Update: BC Ferries says all of its vessels are running again after severe wind caused some sailings to be delayed by more than two hours.
Original story: Several ferry sailings between Vancouver Island and the Lower Mainland were delayed by hours due to high winds Friday.
At around 1 p.m, BC Ferries announced sailings to and from the Tsawwassen terminal would be held in dock due to the strong gusts.
As of 2:30 p.m., sailings to Swartz Bay and Duke Point scheduled to depart at 1 p.m. and 12:45 p.m., respectively, still hadn’t left the Tsawwassen terminal. BC Ferries later confirmed a 3 p.m. sailing from Duke Point to Horseshoe Bay was cancelled.
An 11 a.m. sailing from Swartz Bay to Tsawassen didn’t reach the terminal until around 2:15 p.m., while a 12 p.m. sailing on the same route was held in Active Pass until conditions became safe enough to cross the Strait of Georgia.
“I’m on that boat. It’s nasty out here. Surf’s up dude,” tweeted one passenger on the 11 a.m. sailing.
@BCFerries @daveprothero I'm currently on the 11am to Tsawwassen. Wind is nasty, swells rocking us. Reduced speed and off course.
— Mike Brodeur (@Maikuzen1) October 14, 2016
@BCFerries as we head to HSB for BC Lions game pic.twitter.com/nOM9ZBKNIM
— dy (@alwaysafriend2) October 14, 2016
The weather also caused a 12:45 p.m. sailing from Duke Point in Nanaimo to Tsawwassen to be delayed until 2:35 p.m.
It wasn’t just ferries affected by the extreme weather.
Harbour Air cancelled the rest of its seaplane flights to Vancouver out of Victoria due to the wind, and was providing alternate arrangements for passengers to fly out of Victoria International Airport.
But the airport was also reporting major delays, with many flights pushed back and two Air Canada flights to Vancouver cancelled.
The weather is only expected to get worse on Saturday as a storm fuelled by remnants of Typhoon Songda makes its way to B.C.’s South Coast.