, mates 

Engineers, crew, and me

We made many a safe trip on our trusty bridge ship

To our Tri-Port communities