If you were trying to get off the Island Friday from Swartz Bay to Tsawwassen, I don't have to tell you how long it took. BC Ferries had a four boat sailing wait this afternoon.
The three; four; five; and seven all full by two thirty in the afternoon. The eight O'clock boat was full by six p.m.
Nicole Garton tried for the three p.m. ferry but waits caused her to send her nine and eleven-year-old on the ferry as walk-on passengers alone. "I'm obviously a rookie, I didn't realize if you were like two minutes off, then you would have to wait until 8 o'clock. I had no idea."
BC Ferries Spokesperson Deborah Marshall advises passengers on Vancouver Island to look at wait times before making their way to the docks. "We would imagine that it's because the end of spring break that we are seeing the extra volume and of course we do have a smaller vessel operating on the run than the regular Spirit of Vancouver Island."
The Spirit of Vancouver Island, which sails that route, was recently taken out of service due to a mechanical issue and there were two fewer sailings on the main route compared to a regular Friday.
Some passengers watched four ferries leave the dock before they could board a ferry.