Multiple sailing waits continue as BC Ferries vessels fill up for long weekend
If you were looking to catch a BC Ferries sailing from Vancouver Island to the mainland on Friday, and you didn’t make a reservation, there’s a good chance you were sitting in a multiple sailing wait.
"No we did not (make a reservation) and that was our mistake," said one traveller who was heading to Nelson, B.C. for a family reunion from the Swartz Bay ferry terminal.
She waited two hours just to make it into the terminal.
"Because of all the reservations that were made, we were in the line and it just didn’t move," said the woman.
For those who could make a reservation, like Kylie Sergerie, they were the lucky ones.
"I just happened to be scrolling through, it said reserved, reserved and there was one open spot and it was for 1 o’clock for today," said Sergerie. "I managed to book that about an hour ago."
"The reservable space on the peak sailing times has been fully subscribed already and, as I say, there’s lots of stand-by traffic already at the terminals," said Deborah Marshall, executive director of public affairs at BC Ferries, early Friday afternoon.
"Customers might want to consider travelling as a foot passenger and have somebody pick you up on the other side," she said.
On the mainland, conditions were worse. All sailings from Tsawwassen and Horseshoe Bay to Vancouver Island are fully booked for Friday and Saturday.
The road leading into the Horseshoe Bay Ferry Terminal is shown: July 30, 2021 (CTV News)
The road leading into the Horseshoe Bay Ferry Terminal is shown: July 30, 2021 (CTV News)
"We’re definitely seeing pent up demand," said Marshall. "I think a lot of people are wanting to have a 'staycation' and then of course with the wildfires in the Interior, I think some people probably changed their plans and decided to come to Vancouver Island instead."
The road leading into the Horseshoe Bay Ferry Terminal on Friday resembled a parking lot. Cars were overflowing outside the terminal at Tsawwassen as well.
On Friday, Fraser Health took advantage of all those people with nowhere to go.
"We are having one of the pop-up vax clinics at our Tsawwassen terminal today," said Marshall.
Fraser Health’s Mobile Vax Bus is shown parked at the Tsawwassen Ferry Terminal: July 30, 2021 (CTV News)
Fraser Health’s Mobile Vax Bus is shown parked at the Tsawwassen Ferry Terminal: July 30, 2021 (CTV News)
Back here on the island, Departure Bay terminal in Nanaimo was busy as well.
"Ferry traffic, it’s a little much," said one man heading to the mainland.
"We might be here as late as 5 o’clock to get on," he said early Friday afternoon.
BC Ferries is warning riders that Monday is expected to be extremely busy with all those mainlanders returning home. Reservations for a return trip to the mainland on Monday are already booked, but there are some reservations still available for Tuesday.
CTVNews.ca Top Stories
Video shows suspect setting Toronto-area barbershop on fire
Video of a suspect lighting a Richmond Hill barbershop on fire earlier this week has been released by police.
'I have the will to live': N.B. woman needs double lung transplant
A New Brunswick woman suffering from sarcoidosis, a disease that limits your lung capacity, is in need of a double lung transplant.
The kids from 'Mrs. Doubtfire are all SUPER grown up now, and we're not OK
The adorable trio of child actors from the 1993 classic comedy 'Mrs. Doubtfire,' which starred the late and great Robin Williams, are all grown up and looking back on their seminal time together.
Police officer hit by driver of fleeing vehicle in Toronto
York Regional Police say they are continuing to search for a suspect in an auto theft investigation who was captured on video running over a police officer in Toronto last month.
Boeing is on the verge of launching astronauts aboard new capsule, the newest entry to space travel
It’s the first flight of Boeing’s Starliner capsule with a crew on board, a pair of NASA pilots who will check out the spacecraft during the test drive and a weeklong stay at the space station.
Britney Spears 'home and safe' after paramedics responded to an incident at the Chateau Marmont, source tells CNN
A source close to singer Britney Spears tells CNN that the pop star is 'home and safe' after she had a 'major fight' with her boyfriend on Wednesday night at the Chateau Marmont in West Hollywood.
Suter scores late goal, clinches series for Canucks
Pius Suter scored with 1:39 left and the Vancouver Canucks advanced to the second round of the NHL playoffs with a 1-0 victory over the Nashville Predators on Friday night in Game 6.
A Chinese driver is praised for helping reduce casualties in a highway collapse that killed 48
A Chinese truck driver was praised in local media Saturday for parking his vehicle across a highway and preventing more cars from tumbling down a slope after a section of the road in the country's mountainous south collapsed and killed at least 48 people.
TD worst-case scenario more likely after drug money laundering allegations: analyst
TD Bank Group could be hit with more severe penalties than previously expected, says a banking analyst after a report that the investigation it faces in the U.S. is tied to laundering illicit fentanyl profits.