Coho ferry returns to Victoria as U.S. border reopens

Victoria -

The Coho ferry made a triumphant return Monday morning, arriving in Victoria from Port Angeles, Wash., to a regal welcome that included an escort from a fire boat to celebrate its first trip in nearly 20 months.

With the United States opening its land and sea borders Monday to fully vaccinated Canadians for non-essential travel, trips south on the Coho were full of snowbirds who’ve waited anxiously for nearly two years for some winter fun in the sun.

The first seven Coho sailings from Victoria to Port Angeles were already booked last week, many of the vehicles headed for California, Arizona or Mexico.

The Canadian border has been open to Americans for non essential travel since August, but the requirement of a PCR covid test for those entering Canada has proven a costly deterrent for many — and the Coho was much less full when arriving in Victoria than it was when leaving the city headed south.

Ryan Burles is the CEO of the Black Ball Ferry Line, which operates the Coho. He said Monday he was excited to see the ferry back in service and was grateful for the outpouring of support for the service.

“Same-day travel is dead, and frankly even one night stays are pretty close to dead too. It isn’t just the cost, it’s the logistics,” said Burles, who noted the ferries from Port Angeles were only about 15 per cent full.

The local tourism industry is campaigning to see the requirement of a PCR test replaced by the cheaper, faster antigen test or scrapped altogether.

“Having the very invasive and expensive PCR test is a real deterrent to travel to and from Canada,” said Paul Nursey with Destination Greater Victoria.

The federal government indicated last Friday it’s re-examining the PCR test requirement, but until it’s removed, short border trips north will be relatively slow.

But just a few hours into the American border’s reopening, longer journeys by Canadians south were already popular.